BGLC Approach to Attendance

The Everyday Club is our way of looking at Attendance at Brookvale Groby Learning Campus. Through The Everyday Club, students are rewarded for excellent attendance. This includes things such as:

  • Attendance stickers
  • Tutor group attendance competitions
  • Reward trips
  • Weekly leaderboards
  • Certificates for excellent attendance

The images below show are expectations in regards to school attendance and these align with DFE guidance.  They highlight the impact of low attendance on academic attainment and progresss.

Holidays

It is not our policy to authorise holidays in term time. The only exception is where parents serve are in the armed forces (this does not extend to the emergency services)  Where authorisation is not granted then subsequent term time holiday absence will be reported as a matter of course to the Education welfare Service; we are under of duty to do this.

When unauthorised leave is taken the Trust Board has decided that it will support the imposition of a Fixed Penalty Fine.  This can be very expensive and is something we would wish to avoid.  This will apply to any parents who book holidays in term time.


What is considered as poor attendance

Anything below 94% is weak, under 90% is poor and if attendance dips below 85% we will have serious concerns. Parents should expect to be contacted when their child’s attendance reaches 92% and below

We monitor attendance and provide termly reports on each pupil’s attendance. At the end of each half term we identify all those pupils whose attendance has fallen below 90% and issue a courtesy letter or make telephone calls informing parents. We then monitor the pupils’ attendance on a weekly basis and hope to see a pattern of unbroken weeks developing.

Our duty of care in responding to unauthorised and persistent absence – possible consequences

We have a duty of care, shared with the Local Authority, to challenge poor attendance. Where attendance levels are low and where there are invalid reasons (judged by the school, not the parent) for a pupil’s frequent absence or where parents condone absence (e.g. by taking children out of school on unauthorised holidays) then parents render themselves liable to a fine of £80 per pupil per parent. This could mean a fine of £480 for two parents of three children. This would be doubled to £960 if the fine is unpaid within 21 days

Support in School

Should you need support with attendance matters, please contact our attendance leads listed below:

Mr A Goodger – SLT Inclusion Lead  – [email protected]

Mrs A Lovell – Attendance Manager  – [email protected]