Attendance
Please e-mail us using: attendance@brackenedge.org.uk if you need any help or assistance or want to report an absence.
What is good attendance and why is it important to us?
- Safe, healthy and successful children
- In school, on time, ready to learn
Children who miss school frequently are more likely to fall behind and have lower attainment. Children sometimes have to miss school because of an illness or if they have long term medical issues. If this is the case, parents should contact school the same day to let us know the reason that their child is not in school.
Going to school regularly is important for your child’s future. Parents are responsible for making sure their children receive full-time education. Talking to your child and their teachers could help solve any problems if your child does not want to go to school.
Regular school attendance
Good attendance shows secondary schools that your child is reliable.
Bracken Edge Primary School records details of all children’s attendance and absence from school. We do so at the beginning of morning and afternoon sessions. If your child is absent, you must inform the school immediately.
The school will record the absence and the Local Authority will receive this information for each child. The Department of Education also receives annual attendance data for the school.
Punctuality
Being late for school makes it hard for your child to learn. The school day is designed to ensure all our children receive the legal time required for each subject. It may not seem much being a few minutes late but over the course of a week it mounts up, the chart below shows how much learning time your child could miss.
Please note the DFE (Department for Education is the Government’s department to share their views with schools and parents) and it sets the expectation that parents and carers are to ensure their children attend school 95% of the time. No child is expected to be absent from school on holiday during term time. In very exceptional circumstances, and only if your child has an excellent attendance record, the headteacher may authorise up to 10 days absence and this must be requested in advance.
If you take your child out of school without permission, you may be issued with a fine by Leeds City Council on your return, this is £60 per parent, £60 per child (eg a family of four with two parents and two children would be fined a total of £240). For more details please see Ms Ahmad, who is our attendance officer.
Your responsibilities as a parent
By law, all children of compulsory school age must receive a suitable full-time education. For most parents, this means registering their child at a school. Although some parents choose to make other arrangements to provide a suitable, full-time education.
Once your child is registered at Bracken Edge Primary School, the parent is legally responsible for making sure they attend on a regular basis. If your child does not attend school on a regular basis, you could be subject to a fine or be prosecuted in court.
How to prevent your child from missing school
You can help prevent your child missing school by:
- making sure they understand the importance of good attendance and punctuality.
- taking an interest in their education, ask about schoolwork and encourage them to get involved in school activities.
- discussing any problems they may have at school and letting their teacher or principal know about anything serious.
- not letting children take time off school for minor ailments, particularly those which would not prevent you from going to work.
To avoid disrupting your child’s education, you should arrange appointments and outings:
- after school hours.
- at weekends.
- during school holidays.
- You should not expect Bracken Edge Primary School to agree to your child going on holiday during term time.
Support on school attendance
A child’s school attendance can be affected if there are problems with:
- Bullying.
- Housing or care arrangements.
- Transport to and from school.
- Work and money.
If your child starts missing school, you might not know there is a problem. If there is a problem, please approach their teacher or the school attendance team.
Our designated senior leader responsible for attendance is Mrs Lunn and our attendance Officer is Ms Ahmad
NHS Guidance explaining when children should/shouldn’t be kept off school - Is my child too ill for school?
Late Collection
At Bracken Edge we understand that - on rare occasions - events beyond the control of a parent may mean they are late collecting their child(ren) at the end of the school day. On such occasions, school staff endeavour to be understanding.
A parent who knows they will be late collecting their child(ren) must contact school in advance.
Persistent lateness demonstrates a lack of respect for school staff and has a fundamental impact on the operational workings of the school.
Please see our Late Collection Policy here