Attendance

Why is attendance so important?

Research shows that pupils who attend school regularly are more likely to:

1. Achieve their full academic potential.
2. Keep up with their learning. Regular attendance ensures lessons build on each other, making new topics easier to understand.
3. Stay motivated and engaged. Consistency in school helps pupils develop positive learning habits.
4. Build stronger friendships. Regular interaction with their peers supports social development and mental wellbeing.
5. Take part in wider opportunities. From sports teams and school productions to trips and clubs, consistent attendance makes it easier to get involved.

My child is struggling with their attendance. What support can I get?

We understand that some pupils may face challenges with attendance, and we are here to support them fully. If there are personal circumstances – such as a bereavement – that might affect your child’s attendance or behaviour, or if you feel they would benefit from extra support, please let us know. The first point of contact is always your child’s class teacher.

Strategies for promoting attendance

The Academy uses a range of methods/initiatives to promote a culture of good attendance across the school:

• Stakeholder engagement around attendance through simple, friendly posters across the school site and regular promotion of attendance through school communication platforms
• Long term Initiatives such as the BPA attendance tree display where pupils receive a leaf for 100% attendance each half term.
• Short term initiatives such as the ‘Lucky Dip’ box and School Shop, which are changed across the academic year to keep interest in attendance.
• Individual certificates for most improved attendance focused on hard-to-reach parents/pupils.
• Attendance contracts detailing agreed actions/support for parents to improve attendance.
• Promoting the use of Studybugs, an easy-to-use approach to reporting absence.
• Individual reward schemes focused on achieving a week/two weeks good attendance for hard-to-reach parents/pupils.

Attendance register 

We will keep an electronic attendance register, and place all pupils onto this register. We will take our attendance register at the start of the first session of each school day and once during the second session. It will mark, using the appropriate national attendance and absence codes.

We will also record: 

• Whether the absence is authorised or not 
• The nature of the activity, where a pupil is attending an approved educational activity 
• The nature of circumstances, where a pupil is unable to attend due to exceptional circumstances • We will keep every entry on the attendance register for 6 years after the date on which the entry was made. 
• The school day starts at 8:30am and ends at 3pm. 
• Pupils must arrive in school by 8:40am on each school day. 
• The register for the first session will be taken between 8:30am and 8:40am. Between 8:40am and 9:10am pupils arriving at school will be marked as late. 
• The register for the second session will be taken at 1pm.

Unplanned absence

The pupil’s parent must notify the school of the reason for the absence on the first day of an unplanned absence by 8:30am or as soon as practically possible, by either calling the school office or reporting through the Studybugs attendance app. The Academy may ask for medical evidence for re-occurring illnesses and/or all absence under 92%. If the school is not satisfied about the authenticity of the illness, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised and parents will be notified of this in advance.

Term time holidays

Please ensure holidays are not taken during term time. The current law does not give any entitlement to parents to take their child out of school during term time. The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 prohibits a Headteacher granting leave of absence to a pupil, except where an application has been made in advance, and the Headteacher considers that there are ‘exceptional circumstances’ relating to the application.

Please note that if the absence is not authorised, and the holiday is taken, the case will be referred to the Child and Family Early Intervention Team who may issue a Penalty Notice of £160 (or £80 if paid within 21 days) to each parent for each child taken out of school.
 

Attendance policy 2025