Attendance & Absence

Fulbrook believes that the life chances of all students can improve by ensuring that all staff, students, and parents and carers are aware of the importance of, and take responsibility for, regular attendance.

Students will want to attend regularly if they are in an environment which is caring and supportive, promotes respect for all and if learning opportunities are varied and focused on individual needs.

Fulbrook's Aims

• Students are supported in their learning in order that they can attain at the highest possible level
• Everyone is valued, praised and rewarded
• Positive relationships are promoted
• Everyone has the right to feel safe
• The curriculum will be designed to reflect the interests and needs of the students ensuring engagement and enjoyment in their learning
• There is an expectation that good attendance is the key to success
• The monitoring and evaluating of individual attendance patterns support the learning of individuals

Attendance Policy

Attendance is everyone’s responsibility

Students:

• Attend school each day
• Arrive at school and lessons on time and remain in their learning environment

Parents and Carers:

• Ensure that their child attends school regularly, properly equipped and in a fit condition to learn
• Inform the school, giving the reason for absence. Failure to do so may result in the absence being coded ‘unauthorised’. The responsibility for authorising the absence lies with the school and not the parent or carer

Heads of Years and Tutors:

• Invite parents into school to discuss problems with attendance
• Liaises with Attendance Officer re. identified issues to ensure a collaborative approach

Attendance Officer:

• Analyses data regularly to identify issues for Senior Management
• Contacts parents or carers in the event of a student absence
• Prints off tutor group attendance register, school attendance register
• Sends concern, percentage, absence and praise letters to parents and carers
• Works with Heads of Years and Tutors in the monitoring and early identification of attendance issues

Registration and Lateness

The register is a legal document.

Morning registration takes place at 8:30am and the register remains open until 8:55am

The main gates close at 8:25am. Students arriving after this time will enter via the pedestrian gate and sign in with a member of staff before entering school. The morning register will be marked by 8:55am. Students will receive a late mark if they arrive between 8:30am and 8.55am.

Absence

If your child is going to be absent from school, please contact the school office by calling 01908 582 022, or report on Studybugs, indicating the reason for being absent BEFORE 8:30am.

At Fulbrook, we use Studybugs to effectively respond to, and track, the spread of illness. When an illness is reported, Studybugs will automatically update attendance records on Arbor.

When setting up an account, the email address you use to log in needs to match email address the school has on your Arbor records.

Studybugs App

Procedures for non-attendance

The school operates a first day response. If a student is absent and the school has not been contacted by the parents or carers, then the school office will contact them as soon as possible during the morning.

Authorising Absence

Authorised absences are morning or afternoons away from school for a good reason e.g. illness, medical appointment or another unavoidable cause. Absence can only be authorised by the Headteacher not by the parent or carer.

Unauthorised Absence

Unauthorised absences are those that the school does NOT consider reasonable and for which no ‘leave’ has been given, for example:

• Shopping/birthday trips
• Looking after younger siblings or assisting parents
• Absences that are not explained
• Truancy
• Arriving at school after the register has closed with no valid reason
• Holidays that do not meet the criteria of the Department for Education Guidelines and Fulbrook’s own policy on Leave during term time

Holidays in Term Time

Leave from School for the purposes of a family holiday is not a parental right. Government guidance advises that schools should only grant leave of absence during term time if the school considers that leave of absence is due to exceptional circumstances.

The Government describes exceptional circumstances as:

• For service personnel and other employees who are prevented from taking holidays outside term time
• When a family needs to spend time together to support each other during or after a crisis

This means that Fulbrook will not authorise holiday leave for the following reasons:

• Availability of cheap holidays
• Availability of desired accommodation
• Poor weather experienced during school holiday period
• Overlap with the beginning and end of terms

If you apply for holiday during term time, the application request should be submitted well in advance. If there is a special reason why you feel you need to take your child out of school a letter explaining should be sent to the Headteacher together with a Leave of Absence form.

School Fines Info For Parents

School Absence Guidance

Leave of Absence Form

Medical

Student Illness or Injury during the School Day

• If a student becomes unwell during the school day and, in the school’s opinion, is not well enough to remain in school, their parent or carer will be contacted and asked to arrange for the student to be collected.
• If the student is deemed well enough to remain in school, a message will be sent home via arbor to inform parents that the student was seen by the medical team and will continue to be monitored for the remainder of the day.
• In the event a student sustains an injury while at school, they will be assessed by a trained first aider. A decision will then be made regarding whether the student is fit to remain in school. If the student is considered unfit to stay, parents or carers will be contacted to collect the student and advised to seek further medical attention.

Medical Information and Consent Requirements

• Parents and carers are required to provide the school with sufficient information regarding any medical condition that may require treatment or special care during school hours.
• If a student needs to keep medication either with them or stored in the medical room, a parent or carer must complete a consent form before the medication can be held or administered.
• In cases where the school holds an auto-injector (e.g., EpiPen) or inhaler for a student, a care plan must also be shared with the school in addition to the consent form.

Medical Forms 

Permission to Administer Prescribed Medication Form

Permission to Administer Inhaler Form

Permission to Administer Auto-Injector Pen Form

Important Health Guidance for Parents and Carers

• To help reduce the spread of infection, we kindly ask that you keep your child at home if they are acutely unwell. This is especially important to protect other children who may have serious medical conditions, for whom even common illnesses can lead to complications.

For advice on how long your child should stay off school due to common childhood illnesses, please refer to the following links:

• GOV.UK - How long should you keep your child off school?

• Public Health Agency - Guidance on infection control in schools