At Northbrook Primary Academy we aim for our children to gain the greatest benefit from their education and it is vital that they attend regularly and are at school, on time, every day, unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable. We have high expectations for punctuality and attendance levels for our pupils. We believe it is vital for parents and school to support each other in maximising their children’s attendance to enable them to achieve their potential. We have policies and procedures in place to support families to achieve this.
Why Regular Attendance is so Important
Any absence (due to not attending school or being late) affects a child’s schooling and regular absence will seriously affect their learning. Any pupil’s lateness or absence disrupts teaching routines so may affect the learning of others in the same class.
School Times
The school opens at 8.45am with the doors closing at 8.55am and registration starting at 9.00am. We expect your child to be in class at that time. Registers are marked promptly and your child will receive a late mark if they are not in by 8.55am.
Our term dates are available here (put link to term pages). Further information is also available on our Access Arrangements ( need to add file)
Absence Reporting (Illnesses)
If you child is not in school for any reason please follow the guidance below.
What to do:
- On your child’s first day of absence you must phone school before 8.45 am to record your child’s absence on Tel: 01772 421599 or by email to attendance@northbrookpa.org . You can leave an answerphone message or speak to someone in the office or you can call into school and report the absence to the office giving a reason.
- If we do not hear from you, we will make contact with you to confirm the absence as part of our safeguarding procedures.
- Keep school informed if the absence is more than one day.
- With regards to pupils off with sickness and/or diarrhoea with an exclusion period of 2 days (48 hours) we do not need a letter unless they are off from day 3 onwards. The 2 day exclusion period for sickness and/or diarrhoea is to stop the spread of infection within the school as detailed in the ‘Guidance on Infection Control in Schools’ document below.
And if your child is absent we will:
- Telephone on subsequent days of absence if we have not been informed that the absence is for more than one day;
- Invite you in to discuss the situation with our Head of School if absences persist;
- If a reason for absence is not provided within 2 weeks then the absence will be recorded as unauthorised;
- Refer the matter to the Local Authority School Attendance Team where appropriate as per Local Authority protocol.
Appointments
If your child is absent due to an appointment, school should be notified in advance. Please send any medical appointment letters or cards in with your child - we will take a copy and return the original back to you. To inform us of medical apportnmets in adance please contact the school on Tel: 01772 421599 or email attendance@northbrookpa.org .
Unauthorised absences
An absence is classified as unauthorised when a child is away from school without the permission of both the school and the parent/carer or if the child is away from school without good reason even with the support of a parent/carer (eg shopping or a birthday)
Holidays in term time
Holidays in term time are strongly discouraged and will only be allowed in exceptional circumstances. Applications for any leave of absence must be submitted to the head teacher with at least 14 days notice. The Leave of Absence form is available from the school office or can be downloaded below and printed..
The Law
The law states that every child must receive a suitable education appropriate to their age, ability and needs. It is the responsibility of parents/carers to make sure that all their children of statutory school age are receiving an education. The overwhelming majority of parents/carers choose to send their children to school and having done so they are then required to ensure that they attend regularly.
The Government considers that children should attend school on every day the school is open for pupils unless there is an unavoidable cause such as illness or other exceptional circumstance. It is the parent’s/ guardian’s legal responsibility to ensure their child regular attends school. Parents should always provide the school with a reason for an absence. It is then the schools decision whether to record the absence as authorised or unauthorised.
National research shows that children who attend less than 85% of the time do significantly less well at school.
If parents/carers fail, without a reasonable excuse, to ensure that their children attend regularly they can be prosecuted or a Penalty Notice may be issued. The maximum penalty is a £2500 fine and/or imprisonment.
http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/children-education-families/schools/absence-from-school/
We have adopted Lancashire County Council’s Attendance Policy, which has been written in line with the latest Government guidance. Our Attendance Policy details our expectations and procedures.
Medicine
The school can only administer prescribed medicine with a signed ‘Administration of Prescribed Medicines’ Consent Form which is available from the school office. Prescribed medicines must be worked around the school day so parents/carers are asked to ensure that any medicine needed falls during break and/or lunchtime. Please note that we cannot administer creams or eye drops. Medication and inhalers must be in the original bottle with a spoon from the pharmacy and properly labelled. Parents/carers please be reminded that it is your responsibility to ensure that any medication kept in school for your child is regularly checked and in date.
