BBC Education
BBC Education
Attendance
To report an absence – please contact the school office before 08.30am
Telephone: 01425 652039 Email: attendance@burgate.hants.sch.uk
Working together to maintain good attendance at the Burgate School
We believe at the Burgate that successfully treating the root causes of absence and removing barriers to attendance is a partnership between student, home and school. Students need to be in school regularly and engaging in their learning to benefit from their education. School attendance is vital to the life chances of young people, being in school improves health, wellbeing and socialisation. Children with poor attendance tend to achieve less both academically and socially.
Therefore, all partners should work together to:
Aspire:
to high standards of attendance from all students and parents and build a culture where every child can, and wants to, be in school and ready to learn by prioritising coming to school every day. (Target 96%+ attendance)
Monitor:
attendance data rigorously via the parent SIMS app to identify patterns of poor attendance (by day and by lesson) as soon as possible so all partners can work together to resolve them before they become entrenched.
Listen and understand:
when a pattern is spotted, we will talk with students and parents to listen to and understand barriers to attendance and work together to resolve them.
Facilitate support:
to remove barriers in school and help students and parents to access the help they need to overcome the barriers outside of school. This might include an Early Help referral or whole family intervention to an external agency to support with wider issues.
Formalise support:
to work together where absence persists and voluntary support is not working or not being engaged with. Home and school will work together to explain the consequences clearly and ensure support is in place to enable students to respond.
This may include a referral to the Legal Intervention Team.
Enforce regular attendance:
when all other avenues have been exhausted and support is not working or not being engaged with, we will enforce attendance through statutory intervention: a penalty notice in line with the National Framework or prosecution to protect the child’s right to an education. At the Burgate school we will listen, support and empathise but will not tolerate poor attendance.
Remember as parents you can check your child’s attendance and homework commitments on SIMS Parent App
For more information and guidance please refer to our Attendance Policy a
Download our form to Request authorised absence from school due to exceptional circumstances
Penalty Notice Fines for School Non-Attendance have changed from August 2024
Hampshire County Council Attendance guidance for parents/carers
First Offence:
The first time a penalty notice is issued for term time leave or irregular attendance
the amount will be:
£160 per parent, per child, paid within 28 days.
Reduced to £80 per parent, per child, if paid within 21 days.
Second Offence (within 3 years):
The second time a penalty notice issued for term leave or irregular attendance
the amount will be:
£160 per parent, per child, paid within 28 days.
Third Offence and Any Further Offences (within 3 years)
The third time a penalty notice is issued for term time leave or irregular attendance
the Penalty Notice will not be issued, but the case will be presented straight to the Magistrates’ Court.
Magistrates’ fines can be up to £2500 per parent, per child.
Cases found guilty in the Magistrates’ Court can show on the parent’s future DBS certificate, due to ‘failure to
safeguard a child’s education’.
Per Parent, Per Child
This means Penalty Notice fines will be issued to each parent, for each child that was absent.
For example: 3 siblings absent for term time leave, would result in each parent receiving 3 separate fines.
For example:
£160 per child, per parent
£160 x 3 = £480
X 2 = £960
5 Consecutive Days of Term Time Leave
Penalty Notice Fines will be issued for unauthorised term time leave of 5 or more consecutive days.
10 sessions of Unauthorised Absence in a 10 Week Period
Penalty Notice fines will be considered when there have been 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a 10-week period.
1 day = 2 sessions