Attendance

 

Regular attendance is a fundamental pillar of education. It plays a pivotal role in shaping academic success, personal growth, and prospects. 

Here at The Beacon School, we are committed to transforming educational achievement and providing pupils with the best start in life academically and as citizens. We promote the importance of pupils attending school on every day possible and recognise that daily attendance is crucial to success. 

It is the responsibility of all stakeholders across our school community – parents/carers, staff, governors, and pupils – to work together to ensure that every pupil and their family has the support and strategies required to attend school daily. 

Punctuality 

Pupils are expected to arrive at school for 8.30am to be in class ready to learn from 8.35am when morning registers are then taken. 

Please note that if a pupil arrives after 8.35am, they must sign-in via The front office. 

The morning register is taken between 8.35am - 8.45am. Pupils arriving after 8.35am will be marked as late. 

If a pupil arrives at 9.15am or later, after the close of all registers, the sign-in code will constitute as an absence and negatively impact a pupil’s attendance record. Arriving at school late is disruptive to a pupil’s daily routine and means that they miss a considerable amount of valuable learning time. 

Minutes late per day	Equivalent of losing
5 minutes	3.4 school days per year
10 minutes	6.9 school days per year
15 minutes	10.3 school days per year
20 minutes	13.8 school days per year
30 minutes	20.7 school days per year

 

Reporting an absence 

Parents and carers are expected to communicate with school promptly to inform if their child is going to be absent due to illness or other reasons and maintain daily contact during the period of absence.

Absences must be reported by contacting the school office on 01737 359103 or attendance@thebeaconschool.co.uk at the earliest opportunity. 

Absences from school can have a direct impact upon a child’s academic and social development due to lost learning time. We recognise that in our busy lives, it can become easy to lose track of the number of days that a child is absent over the school year, however daily attendance is vital to ensure that all children have the best opportunities to flourish and succeed. 

Attendance during one school year	Number of lost learning days
95%	9 days
90%	19 days
85%	29 days
80%	38 days

Appointments during the school day - Should your child need to attend an appointment,parents/carers must:

• Complete the online Appointment Notification form at least 24 hours in advance and a note should be brought in on the day of the appointment. 

• Save evidence in the form of appointment cards, prescriptions or referral letters should they be required at a later date. 

• No students will be allowed to leave school unless we have prior notification of an appointment.

Appointment Notification Form

Safeguarding children 

Home visits are conducted as a standard protocol to families to follow-up on pupil absences and provide support to pupils and parents/carers where appropriate. 

The school has a duty to safeguard the welfare of all students. Any concerns about a child’s attendance will be investigated promptly to ensure support for their wellbeing. 

If there are unexplained/prolonged periods of absence or an identified safeguarding concern, this may require school to contact external agencies. 

Leave during term time 

Parents and carers must request any planned leave of absence for exceptional circumstances in writing prior to the intended absence of their child. Requests will be reviewed, and a decision made as to whether the absence will be authorised or unauthorised. Please use link below to complete the form and return to the main office/attendance.

 Application for Leave of Absence for Exceptional Circumstance Form

In line with Department for Education (2024) regulations, holidays or absences for leisure and recreation would not constitute as exceptional circumstances. 

As per the National Framework for Penalty Notices (2024), parents and carers may be issued with a fixed penalty notice or legal sanction if a pupil is absent due to unauthorised leave during term time.

Attendance support 

Parents and carers are invited to contact the school if they wish to discuss their child’s attendance further or seek additional support at any time. 

Our school Attendance officers are: Mrs Toffel and Mrs Oliveira

Our school Senior Leader and Champion for Attendance is Miss Ramsay 

Our attendance leads are Mr Thomas and Mr Nairn 

Our Home School Link Worker is Ms Burns Gillam 

Please contact us on 01737 359103 to initially speak with a Form Tutor or a member of the pastoral team or email: info@thebeaconschool.co.uk

Attendance recognition 

Our approach promotes recognition of personal and collective achievements, fostering 27 positive environments and developing intrinsic motivation. Recognition may be in the form of verbal conversations; celebrations; postcards; or text message communication. Through our rich curriculum offer, we strive to instil values within our pupils which support them to become successful citizens of the future and promote that school attendance is a key component to this success. 

Penalty Notices - Unauthorised absence 

The Surrey Attendance Service, acting on behalf of Surrey County Council may issue a Penalty Notice as an alternative to the prosecution of a parent/carer for their child’s unauthorised absence from school and require the recipient to pay a fixed amount. 

Circumstances when a Penalty Notices may be issued

1. Pupils identified by police and Surrey Attendance Advice Officers engaged on Truancy Patrols and who have incurred unauthorised absences.

2. The Education (Pupil Registration)(England)(Amendment)  Regulations 2013, state that Head teachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. The Head teacher is required to determine the number of school days a child can be away from school if leave is granted.

3. Where a child is taken out of school for 10 sessions or more and the ‘leave of absence’ is without the authority of the head teacher, each parent is liable to receive a penalty notice for each child who is absent. In these circumstances, a warning will not be given where it can be shown that parents had previously been warned that such absences would not be authorised and that they will be liable to receive a Penalty Notice if the leave of absence is taken.

4. The issue of a Penalty Notice will also be considered where a pupil has incurred 10 or more unauthorised sessions during the preceding 10 school weeks.  The parents’ failure to engage with supportive measures proposed by the school will be a factor when considering the issue of a Penalty Notice.   Unauthorised absence will include late arrival after the close of registration without good reason.   

5. Section 103 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 places a duty on parents to ensure that their child is not in a public place without justifiable cause during school hours when they are excluded from school.  This duty applies to the first five days of each exclusion.  Failure to do so will render the parent liable to a Penalty Notice. If the Penalty Notice is not paid, the recipient will be prosecuted for the offence under Section 103. Alternative education provision will be made from the sixth day of any exclusion and failure to attend such provision without good reason will be treated as unauthorised absence.

With the exception of unauthorised leave of absence taken in term time (Paragraph 2 above) parents will be sent a ‘Notice To Improve’ their child’s attendance, warning them of their liability to receive such a notice before it is issued.

Amount Payable Under a Penalty Notice: The Education (Penalty Notices) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2024

1. If a parent/carer has not incurred a penalty notice relating to the relevant child/children since 19 August 2024, then the penalty notice will be charged at the rate of £160.00, per parent/carer per child, if paid within 28 days. This will be reduced to £80.00 if paid within 21 days of receipt of the notice. Failure to pay the Penalty Notice will result in Surrey County Council considering legal proceedings against you in the Magistrates Court.

2. If you have incurred a penalty notice relating to this child/children since 19 August 2024, the rolling 3 year period will be activated from the date of the first penalty notice and the second penalty notice will be charged at the flat rate of £160.00, per parent/carer per child, if paid within 28 days. There will be no reduction for payment within 21 days. Failure to pay the Penalty Notice will result in Surrey County Council considering legal proceedings against you in the Magistrates Court.

3. If you have incurred 2 penalty notices relating to this child/children in the rolling 3 year period since the first penalty notice was issued, then you will NOT receive a third penalty notice – Surrey County Council will have no option but to consider a prosecution, per parent/carer per child, in the Magistrates Court under s 444 Education Act 1996.

The Beacon School Attendance and Absence Policy

Link to Government overview on attendance in school

Government Website Working Together to Improve School Attendance