At Belle Vue we know that good attendance is the key to successful schooling and we believe our pupils can be amongst the best. Although we aim for 100% attendance, each year we set a target for attendance & this is used to compare us to other schools nationally. Our current target is 97% attendance.
Attending school every day will help give your child the best possible start in life.
Going to school every day means:
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Learning new skills
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Making friends
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Having lots of fun
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Building lasting relationships
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Taking part in exciting activities
You can help us to help your child by encouraging regular school attendance. We can offer support and guidance if you are finding it hard to get your child to school or if you have any concerns about attendance - please contact Miss Young via the school office.
Holidays in term time
By law you must ask for permission for your children to miss school. Leave in term time will only be agreed where the Headteacher feels there are exceptional circumstances. Also, it is possible that leave will not be agreed when attendance already includes unauthorised absence and/or attendance is already causing concern. You can request “leave in term time” for your child using a request form available at the School Office. Parents who take a child of compulsory school age on holiday without permission from the school may be issued with a penalty notice.
To help your child do well in school, you should:
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Arrange family holidays to coincide with school holidays.
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Never take your child out of school when there are important examinations or tests.
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Be aware of the potential impact on your child’s education
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Avoid taking your child out of school when they are just starting. This is very important, as your child needs to settle into their new environment as quickly as possible.
There are 190 statutory school days in one year. That means there are 175 days (weekends & school holidays) available to use for holidays! Headteachers cannot authorise any leave in term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. There is no automatic entitlement in law to time off in school time to go on holiday. Any period taken without agreement of the school, or in excess of that agreed, will be classed as unauthorised and may attract a Penalty Notice.
A two week holiday in school time means your child has approximately 50 hours of missed work to catch up on!
Reducing illness
If your child is saying they do not feel well but you are unsure about whether it warrants a day off please send them to school. If they are truly ill we will ring you. Use common sense when deciding whether your child is too ill to attend school.
Ask yourself the following questions:
· Is my child well enough to do the activities of the school day?
· Does my child have a condition that could be passed on to other children or school staff?
· Would I take a day off work if I had this condition?
Medical Appointments
If your child has to have a medical or dental appointment in school time please do your best to have it after 2PM and then your child can have their registration mark for the afternoon before you pick them up. If it needs to be a morning appointment, please try and bring them to school first to get their mark and then return then to school afterwards. Every half-day absence from school has to be classified by the school as either AUTHORISED or UNAUTHORISED. This is why information about the cause of any absence is always required. Authorised absences are mornings or afternoons away from school for a good reason like illness (where a child it too ill to attend school) medical/dental appointments which unavoidably fall in school time, emergencies or other unavoidable cause.
The Department for Education guidance states, "if the authenticity of illness is in doubt, schools can request parents to provide medical evidence to support illness. Schools can record the absence as unauthorised if not satisfied of the authenticity of the illness but should advise parents of their intentions. Medical evidence can take the form of prescriptions, appointment cards etc, rather than a doctors note. Unauthorised absences are those which the school does not consider reasonable and for which no ‘leave’ has been given. This type of absence can lead to the Authority using sanctions and/or legal proceedings."
Punctuality
Pupils who arrive late and/or leave early also disrupt lessons, which can be embarrassing for the child and can in turn, encourage absence. It is also extremely disruptive for the rest of their class. School starts at 8.50 am & ends at 3.30 pm.
Help with your child's attendance
If you are having problems getting your child to school or have any concerns about attendance please contact the school office for advice.