Attendance
Your child will gain the maximum benefit from the high quality education provided by Burnt Oak by attending regularly. Children with frequent absences are disadvantaged by gaps in their education.
Children with 100% attendance for a term will be awarded attendance certificates. Children with 100% attendance for the whole school year will receive a prize.
The Government has introduced new regulations concerning children's absences from school. Repeated, unexplained absence or an absence level of below 95% is referred to our Attendance Advisory Practitioner.
All schools now have to account for every pupil absence under two headings - authorised and unauthorised.
Examples of authorised absence are:
- Sickness/illness
- Medical/Dental
- Tuition at other educational establishments
Most other reasons fall into unauthorised absence
We ask parents to follow these guidelines to enable both the school and parents to fulfil their responsibilities under these regulations.
Sickness/illness
Please phone the school before 9.30 am on the first day of absence so that we know your child is absent with your knowledge. Please send in a note explaining the absence when your child returns to school.
Medical/Dental Appointments
Whenever possible please try to make all medical and dental appointments for after school or in holiday times. If school time appointments are unavoidable, and we know that sometimes they are, please let the school office know as soon as you can. Children must be collected at the school office and parents will be asked to sign them out and on their return sign them back in. All children attending appointments will need a pass. Please collect this in advance from the school office.
Leave of absence (Exceptional circumstances)
The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006: Amendments to 2006 regulations state that from the 1st September 2013 that Head Teachers ‘may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances’.
The Education (Penalty Notices) (England) Regulations 2007: Amendments to 2007 regulations will reduce the timescales for paying a penalty notice.
Parents must pay £60 within 21 days or £120 within 28 days.
This brings attendance penalty notices into line with other types of penalty notices and allows local authorities to act faster on prosecutions.
These regulations have been set by the Department for Education (Government) and not the school.
If you require any further information about the above, please speak to Denise Percival (Attendance Officer) on 01634 334344.
Punctuality
Children must arrive at school by 8.50 am. Once the school doors are closed latecomers must report to the school office. KS1 children must be accompanied by an adult. Lateness will be recorded. Persistent lateness will result in the Attendance Advisory Practitioner being contacted.
Children who are late to school miss important teaching time and cause disruption to the learning of other children.