At Brookfield Park Primary school we aim to create an environment which enables and encourages all pupils to achieve their potential.

For our children to gain the greatest benefit from their education it is vital that they attend regularly and every child should be at school, on time, every day the school is open unless they have an unavoidable reason to be absent. Any absence affects the pattern of a child’s schooling and regular absence will seriously affect their learning.

Absence or late arrival also disrupts daily routines and teaching and so may affect the learning of others in the same class.

Government research shows a direct link between attendance and attainment and good attenders also make better progress socially, learn to work with others, and are better prepared for the transition to secondary school and, eventually, higher education, training and employment.

It is very important therefore that you make sure your child attends regularly and our attendance policy sets out how together we will achieve this. The policy will be applied fairly and consistently and we will always consider the individual needs of pupils, and their families, who have specific barriers to attendance. We will also be mindful of our obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and give consideration to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Our attendance target this year is 96%, but all pupils should strive to achieve 100% attendance if they can.

A reminder of the process for letting us know if your child will be absent from school

• Please use the Study Bugs app to inform school of the reason for your child’s absence on the first day before 8.45am. (We will be contacting parents via text or phone call if we have not been given a reason for absence.)
• If do not have the Study Bugs app please ensure that you have done this as soon as possible and if you need support with this please do not hesitate to contact us.
• Contact the school on every further day of absence, again before 8.45am.
• Ensure that your child returns to school as soon as possible and that you provide any medical evidence, if requested, to support the absence. Medical evidence may be requested where your child is having multiple periods of absence which are reported as being due to medical reasons.

Parent’s must also ensure that they are completing a ‘request for leave form’ if they intend to take children out of school for any reason. This request will be unauthorised except in exceptional circumstances and may result in a penalty notice fine.

From September this year we have decided that we will definitely be issuing fixed penalty notices in the following circumstances:

• Parent’s take children on holiday without informing school via a holiday form which must be submitted to the Headteacher prior to travelling.
• The holiday exceeds 5 school days of unauthorised absence (10 sessions).
• Parent’s report that children are ill and it is subsequently found that they have been on holiday.
• Parent’s take children on holiday when their attendance is already below 95%
• Attendance is low and parents have not engaged with support offered by school to improve attendance.

The current penalty notice for attendance is £80 per parent, per child if paid within 21 days of fine being issued. This rises to £160 per parent, per child if paid within 28 days.  

You can read a full copy of our new attendance policy below, which includes information about our procedures for monitoring attendance, as well as how we reward good attendance. You will also find below a one page breakdown of our steps for supporting and addressing attendance concerns in school. 

We value the support of parents and want to work together with you to ensure that children are in school, accessing learning and achieving to their full potential