Attendance
Mission Statement
It is our aim for all pupils at Butler’s Hill Infant and Nursery School to achieve their full potential and ultimately fulfil our school motto of ‘Dream Big Aim High’. All pupils must attend school regularly in order to take full advantage of the educational opportunities available to them, through a rich and varied curriculum. Teachers plan carefully sequenced lessons for the children’s learning and prolonged and persistent absence will severely effect their knowledge and skills in key areas of their learning. Many children benefit from additional intervention programmes and their absence will result in the gaps in their understanding widening not closing. Our aim is for all children to make excellent progress and this will not be achieved without good attendance.
Our partnership with parents and carers is paramount, as our children’s educational success rests on a combination of a firm home-school foundation and strong communication links between the two. All staff are dedicated to supporting children and their families to ensure each student attends school regularly and punctually, as it is widely acknowledged that the link between attendance and achievement are intrinsically linked.
The school has a system of incentives and rewards which acknowledges the efforts of pupils and parents/carers to improve their attendance and timekeeping, but will also challenge those parents/ carers who give low priority to attendance and punctuality. Those children achieving 100% attendance over the year receive a voucher for the local independent cinema, supporting our local community.
Butler’s Hill has an effective system of communication with parents (by telephone, email and Class Do-jo) and the appropriate agencies to provide information, advice and support, recognising the need for confidentiality at all times. It is a shared responsibility of pupils, parents/carers, teachers, Senior Management, Governors and the Head Teacher.
Our target is that all children should attend school for at least 97% of the time.
Expectations
Parents are expected to:
1. Provide the school with up to date home and emergency contact details.
2. Ensure their child attends school regularly, as is their legal duty as parents.
3. Contact the school on the first and each subsequent day of absence, unless a definite date of return is known.
4. Parents should offer reasons for absence but whether or not the absence is marked as authorised is a decision that can only be made by the school.
5. Ensure their child arrives in school on time, well prepared for the school day. School begins at 8.45am for a prompt start and finishes at 3.15pm. Classroom doors are locked at 8.50 am, along with the gate. Morning Nursery should arrive by 8.40am- 11.40am and afternoon nursery by 12.20 - 3.20pm.
5. Contact the school in confidence whenever any problems occur that may affect their child’s attendance or performance in school.
6. In some circumstances provide evidence from a medical professional for prolonged absence
Parents and children can expect the following from school:
1. Regular and prompt recording of attendance.
2. Early contact with parents when a child doesn’t attend school without providing a good reason.
3. The use of a computerised system to record registers (ScholarPack) to ensure consistency across the school.
4. Rewards for good and improved attendance.
5. Students with attendance below 97%, whether absences are authorised or not, will be closely monitored.
Any children arriving after 9:15am, when the register has closed, without a reasonable explanation will be marked with a ‘U’ code which counts as an unauthorised absence for the morning session. Any child arriving between 8.45 am and 9.15am will be marked with an ‘L’ for ‘Lateness’. Please see our “Lateness and Punctuality” section for more information on this.
6. Home visit – The Local Authority Advice is as follows
Visiting parents/carers and students at their homes is a reasonable and suitable response to attendance concerns. It will often be the first contact with a family and will establish a line of communication and hopefully form a positive working relationship.
(Notts County Council - Improving School Attendance: A Toolkit for Maintained schools, July 2020).
Unauthorised Absences
Parents should contact the school on the first and each subsequent day of absence, unless a definite date of return is known. If parents do not contact the school within 24 hours of an absence then this will be marked as unauthorised.
If your child has been absent for 3 days or more with either illness or unauthorised absence over a 6 week rolling period, school will require some form of medical evidence stating the health reasons for absence. This could be 3 consecutive days or 3 separate days over a 6 week period. Evidence for such absences could be in the form of a note/email from a health professional, prescription and in some cases evidence of medical appointments.
Holidays in Term Time
The Government outlines:
You must get permission from the head teacher if you want to take your child out of school during term time.
You can only do this if:
- You make an application to the head teacher in advance (as a parent the child normally lives with).
- There are exceptional circumstances.
It will be up to the head teacher’s discretion how many days your child can be away from school or if leave is granted.
Local Authority Guidance outlines Fines and Prosecution
You can be fined for taking your child on holiday during term time without the head teacher's permission.
Penalty notices are issued at £120 (per child, per parent) and must be paid within the statutory 28-day deadline. Penalty notices are only reduced to £60 if they are paid in full, within 21 days of issue. All fines must be paid within 28 days of issue otherwise you may be prosecuted in court
Useful websites in this document:
https://nscp.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/media/eufnuyn5/school-attendance-flowchart-january-2018.pdf
https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/education/school-holidays-and-closures/holidays-during-term-time
https://www.gov.uk/school-attendance-absence/legal-action-to-enforce-school-attendance
https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/media/127161/code-of-conduct-for-penalty-notices.pdf