Attendance and Punctuality

At Burnt Ash Primary School we believe that there is a very strong link between school attendance and achievement- our children can only learn effectively if they attend school on time and every day.

As attendance is crucial to the continuity of the children’s learning experiences, it is vital that we work together closely with our parents to ensure that our children do not miss key learning due to lateness and non- essential absences.

Absence Procedures

At Burnt Ash Primary School, we appreciate that there will be times when your child’s absence is unavoidable, such as if they are unwell, have an urgent medical appointment or are visiting their new Secondary school. If there is a valid reason, the absence will be authorised.

If your child is unable to attend school you must:

Contact the school office on 0208 697 2441 before 9am on the first day of absence and leave a message.

Inform us of any prolonged absence, providing copies of medical evidence.

Advise us in advance of any absence that you know will occur in the near future, for example, unavoidable medical appointments. Please provide copies of appointment letters.

We ask that our parents endeavour to make any medical appointments outside of school hours.

We will:

Call you, if we haven't heard from you, on the first day of absence.

Invite you to school to discuss the situation if the absence persists.

Provide support via our pastoral team or an educational welfare officer to families who have difficulty maintaining good levels of attendance.

Ensure that you have an accurate record of your child's attendance on all progress reports.

If there is not a valid reason for your child’s absence this will be recorded as unauthorised.

Holidays and Planned Absences

School holiday dates are published well in advance and we encourage parents to check the term dates when booking holidays to ensure that these fall outside of term time. Holidays taken in term time can not be authorised.

If parents feel that there are exceptional circumstances to taking their child out of school during term time, an application in writing, must be made to the Head Teacher in advance. The Head Teacher will decide on an individual basis whether or not to authorise the absence.

Celebrating Attendance and Punctuality at Burnt Ash

We feel it is important to celebrate excellent punctuality and attendance regularly. Every Friday, all the children in the school are entered into a prize draw, if the child, whose lucky number has been picked, has been in school every day and on time, they win a £5.00 gift voucher to spend!

We also celebrate children who maintain 100% attendance throughout the year.