Attendance Policy
At Brannel School we want to do our best for all our students and believe that regular attendance is vital. We will consistently work towards a goal of 100% attendance for all children. Our Attendance Policy can be viewed from the School Policies page of this website.
- At Brannel School, good attendance is 96% and above. If your child’s attendance falls below this, you are at risk of committing an offence under the Education Act 1996 – see below.
- All requests for absence should be made formally to the Headteacher at least two weeks in advance using the Request for Absence Form.
- Only one leave of absence request will be considered per academic year. We will confer with other schools where there are siblings in more than one school.
- Absences will only be authorised for sickness (evidence may be required), religious observance, failure of school transport or where the Headteacher has given specific permission.
- Requests for holiday absence during term-time will NOT be authorised except in exceptional circumstances.
Where a request for absence has not been authorised and the child is still taken out of school, this will be recorded as unauthorised absence. We are committed to following our attendance policy in respect of the prosecution process in relation to any unauthorised absences.
Unauthorised absence including term-time holidays: the Law
Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 places a duty upon the parents of a child of compulsory school age to ensure that child receives an efficient, full-time education. Section 444 of the Education Act 1996 states that if any child of compulsory school age is a registered pupil at a school and fails to attend regularly, then the parent of the child shall be guilty of an offence.
If you take your child(ren) out of school without permission, you will be committing an offence under the Education Act 1996.
We may refer the matter to Cornwall Legal Services who may decide to prosecute. A conviction may result in a fine of up to £2,500, a prison sentence of up to three months or both. Alternatively, a penalty notice may be issued under Section 444A and 444B of the Education Act 1996. This carries a fine of £60 if paid within 21 days or £120 if paid after this but within 28 days. Failure to pay the penalty notice may result in court action.
What do we do at Brannel to promote good attendance?
We like to celebrate good attendance. Over the last two years we have seen our overall school attendance increase from 93% to 94.6% which is extremely positive news. We will, however, continue to work hard to reach our target of a whole school attendance of 96%. Some of the things we have introduced are:
- Recognition of those students that attend 100% for the week by awarding merits, and those that are making improvements with their attendance
- Fortnightly highest tutor group award
- Half termly attendance awards, including Amazon vouchers, cinema tickets and merits
- Individual attendance support plans for students who need extra help with their attendance issues
- Recent introduction of tutor attendance reports to encourage students to attend more regularly, giving them responsibility for their own attendance
- Regular meetings with Heads of Year and Senior Leadership Team about school attendance
- Regular update on attendance matters on our Facebook page and website
Please note that we monitor attendance regularly. If your child’s attendance falls lower than 90% or causes concern, you may be contacted by the school’s Education Welfare Officer.
Contact
Please contact the school’s Education Welfare Officer, Mrs Caroline Hunt, to discuss any issues with school attendance. [email protected]
Alternatively please contact a member of the Pastoral Team.
Read our latest Attendance Newsletter