Attendance Procedures

Arrival at school

Children can enter school from 8.45am when the inner school gates are opened by Bodriggy staff. This gives pupils time to enter school, settle and be ready for learning to begin the moment school starts. School begins promptly at 8.55am when registration takes place.

Punctuality

If your child arrives after this time they must report to the school office, so that we can mark them as present, but late on the register. Unfortunately, as the school dinner registers are also taken at this time, a child arriving late is unable to take advantage of the choice on offer and has either a vegetarian or non-vegetarian meal allocated.

Arriving in school after the register closes at 9.30am counts as an unauthorised absence and will show on your child’s attendance record. This can only be amended if the parent/carer informs school of the reason of any late arrival.

Medical Appointments

If your child has to attend a doctor’s/ hospital appointment, the school needs to be notified in advance and any appointment cards/letters will need to be shown to evidence this, where possible.

Illness

If your child is unwell the school should be contacted as soon as possible on the first day of any absence, either by telephone on 01736 752808 or email Rhutchings@bodriggy.tpacademytrust.org. If your child is absent for more than one day, school would appreciate regular updates.

If you fail to contact school, a telephone call and/or text will be made home. These calls are logged as part of our attendance monitoring procedures.

We understand that there are sometimes circumstances in which your child cannot attend or may be late and in these situations we ask that you contact us to discuss the matter. We are here to help.

Parental Request for Absence from School for Holidays.

The government abolished the right for headteachers to authorise absence specifically for holidays. Headteachers are only allowed to grant leave if they are satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist. A Parental Request for Leave of Absence must be completed. This form is  available from the school office or, alternatively, follow the link below.

Please note that an authorised absence still counts as an absence on your child’s attendance record.

Addressing Attendance Concerns/Monitoring

At Bodriggy Academy we rely upon parents to ensure their child attends school regularly and punctually. Therefore, any concerns about attendance are initially raised with parents/carers.

We monitor all attendance with the aim to discuss reasons for low attendance and to offer support to parents where needed.

Where a child’s attendance record does not improve over a period of time then the school has a responsibility to involve our Educational Welfare Officer Gemma Waldron.

Gemma and Brioney Henshall (Child and Family Lead) hold attendance clinics to monitor and aid parents of children whose attendance is cause for concern.