School Attendance
At Birkby Junior School we regard regular attendance as essential to ensure the best possible learning outcomes for all children and believe that regular attendance at school is necessary to promote better life chances. The school’s ethos encourages children to feel that their presence in school is important and that they are missed when they are absent or late.
Any absence affects the pattern of a child’s schooling and regular absence will seriously affect their learning. Any pupil’s absence disrupts teaching routines and may also affect the learning of others in the same class. Ensuring every child’s regular attendance at school is the parent’s/carer’s responsibility and permitting absence from school without good reason creates an offence in law and may result in prosecution.
For more information regarding our Attendance Policy and expectations, please read the policies below.
At Birkby Junior School we have high expectations of attendance and expect your child to attend school every day, on time. Staff in school monitor attendance every day and track the attendance of every pupil in school in order to ensure that all pupils are safe; have access to the full time education they deserve and avoid becoming persistant absentees. We expect all parents and carers to support us in ensuring their child attends school regularly and has good attendance. Our school attendance policy contains more information on how you can do this alongside the government document 'Guidance for parents on school attendance - Office of the Children's Commissioner'. Please click below for a copy of this guidance.
What should I do if my child is ill?
Please call the school to report your child’s absence before 8.40am (Year 3 & Year 5) or 8.50am (Year 4 & Year 6) on the day of the first day of absence. After the first day, it is important that you contact school to report each day of absence; this is so that staff know when your child is expected to return. Staff may choose to carry out a home visit if we are unable to determine the reason for each day of absence. This is to safeguard your child's well being as all unexplained absences must be accounted for to ensure none of our pupils are unsafe or vulnerable.
Attendance Ladder
Our attendance ladder helps to explain attendance percentages so that parents/carers and pupils understand what what good and outstanding attendance is. Our attendance ladder also explains the point at which your child's attendance needs to improve and will become a concern; leading to extra intervention and support being offered to your family. Please read our school attendance policy for more information on how we will help families overcome barriers to attending school.
What should I do if I want my child to take a Leave of Absence during term time?
Children’s daily attendance at school is of the greatest importance and is vital for your child’s educational progress. We expect all parents & carers to ensure that their children attend school regularly and Leave of absences taken during term time e.g. those due to holidays and trips to visit relatives, will be unauthorised as they seriously disrupt children’s education. We therefore strongly recommend that parents use existing school holidays for undertaking trips abroad and planning trips to visit relatives. Leave of Absences will be treated as unauthorised absences unless the Head Teacher has granted it as an exceptional circumstance - please refer to our attendance policy for more information.
It is the school’s policy to request a Fixed Penalty Notice for every pupil with unauthorised absences which total 5 days (10 sessions) or more. These 10 sessions of unauthorised absence (within a period of 10 school weeks) do not need to be consecutive and may be unauthorised for a combination of different reasons e.g. 6 sessions of unauthorised absence for a term time leave of absence and 4 sessions of unauthorised absence for your child arriving late after the register closes. If parents/carers take their child out of school during term time, and this has not been authorised by the Head teacher, the following will occur if you child has had 5 days (10 sessions) or more unauthorised absence within a 10 week period:
- If issued with a first penalty notice, the parent must pay £80 within 21 days, or £160 within 28 days.
- If a second penalty notice is issued to the same parent in respect of the same pupil, the parent must pay £160 if paid within 28 days.
- A third penalty notice cannot be issued to the same parent in respect of the same child within 3 years of the date of the issue of the first penalty notice. In a case where the national threshold is met for a third time within those 3 years, alternative action will be taken instead. This will often include considering prosecution as repeated offences of leave of absence may result in the matter being directly prosecuted in Kirklees Magistrates' court. Other tools such as one of the other attendance legal interventions may also be considered.
If you still decide to go ahead with any plans to take your child out of school for a Leave of Absence, please complete a request form and return it to school as soon as possible. The form is available from the school office and a copy of it can also be downloaded on this page. The Head Teacher may require evidence to support any request for Leave of Absence. Please note, any Leave of Absence will still be classed as an unauthorised absence even if you have completed a request form.
