ATTENDANCE
As a college, we are committed to supporting each individual child to reach their full potential
You will be able to monitor your own child’s attendance via parental remote access (Go4Schools) which will provide a figure as a percentage for attendance. This will also be shown in your child’s interim and full school reports.
Every child has a right to access the education to which they are entitled. Parents and teachers share the responsibility for ensuring that attendance rates at Bottisham Village College are maximised and that rates of unjustified and unauthorised absenteeism are kept to a minimum.
Family holidays in term time
- Headteachers cannot grant any authorised absence during term-time, unless in exceptional circumstances. Those circumstances are at the discretion of the headteacher, but essentially, term-time leave will no longer be authorised.
- Requests for term-time leave must be made in writing to the Principal.
Term Time Leave
If a pupil takes unauthorised term time leave for 10 consecutive sessions or more (generally 5 days) they will be subject to a penalty notice. The fine for a penalty notice is increasing – to £80 per parent, per child. This increases to £160 if paid after 21 days but within 28 days for pupils who are of statutory school age. If a penalty notice remains unpaid, parents may be the subject of court proceedings for failing to ensure the regular school attendance of their child and this could result in a fine of up to £2,500 and/or a term of imprisonment of up to 3 months per parent.
For second offences of unauthorised term time leave (10 consecutive sessions or more) within a three-year rolling period, the fine is a flat £160 per parent, per child.
For the third offence in a three-year rolling period, the referral will be automatically considered for prosecution in relation to Section 444 Education Act 1996.
These fines will apply to term time leave taken after 19th August 2024. Previous penalty notices from the last 3 years will be taken into account when a period of term time leave is taken after the 19th August 2024. Therefore, if parents have already received one penalty notice in the last three years, they will get a fine of £160 per parent per child for their next one. If they have received two or more in the last three years, they should expect to be referred for prosecution.
Irregular School Attendance Over Time
If a parent is willing to support their child and the school in improving school attendance, and engage with school to achieve this, an Attendance Contract will be offered. This is a way of school and parents working together to improve attendance in a supportive and nurturing way. Having an Attendance Contract in place will mean regular informal meetings to identify any barriers to a pupil’s attendance and discuss what support can put in place to overcome those barriers.
If a parent is not engaging with any offers of support from school, and attendance continues to decline, the school may use a different method of support, called a Notice to Improve. This is a last effort to engage parents before legal sanctions are considered. A Notice to Improve will be a formal collaboration between the school, the Local Authority and parents.
If these attempts at formal support fail, and a pupil’s attendance continues to be a concern, the school will make a referral to the Local Authority for legal sanctions to be considered. If a pupil has unauthorised absences for ten sessions or more in a 10-week period, the school may refer a parent for a penalty notice. This will be charged at £80 per parent, per child. This increases to £160 if paid after 21 days but within 28 days for pupils who are of statutory school age. If a penalty notice remains unpaid, parents may be the subject of court proceedings for failing to ensure the regular school attendance of their child and this could result in a fine of up to £2,500 and/or a term of imprisonment of up to three months per parent.
Calling for unexplained student absence (Each Day)
- Whenever a student is absent from school, we ask that parents/carers inform us on the morning of each day of absence before 8.15 am.
- Please report absences by telephone on 01223 811250, option 1, followed by Option 1. Or you can email studentabsences@bottishamvc.org
- The reason for absence must be received before the start of the school day – before 8.15 am.
- This procedure allows us to ascertain missing students quickly, so we can alert parents if a child does not arrive at school. In this situation, parents/carers will be sent a text message with an alert that their child has not arrived in school. This communication will be by text message to parents/carers registered mobile phones. If they do not use a mobile telephone number, the message will be to the email address you have provided. Parents will be asked to respond ASAP, so we can account for missing students quickly, ensuring all students are safe. If we do not receive any response and cannot get a response from any recorded contacts, we may need to conduct a home visit or report the child missing to the police.