Attendance and Punctuality at Brandlehow

THE BELL RINGS AT 8.55am

LESSONS START PROMPTLY AT 9.00am

Your child’s success at primary school and later at secondary school, college and in the world of work will depend in part on their punctuality and good attendance.  Now is the time to get your child into the habit of always being on time, attending school every day except when genuinely unwell and informing the school promptly of the reasons for any absence.

It’s important for you to know that most children have an attendance rate of 97-99% and this is considered good - outstanding attendance.

The school keeps a record of your child’s absence and lateness and is required by law to report the number of absences and lateness to you on your child’s annual report. The registers are monitored closely by the Education Welfare Officer.

PROCEDURE FOR UNEXPLAINED ABSENCES

If your child is not going to be in school please report this on Parentmail, call the office on 020 8874 5429 or email the school on info@brandlehow.wandsworth.sch.uk to report their absence and the reason for the absence. Please do this before 9am on the first day of the absence.                                                                                          

If you do not notify the school of the reason for an absence then the absence may be recorded and coded as unauthorised.

In the event that we do not hear from you then the procedure for children who have unexplained absences from school is as follows:

 If we have not heard from you by 10am then we will start to call all the contact numbers that you have provided in order to gain an explanation for the absence.
We will follow this up until we have heard from you, or take the action below if we haven’t heard from you within 48 hours of our original attempt to contact you.
On the first day back from a holiday, or after a weekend, or after 48 hours of non-contact as per the above if we still have not been able to ascertain where your child is, then we will either make a home visit or liaise with the Education Welfare Officer or the Local Police to do so.
If still haven’t been able to get a response then we will report it to the police as your child will then be classed a ‘missing child’.
This procedure is to ensure that we know where your child is and that you are all safe. Please let us know in good time why your child is absent from school.

UNAUTHORISED ABSENCES

Please do not take your child out of school for a holiday during term time for days or half days to visit relations, to go on special shopping trips or for treats and outings.  Such occasions break the law and absences will be regarded as unauthorised by the school.  Your child will also miss important lessons which will not be repeated. Their absences will not be authorised and will be reported to the borough’s Educational Welfare Officer.

REQUESTS FOR LEAVE OF ABSENCE DURING TERM TIME

Please click here to access a 'Request for Leave of Absence' form during term time.  You must fill this form in and return to the Deputy Head, Ms Lisa Dunning via info@brandlehow.wandsworth.sch.uk 

Parents/carers have a legal duty to ensure their child’s regular attendance at school.  The UK Government strongly recommends that parents/carers avoid taking their children out of school, given its effect on the learning programme and the progress of pupils.  Headteachers cannot grant leave of absence unless in exceptional circumstances.  Wherever possible, appointments should be made around school hours. 

In determining whether or not to authorise an absence, the Headteacher has to consider the reasons for the request, the effect on the continuity of the child’s learning, the frequency of request and the child’s overall attendance.  Parents/carers are, therefore, advised to consider carefully the reasons for making their request, and to be united as legal guardians in the making of such requests. Where there is not agreement on the request by all legal guardians for the child, the school may not authorise regardless of other factors.

Applications should be made well in advance and parents/carers are strongly advised to apply before they confirm their arrangements.

For further information please click on the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-attendance

If you would like to feedback to us on our procedures, please write to us at info@brandlehow.wandsworth.sch.uk or find the Head Teacher or Deputy Head in the playground at drop off or pick up time.