What does attending school mean for your child?

At Burton Green Church of England Academy we place great importance on regular attendance We know that missing education has a detrimental impact on the progress that children make. Regular attendance is a vital part of a child's academic and social success. We strive to ensure that all pupils receive a full-time education, make the most of their opportunities and realise their full potential.   Staff will work with pupils and their families to ensure each pupil attends regularly and punctually. We can help with advice or support if you are experiencing any issues around attendance and punctuality. In particular, Mr Nailor is the attendance champion at school.

Benefits of good attendance:

• Pupils with good attendance generally achieve higher grades.
• Pupils with good attendance generally enjoy school more.
• Having a good education will help to give your child the best possible start in life.
• Good school attendance helps to develop other responsible patterns of behaviour.

Some risks of poor attendance:

• Pupils are likely to miss learning activities that their classmates have taken part in, which could mean they fall behind.
• They miss out on social interaction with friends/classmates - this can have a negative effect on the wellbeing and self-esteem.
• Low attendance is associated with anti-social behaviour and poor learning behaviours.

Attendance routines

The school doors opens at 8:40 and close promptly at 8:55. Children arriving after this time will be noted as late on the register. 

Children should be at the academy, on time, every day school is open, unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable. Permitting absence from school without a good reason is an offence by the parent. We have a legal duty to promote attendance and we are required to publish attendance figures.

Occasionally, a child may be reluctant to attend school. Any problems with regular attendance are best discussed with the child's class teacher. It is never better to cover up their absence or to give in to pressure to excuse them from attending. This gives the impression that attendance does not matter and may make things worse.

Every half-day absence has to be classified by us, (not by the parents), as either AUTHORISED or UNAUTHORISED.  Authorised absences are mornings or afternoons away from school for a good reason like illness or unavoidable causes.

Unauthorised absences are those which the academy does not consider reasonable and for which no 'leave' has been given. This includes:
- Parents keeping children off unnecessarily, eg. shopping trips, days out.
- Truancy before or during the academy day.
- Absences which have never been properly explained.
- Children who arrive at school too late to get a mark (beyond 30 minutes).

Sickness

If your child is absent through sickness or any unavoidable cause, please contact the academy via email at bgp.office@greenleek.covmat.org by 9.00am on the first day of absence. 

Appointments of any kind, such as a doctor’s or dentist appointment, should be arranged outside of school hours where possible. If this is unavoidable, please let the office know and this will be authorised.

Children returning to the academy after illness should clearly be fit to do so and free from any infection.

Please see below the NHS guidance for illness relating to school absences.

THE LAW AND YOU!

The Law states (Education Act 1996, Section 7) that all children of compulsory school age must receive an appropriate full-time education. As a parent/carer, you are legally responsible for making sure your child receives an effective education. Failure to ensure your child attends school regularly could lead to intervention from the Missing Education & Child Employment Service which has the power to implement:

• Fixed penalty notices.
• Prosecution.
• An Education Supervision Order.

TERM TIME HOLIDAYS

According to Warwickshire County Council (WCC), parents must plan holidays outside of term time, as taking children out of school during term (i.e. leave of absence for holidays) is only permitted in exceptional circumstances. The school has the final say on whether to approve any leave request, and routine holidays will almost always be unauthorised. Unauthorised absence may lead to formal action by WCC, such as a Fixed Penalty Notice under the county’s code of conduct.

We refer all Leave of Absence (LOA) to the Warwickshire Attendance Service (WAS) as is our duty as a referring school.

Note:

Academy closures will be announced as soon as the information has been verified and become available via the Academy Website.

Please stay updated for some more child-centred attendance initiatives we have planned in the future.