Attendance Information

Absence at Buttsbury Infant School is closely monitored each week by the attendance officer Mrs Phillips. Our academic year to date attendance currently stands at 96.7% for the week ending 31/03/24.

Well done to Hedgehogs class who were Autumn HT1 winners, Birch class who were Autumn HT2 winners, Elm class who were Spring HT1 winners and Birch who were Spring HT2 winners! 

Please see the latest table below. Well done to Birch class who are Spring HT2 winners! We will re-set our League Table for the first half of the Summer Term.

As we continue to live with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic it is more essential than ever that we minimise absence; good attendance is central to raising standards in education and ensuring that all pupils can fulfil their potential.

There is a clear link between attendance and attainment and below is a table of what your child is missing if they are not in school.

Is my child too ill for school?

Please click here for a link to helpful NHS advice regarding common illnesses and reasons your child should be absent from school. 

Absence Procedures

If a child is absent from school the parent/carer must follow the following procedures:

• Contact the school on the first day of absence before 9.10 am. We have a dedicated absence reporting line or you can now report your child’s absence using the Study Bugs free app.
• Contact the school on every further day of absence, again before 9.10am
• Ensure that your child returns to school as soon as possible and you provide any medical evidence if requested to support the absence.

Lateness

The school day starts at 8.40am. The classroom doors open 10 minutes prior to this to allow a ‘window’ for drop off. Your child will receive a late mark ‘L’ if they are not in by that time. Children arriving after 8.40am are required to come in to school via the School Office accompanied by a parent or carer, the parent/carer will sign them in and provide a reason for their lateness which is recorded. Lateness is monitored closely and the school may send letters home if the lateness is persistent.

At 9.10am the registers will be closed. In accordance with the Regulations, if your child arrives after that time they will receive a mark that shows them to be on site ‘U’, but this will not count as a present mark and it will mean they have an unauthorised absence.

Absences

Authorised absences are morning or afternoon sessions away from school for a genuine reason such as illness (although you may be asked to provide medical evidence for your child before this can be authorised), medical or dental appointments which unavoidably fall in school time, emergencies or other unavoidable cause. (Where possible please provide copies of appointment letters in advance to the School Office.)

Unauthorised absences are those which the school does not consider reasonable and for which no ‘leave’ has been granted. This type of absence can lead to the school referring to the Local Authority for penalty notices and/or legal proceedings.

Unauthorised absence includes, however is not exhaustive:

• Parents/carers keeping children off school unnecessarily e.g. because they had a late night or for non-infectious illness or injury that would not affect their ability to learn
• Absences which have never been properly explained
• Children who arrive at school after the close of registration are marked using a ‘U’. This indicates that they are in school for safeguarding purposes, however is counted as an absence for the session
• Shopping trips
• Looking after other children or children accompanying siblings or parents to medical appointments
• Their own or family birthdays
• Holidays taken during term time without leave, not deemed ‘for exceptional purposes’ by the headteacher
• Day trips
• Other leave of absence in term time which has not been agreed

All absences from school that are not illness or medical appointments need to be applied for using our Leave of Absence form which is available from the School Office or by email on request.

Please refer to our Attendance Policy for further information.