Attendance

Promoting Excellent Attendance – our whole school target is 96% attendance

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Every day counts!

Make the most of the Birley Spa offer by making sure your child attends every day.
Every child who achieves 100% attendance and is on time every day in a week gets entered into a prize draw to win a £10 voucher for their family to spend at Asda. This means that if your child comes to school on time and attends every day, they could they have 40 chances to win! Win – Hi Fi Way

Attendance Policy

Attendance Concern Procedure

School Charter

At Birley Spa Primary Academy we are committed to helping all pupils to achieve their full potential. Regular attendance is a key factor in raising pupils’ attainment and supporting their personal development.

We promote good attendance through our weekly attendance competition – the class with the highest attendance over 96% in each Key Stage receives the class trophy and is displayed on our whole school attendance display. Individual children receive certificates and stickers for good or improved attendance each term.

Holidays

Government guidelines stipulate that Headteachers cannot grant any leave of absence unless in exceptional circumstances. Holidays and trips abroad do not qualify as exceptional circumstances.

If a leave of absence is taken for the purpose of a holiday it will be counted as an unauthorised absence. It is probable that a penalty notice may be issued in these circumstances, and a referral to the Education Welfare Service or Attendance and Inclusion Social Worker may also be made.

Whilst it is appreciated that children are ill from time to time, please think carefully before allowing your child to be absent from school. The chart below provides an indication of how just a few days absence can significantly impact a child’s overall attendance percentage and impede their learning:

DescriptionAttendanceWhole days’ learning lostHours of learning lost
Excellent100 – 99%0 – 20 – 10
Good98 – 96%4 – 7.520 – 37.5
DescriptionAttendanceWhole days’ learning lostHours of learning lost
Requires Improvement95 – 91%9.5 – 1747.5 – 85
Remember, school attendance is your statutory responsibility as a parent or primary career. This means if your child’s attendance falls into the red region below, not only is their education suffering, but you will be referred to the Education Welfare Service and may also receive a penalty notice.
DescriptionAttendanceWhole days’ learning lostHours of learning lost
Persistent Absentee90 – 86%19 – 2795 – 135
Critical85 – 80%28.5 – 38142.5 – 190
  • Remember:
  • 5 days absence from school = 97.5%
  • 10 days absence from school = 95%
  • Typically, we would become very concerned about the impact of time off on a child’s education when their attendance reached 95% – the child has missed two whole weeks of learning!
  • It is easy to see how even a few days off can make a BIG difference!

Support For You and Your Child

We always aim to work positively with parents, when we have concerns regarding children’s attendance. This involves School regularly keeping you updated via letters and other forms of contact regarding your child’s attendance percentage, as well as offering support or guidance whenever it is needed. We strive to work in partnership with families to find realistic solutions to overcome barriers to learning. Please contact the School office to make an appointment with our Family Support Worker or Safeguarding Officer who are available to advise you on a variety of matters.

If your child’s attendance drops below 95%, we will work with you to improve it by following the procedure below:

Addendum Attendance Policy Jan 2021