The School Day
The official school day at Braeburn starts at 8.35am and ends at 3.05pm in KS1 and 3.10pm in KS2. The school week meets the Department for Education requirements of a minimum 32.5 hour week.
Why is Attendance Important?
“Pupils need to attend school regularly to benefit from their education. Missing out on lessons leaves children vulnerable to falling behind. Children with poor attendance tend to achieve less in both primary and secondary school.” School attendance – Departmental advice (August 2013)
“Improving attendance is everyone’s business. The barriers to accessing education are wide and complex, both within and beyond the school gates, and are often specific to individual pupils and families. The foundation of securing good attendance is that school is a calm, orderly, safe, and supportive environment where all pupils want to be and are keen and ready to learn.” Working together to Improve School attendance – Departmental Guidance (May 2022)
Braeburn Primary and Nursery Academy seeks to ensure that all its pupils receive a full-time education which maximises opportunities for each pupil to realise his/her true potential. The school will strive to provide a welcoming, caring environment, whereby each member of the school community feels wanted and secure. All school staff will work with pupils and their families to ensure each pupil attends school regularly and punctually.
Regular attendance at school is essential to ensure uninterrupted progress and to enable our children to extend their potential. We expect all children on roll to attend every day, when the school is in session, as long as they are fit and healthy enough to do so. We believe that the most important factor in promoting good attendance is the development of positive attitudes towards school and learning.
Poor attendance can seriously affect your child’s:
- attainment in school
- relationships with other children and their ability to form a lasting friendship
- confidence to attempt new work and work alongside others
The school will establish an effective system of incentives and rewards that acknowledges the efforts of pupils to improve their attendance and timekeeping and will challenge the behaviour of those pupils and parents who give low priority to attendance and punctuality.
To meet these objectives at Braeburn Primary and Nursery Academy we will establish an effective and efficient system of communication with pupils, parents and appropriate agencies to provide mutual information, advice and support.
What is expected of the pupils?
- To respect themselves and others
- To do all they can to attend school regularly and punctually
- To inform a trusted adult if they feel that they are being bullied
- To encourage friendship and a sense of belonging
- To be happy and encourage others to feel happy
What is expected of the Parents?
- To keep requests for their child to be absent to a minimum
- To offer a reason, or medical proof, for any period of absence, preferably before the absence or on the first day of absence
- To ensure that their child arrives at school on time, a reason should be offered for any lateness
- To work closely with the attendance and wellbeing team to resolve any problems that may impede a child’s attendance
- To take family holidays during school holiday periods and be aware that requests for holidays during term time will be refused except in special/exceptional circumstances.
- To be aware of curriculum requirements and be especially vigilant with regards to attendance during important academic times such as SATS
- To support their child and recognise their successes and achievements
Attendance Target
Our target for attendance this year is 97%. Evidence shows that good attendance is a key factor in enabling children to reach their potential. Our attendance improved in 2019, which was a great success. We need to continue to work together with our families to ensure our attendance can reach 97%. Together in partnership, we can do this.
2015 – 2016 – 94.7%
2016 – 2017 – 94.2%
2017 – 2018 – 94.4%
2018 – 2019 – 94.2%
2019-2020 – 94.74%
2020-2021– 95.50% * Including COVID absence
2021-2022 – 93.14% * Including COVID absence
2022-2023 – 93.07%
Rewards and Incentives
All children’s attendance is closely monitored and excellent attendance is rewarded through the giving of certificates, alongside this our attendance officer Mrs Wilson runs ‘Classopoly’ throughout the school to recognise and reward outstanding attendance. The winning teams will be announced in assembly on a Monday and each team’s results are posted on ClassDojo. Teams then get a roll of the dice on a Monday if their overall attendance for the previous week was 97% or higher. This is in line with the Trust attendance target of 97%.
All children receive certificates for 100% attendance across a half term, and any child who has had 100% for the whole school year receives additional recognition for this with the Headteacher at the end of the year.
In addition to our whole school incentive and reward strategy we also use a variety of approaches to recognise and reward improvements and achievements at an individual level. These targeted rewards and incentives may include things such as certificates, stickers and other small prizes.
Pupil Absences
As a parent, having a child who is ill can be a very stressful time, whether caring for them, looking after other siblings, trying to contact the doctor or making arrangements with work.
Please ensure all absences are reported to the school office by 8.30am by calling the office on 01723 582616 or by contacting the attendance officer Mrs Wilson on 07790955218. You can leave a voicemail on the school office phone if you are unable to speak to a member of staff. The office is staffed from 8am each day.
If your child is absent from school for more than one day please ensure you contact us each morning to inform us.
Unfortunately if your child is absent and we do not hear from you, we have a duty of care to call each of your emergency contacts until we are able to establish that your child is safe and the cause for their absence. If we cannot do this, we have to visit the family home. In some cases, if we are unable to make contact at your home, we have to contact North Yorkshire Police to request a welfare check. This is to ensure everyone is safe and well, and is part of our responsibility as a safeguarding partner. You can read more about our safeguarding responsibilities here.
Thank you for your support and cooperation in keeping our pupils safe.
Pupil Appointments
We do not encourage any appointments to be made during school time, and for them to be made, where possible, out of school hours. On the rare occasion there may be a need to take a child out of school during the day for a medical appointment you will be required to provide evidence of this in the form of a letter, appointment card or text message. Without evidence we may be unable to authorise the absence. We would expect parents to make routine opticians and dental appointments outside of school hours, but we understand that hospital, emergency dental and GP appointments are often outside of parental control.
On the occasion that appointments unavoidably fall within the school day, we expect children to attend before and after the appointments where possible, to cause minimal disruption to their learning.
Leave of Absence Procedures
As detailed in our Attendance Policy, and in line with DfE guidance, we do not authorise leave of absence during term other than when exceptional circumstances permit. If you wish to take your child out of school, during term time, it is important to discuss this with us as much in advance as possible so we can guide you through the process.
Please find a copy of the ‘Leave of Absence Request Form’ below available to download and print, they are also available from the school office.
Punctuality
The gates open at 8.30am and close at 8.45am which gives all our families 15 minutes to arrive and drop off children in both the lower and upper school without receiving a late mark. A child arriving after the gates close in either playground will need to register as a late arrival in the school office.
A child arriving between 8.45am and 9.15am will receive a late mark, but this does not affect their attendance as registers are still open.
A child arriving from 9.15am onwards has officially missed the register and is therefore marked “unauthorised late” which has the same impact on attendance as being absent from school. This is not controlled by the school.
Useful Links
Attendance-Policy-31-v2-Jan.-2023.docx-1
Is my child too ill for school
https://cyps.northyorks.gov.uk/school-attendance
Click to access Working_together_to_improve_school_attendance.pdf
