Attendance

Bishop Challoner Catholic College places high priority on good attendance and punctuality, believing that it promotes effective learning and has a significant impact on personal development, progress and attainment, whilst at and beyond school. Regular attendance is crucial if students are to reach their potential and be healthy, stay safe, enjoy, achieve, make a positive contribution and achieve economic success. Bishop Challoner will strive to provide a welcoming environment for all students and staff and will work with students and their families to ensure each student attends regularly and is punctual to both school and lessons.

We are committed to meeting our obligations through our whole-school culture and ethos that values good attendance, including:

Setting high expectations for the attendance and punctuality of all students
Promoting good attendance and the benefits of good attendance
Reducing absence, including persistent and severe absence
Ensuring every pupil has access to the full-time education to which they are entitled
Acting early to address patterns of absence
Building strong relationships with families to make sure pupils have the support in place to attend school
Promoting and supporting punctuality in attending lessons.

A big thank you to the majority of parents who make sure their children attend school regularly, particularly during the current cost of living crisis impacting families.

Your efforts, working in partnership with the school, will ensure that your child will have the best chance to achieve their academic potential and have real opportunity in further education and the world of work. It will also enable your child to:

access the lessons needed to achieve their expected grades
maintain friendships and develop new ones
have access to social and sporting events offered by the school
explore potential careers
develop work habits such as good punctuality which are essential to thrive in the world of employment

How does your child compare?

Attendance during one school year	equals this number of days absent	which is approximately this many weeks absent	which means this number of lessons missed
95%	9 days	2 weeks	50 lessons
90%	19 days	4 weeks	100 lessons
85%	29 days	6 weeks	150 lessons

Parents in the UK have a legal duty to ensure their children of compulsory school age receive full-time education, whether through regular school attendance or by providing alternative education. Parents who fail to do so risk prosecution and penalties, with penalties ranging from fines to parenting orders.

Here's a more detailed explanation:

Key Legal Responsibilities:

Section 444(1) of the Education Act 1996
If a registered pupil of compulsory school age fails to attend regularly, the parent could be guilty of an offence.
Section 444(1A) of the Education Act 1996

If the parent knows that their child is not attending, they may be prosecuted for a more serious offence.

What Happens if Attendance is Unsuitable?

Consequences for Parents:

Parents who fail to ensure their child's regular school attendance, or who are not providing suitable education otherwise, face the possibility of prosecution.
Local Authority Action:

Local authorities can take action, including issuing penalty notices, pursuing fines, or even taking legal action (prosecution in court).
School Attendance Order:

If a parent fails to register their child at a school and provide evidence that the child is receiving suitable education, a local authority may issue a School Attendance Order, directing that the child attends the school named in the order.
Parent Fines:

Parents can be fined for their child's unexplained absences, starting at £80 which increases to £160 if the fine is not paid within 21 days.
Prosecution in court:

If parents do not take steps to ensure their child's attendance, they may face prosecution in the magistrates court, with potential fines of up to £2,500 and/or 3 months imprisonment.
Parenting Orders:

The court could also give you a parenting order.

Important Considerations:

"Regularly" Defined:

The Supreme Court has ruled that "regularly" in the context of school attendance means attendance in accordance with the school's rules, meaning attending every day the school is open.
Support and Guidance:

Schools and local authorities are expected to work with families to overcome barriers to attendance and provide support to help ensure children attend school regularly.
Working with Schools and Local Authorities:

It's essential for parents to communicate with their child's school and local authority if they anticipate or experience any issues with attendance.
Penalty notices

Schools must consider issuing a penalty notice, when a child has missed more than five days of school within a rolling period of ten school weeks.
Threshold

The threshold for when schools must consider a penalty notice is 10 'sessions' of unauthorised absence - that's five day

A pupil who arrives late:

Before the register has closed will be marked as late, using the appropriate code
After the register has closed will be marked as absent, using the appropriate code
Any student arriving after 8.40am must sign in at Reception giving a reason for their absence. They will be recorded as late and marked as such in the registers. A detention will be set for students who have been late. A text message will be sent to parents/carers to inform them of the detention.
Students who continue to arrive late to school will be identified as part of our lates initiative group where the school will work with parents/students to help reduce lateness and further sanctions put in place where lateness continues.

Punctuality Codes

L - Late (before registration closed) - The L code means that your child is present, this does not go against their overall attendance percentage.

U - Late (after register closes) - The U code means that your child has an unauthorised absence for the morning session. This code goes against their overall percentage.

Lates Initiative

If your child has been placed in the lates initiative group the school will communicate this with you and outline the sanctions to help reduce lateness to school.

What the Law says

As you may be aware, the law treats some persistent lateness in the same way as unauthorised absence and parents may be prosecuted or receive a penalty notice from the local authority if late arrival is not resolved. This has been further strengthened in new regulations which came into force in September 2024.

Minutes late per day during the school year	Equals days worth of teaching lost in a year
5 mins	3.4 days
10 mins	6.9 days
15 mins	10.3 days
20 mins	13.8 days
30 mins	20.7 days

Poor punctuality can lead to your child…

Feeling embarrassed in front of their friends
Missing the beginning of vital lessons
Missing important instructions for the rest of the school day
Learning bad habits which could affect their employability in the future

If your child is having any difficulties that you wish to discuss, please contact the school immediately. If you have other concerns about your child or other difficulties you would like support with, please contact the school who may be able to assist in the form of an early help assessment.

Parents/Carers

Parents are expected to:

Make sure their child attends every day on time, correctly dressed and prepared to learn
Where a student is prevented from attending Bishop Challoner because of sickness or other unavoidable cause call the school to report their child’s absence before 8.40am on the day of the absence and each subsequent day of absence), and advise when they are expected to return
Provide the school with more than 1 emergency contact number for their child
Ensure that, where possible, non-emergency medical/dental appointments for their child are made outside of the school day
Seek support, where necessary, for maintaining good attendance, by contacting the Head of year

Student

Students are responsible for making sure that their attendance and punctuality is maintained at the highest level. They will do this by:

Attending the school and all their lessons on time, equipped and ready to learn.
Following an absence, bringing in a note explaining the reason for their absence.
Following the correct procedures when arriving late to the school.
Any problems with attendance should be discussed with their form tutor, Student Support Co-ordinator, SENCO, Head of Year or Vice Principal.

Bishop Challoner Catholic College follows the 5 Foundations of Effective Attendance Practice. The school will regularly inform parents about their child’s attendance and absence levels through regular communication of where your child is on the graduated scale.

	The school has a fully embedded ethos in which excellent school attendance is expected, developed and nurtured. The escalated approach to supporting attendance is built on foundations of belonging and connectedness.
	The approach to improving attendance is built on clear policies, systems and processes. This ensures continuous and sustainable improvement drives attendance practice. The attendance policy is understood by all stakeholders and allows the school to set, and maintain, high expectations to improve the culture of attendance.
	The school prioritises developing a team of attendance experts, with a shared vision and core purpose. The Attendance Leader delivers bespoke training to support all staff to fully understand their role in improving attendance. External partnerships support attendance improvements through a multi-disciplinary approach for identified children and families.
	Data information and analysis direct resources proactively towards key demographic groups and identified individuals. The expert use of data analysis informs decision making at all levels. The attendance process ensures the Attendance Leader understands the reason for attendance concerns, these barriers can then be successfully supported and removed.
	Connecting and belonging drives the school approach to supporting attendance. All staff are supported to understand 'deeper roots' regarding poor attendance concerns. The school has developed, and embedded, an effective rewards system to further drive attendance improvements and celebrate success.