Attendance
At Biggin Hill, we firmly believe that regular school attendance is essential for the educational progress and overall well being of our pupils. Parents have a legal duty to ensure that their children of compulsory school age who are registered at school, attend regularly and that all pupils are to be punctual to their lessons.
The table below shows the impact of absence over a school year.
How to report an absence
On the day of the absence, please call the school office before 8:30 a.m. or use the Studybugs app (https://studybugs.com/) to inform us about your child's absence. This should be done for each day of absence. Please provide a brief explanation for the absence to help us maintain accurate records.
Term-time absence
A leave of absence will only be granted in exceptional circumstances (these are set out in our policy). Family holidays are not considered to be exceptional circumstances. Absences due to term-time holidays are disruptive to learning and lead to missed opportunities in the classroom.
Applications for leave of absence can be made by parents/carers and will only be considered if the child has an attendance rate of 96% or above in the previous 12 months and will not fall below 96% as a result of taking leave. This applies to each child in a family. Each application is considered individually, taking into account the specific facts and circumstances.
If you wish your child to be absent from school for any exceptional circumstances, please complete a Special Leave of Absence Request form (available from office).
This should be done at the earliest possible opportunity and with at least 2 weeks’ notice.
Planned Absences
Where possible, organise authorised absences well in advance. Please try to arrange medical appointments during holiday times or out of school hours.
If you cannot make doctor or dentist appointments out of school hours, wherever possible, the child should come to school before the appointment and return to school afterwards.
National Framework for fixed penalty notices:
We follow the National Framework for fixed penalty notices. When the national threshold is met (10 sessions of unauthorised absence within a 10 week rolling period), we will make assessments on a case by case basis as to whether or not a request will be made for the Local Authority to issue a Penalty Notice.
If you’re issued with a penalty notice, you must pay:
- £80, if it’s paid within 21 days of receiving the notice
- £160, if it’s paid after 21 days but within 28 days
If a parent receives a second fine for the same child within any three-year period, it will be charged at the higher rate of £160.
Support
Wherever possible we will meet with parents to identify the barriers preventing good attendance. We aim to help pupils and parents/carers access the support they need to overcome these. We are here to listen and understand, so that everyone can work together to improve attendance patterns.
There is a range of services and information to support families to overcome attendance barriers which may be accessed here:
NHS guidance: Is my child too ill for school?