Attendance and Absence Procedures

Good attendance at school is directly linked to progress and attainment. At The Butts Primary School, we pride ourselves on excellent attendance figures.

Illness

If your child is going to be absent from school due to illness, please notify us by 9am in any of the following ways:

By telephoning the school office and leaving a message on the absence line
By using the Parentmail App
By using the Studybugs App

Please ensure that you let us know the name of your child, their class / year group the nature of the illness (including symptoms) and the likely duration of absence. This is particularly important if your child has symptoms of COVID-19 and is required to self-isolate.

Parents are sometimes unsure whether to keep children off school and you may find the guidance in the attached leaflet helpful.

Please note that if your child has a diarrhoea or sickness they will need to remain off school for 48 hours after the last episode of vomiting or diarrhoea.

You will also need to phone the school on each day of absence.

Appointments

Where possible, please try to avoid school hours when booking routine medical, dental, optician and hospital appointments. We do understand that this is not always possible, in which case please let us know in advance so that we can let the relevant members of staff know.

Holidays

Parents are requested not to take family holidays during school term-time. If you do wish to take your child out of school during term-time you will need to request permission by completing and submitting this form prior to the period of intended absence.

Headteachers are only able to authorise absence from school in exceptional circumstances and when making a request for authorised absence from school, you will need to explain why the circumstances are exceptional. Please note that there is general right to authorise absence for a family holiday. If you take your child out of school without permission, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised and this may result in a Penalty Notice being issued. The attached leaflet gives further details.

Unexplained Absence

If your child is absent from school and we do not hear from you by 9.15am, we will send you a text message asking you to contact us urgently and let us know the reason for the absence. If we do not receive a response within 30 minutes we will telephone you. If we are unable to contact you by telephone, we will phone other named contacts that you have given us until we are able to establish the reasons for absence and that your child is safe. In the event that we are unable to make contact and we are concerned for the safety and well-being of your child, we may contact the police or social services.

Promoting Good Attendance

If your child’s attendance over the year falls below 90%, you will receive a letter from the school. Further falls in attendance will prompt further warning letters and you will be invited in to discuss your child’s attendance with the Headteacher. If attendance still does not improve, you may face fines or Court action in line with Hampshire Policy (see link)

Punctuality

Please ensure that your child arrives on time for school each day. Pupils who arrive after registers have closed at 8.50am must sign in at the school office. Please note that late marks count as missed sessions (absences) on your child’s attendance record even if they are only 5 minutes late.

Further Information

The following links provide further information regarding the school’s approach to attendance at school: