Absence
Children are expected to attend school for the full 190 days of the academic year, unless there is a good reason for absence. There are two types of absence:
- Authorised absence – where the school approves pupil absence
- Unauthorised absence – where the school does not approve absence
At CBPS we aim to achieve an attendance rate of over 95% (meaning children are absent from school no more than 1 day every 4 weeks). To support this we will provide the following in an effort to maintain and improve attendance:
- A caring and supportive atmosphere where children come first
- Careful registration, making sure mistakes are not made
- If a message has not been received, we will make a phone call or text home on the first morning of children are absent from school
- Information for parents about attendance on a termly basis, at the end of each term
- Monitoring and support for children whose attendance is below 90%.
Any child with attendance below 90% is categorised as a persistent absentee, and are missing more than 1 day of school every 2 weeks on average. Children with attendance below 90% are highly unlikely to achieve their academic potential.
Sickness and Absence
In the event that your child is sick, we are advised that they should be kept away from other children for a minimum of 48 hours.
If you are unsure about whether your child should attend school, please contact the school office by visiting, telephoning – (0115) 9892250 or by email – office@cropwellbishop.notts.sch.uk or visit the NHS website here: Is my child too ill for school? .If a child is unable to attend school for any reason, such as illness or a doctor’s appointment, it is vital to ring into school before 8.50am, giving the reason and when you expect the child to return to school. If we haven’t heard from you by 10am, we will get in touch by text or by telephone.
Leave of Absence/Holidays in term time
When a pupil is withdrawn during term time there is disruption to the learning process and this can sometimes result in the pupil falling behind his/her peers.
School will only authorise leave of absence during term time when there are exceptional circumstances.
Nottinghamshire County Council deem that the following are NOT legitimate reasons for taking your child out of school in term time:
o My work does not allow me to take holidays during the school holiday periods
o Days overlapping with the beginning or end of term
o My child needs a holiday at quieter times due to their needs
o Our holiday has been gifted/arranged by others and we did not have a choice of dates
o My child has good or 100% attendance
o Availability of cheaper holidays and travel arrangements
o We booked the holiday before checking with the school
o Holiday dates of siblings/family at other schools are different
o Day trips/Birthday plans
o It’s a special sporting fixture/show/event I want my child to attend
If a child has been reported as unwell and a holiday is suspected, school will report to the local authority for a penalty notice fine. School is expected to carry out home visits.
School will look at child’s overall attendance figures, when considering referring to the Local Authority for issuing of a fixed penalty notice.
Parents will receive a warning of penalty notice for unauthorised leave.
School will notify parents of penalty notice, should unauthorised leave of absence be taken (10 sessions over a 10-week rolling period).
Lateness
When your child arrives late at school, they miss important events like assembly, teacher instructions and introductions. Children also feel anxious and embarrassed at having to enter the classroom late.
Frequent lateness can add up to a considerable amount of learning being lost. This can seriously disadvantage your child and disrupt the learning of others. Please help your child to be punctual.
If a child is late 10 minutes each day it equates to 5 lost teaching days across the year.
20 minutes late each day equates 40 missed lessons across the year.
Please pop into school if you would like to discuss your child’s attendance.
For further information on the process and guidelines on penalty notices within Nottinghamshire County Council, please click on the following link. The ‘Frequency Asked Questions’ (FAQ’s) document at the bottom of the page is particularly helpful.
School attendance, absence and truancy | Nottinghamshire County Council