Bristnall Hall Academy is proudly recognised as an Inclusive Attendance school. Our unwavering commitment to attendance centres around child-centric actions, evidence-informed practices, and a shared understanding of everyone’s roles and collective responsibilities to promote exceptional attendance.
At Bristnall Hall Academy, we are driven by an unwavering commitment to making school attendance a top priority, fully integrated with every aspect of school improvement. Using the Inclusive Attendance Model – the first and only accredited programme providing the pedagogy of practice – we support children and families to connect, belong, and thrive.
The Importance of School Attendance
School attendance is not merely a requirement but a fundamental pillar of education. It plays a pivotal role in shaping academic success, personal growth, and future prospects, making it an indispensable aspect of any educational system.
– Academic Achievement: Regular attendance directly correlates with academic success. Children who attend school consistently are more likely to keep up with the curriculum, perform better in exams, and improve their life outcomes.
– Knowledge Acquisition: School is where children acquire knowledge and skills that are crucial for their personal and professional growth. Missing days means missing out on valuable learning opportunities. – Social Development: School provides a vital social environment for children and adolescents to interact with peers, develop friendships, and learn essential social skills. Consistent attendance ensures children remain connected to their peer group.
– Building Routine: School attendance establishes a structured routine in children’s lives, teaching them time management and responsibility, which are valuable life skills. – Teacher Interaction: Regular attendance allows for meaningful teacher-child interactions. Teachers can provide personalised support, address questions, and assess individual progress more effectively when children attend regularly.
– Preventing Knowledge Gaps: Frequent absences can lead to significant knowledge gaps, making it challenging for children to catch up with missed lessons, potentially resulting in long-term academic struggles.
– School Engagement: Children who attend school regularly are more likely to engage in extracurricular activities, sports, and other enriching experiences that contribute to their overall development.
– Legal and Parental Responsibility: Parents or guardians are legally responsible for ensuring their child’s regular school attendance. Failing to do so can lead to legal consequences.
– Community Well-being: High levels of school attendance contribute to the overall well-being of communities.
Inclusive Attendance Professional Development Model
The Inclusive Attendance professional development model fundamentally guides our attendance approach. Comprising six tailored Learning Modules, this model empowers us to deepen our understanding by facilitating continuous professional learning for all staff. Within this model, the four domains of practice ensure the provision of professional learning, professional development, evidence-based practices, and exemplary leadership and management seamlessly integrate theory into practice.
Inclusive Attendance Implementation Programme
Each year, Bristnall Hall Academy reviews and further enhances attendance practices through dedicated participation in the Inclusive Attendance programme. This investment allows us to remain at the forefront of educational change and extends unparalleled support to our children and their families, equipping them with access to the finest possible support.
Impact and Collaboration
Through our ongoing implementation programme, we deliver measurable impact by creating an inclusive attendance culture and improving outcomes for all children and young people. We are outward-facing in our approach and value working regionally and nationally, through a systems-led model with other schools and external agencies. We continually strengthen and enhance our offer year on year. This work is underpinned by ongoing accredited CPD for staff each year, ensuring sustainable change, stronger outcomes for children and young people, and a deeply embedded culture of collective responsibility.
Multi-Tiered System of Support
To guarantee a comprehensive approach to attendance, we implement a Multi-Tiered System of Support. A Multi-Tiered System of Support (our Waves of Provision) for school attendance involves three tiers of intervention, with roles for teachers, the school, children, parents, and external agencies – including the Local Authority. Data-driven decision-making and training requirements are pivotal to the implementation of the system. The system aligns with the Department for Education’s (DFE) “Working Together to Improve School Attendance” guidelines.
As you can see below, all students (regardless of their current attendance) have access to Wave One. For all students who are absent for 10 or more days across the academic year, staff will also work collaboratively to consider Wave Two and/or Wave Three support that may be relevant and for your child to support them to improve their attendance to school.
Recognition-Based Approach
Our attendance philosophy is rooted in a recognition-based approach that recognises both personal and collective achievements. This approach serves to thwart isolation, prevent victimisation, cultivate positive environments, nurture relationships, foster inclusivity, and ultimately cultivate intrinsic motivation among our children, families, and staff.
Throughout their time at Bristnall Hall Academy, students can expect to receive handwritten postcards, certificates, letters, text messages and verbal praise from staff, recognising both excellent attendance, improved attendance and resilience. We have systems in place to ensure that a member of staff is monitoring the attendance of every student, so we can recognise when students are in school as often as they can be.
As we also have a culture of reward at Bristnall Hall Academy, we incorporate a plethora of challenges throughout the year to ensure as many students as possible are rewarded for their great attendance. Not one of these challenges is for the entire academic year, which ensures that students with unavoidable absences still have many opportunities to be rewarded.
Form groups will receive rewards such as vouchers, pizza parties and lollies throughout the academic year to recognise collective achievements. To reward personal attendance in recent months, we have raffled off prizes such as: goodie bags; vouchers; Drayton Manor tickets; headphones; e-books and even 40 inch TVs!
What we expect from students and families, and what you can expect from us
The Start of the Day
We welcome students from 7.45am when our free breakfast club opens along with our library provision. At this time, students can enter through the ‘Red Door’ (to the right of Reception). We encourage all students to utilise these provisions, during which time students can eat, socialise, read, complete home learning or play games.
Punctual students will be on site by 8.40am latest, at which point our gates close and students instead enter through the ‘Attendance Door’ (the blue door to the right of the ‘Red Door’). If there are circumstances that may result in lateness, please call the Academy so we are aware, as registers are completed as soon as possible after 8.45am.
The End of the Day
Our school day finishes at the following times:
Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays: 3.30pm
Wednesdays, Fridays: 2.35pm
For an hour after the end of day, a range of free enrichments and interventions are available to your child (along with access to the library). Our offer is very diverse and high quality, so please encourage your child to attend as many of these opportunities as possible throughout the year.
Attendance Expectations
We expect all students to strive for excellent attendance. Without this, they will miss out on all that our school has to offer: outstanding teaching; a thoughtfully planned curriculum; positive social interactions with staff and peers; trips and visits galore; our wonderful enrichment programme; and many more reasons. Whilst some absence is unavoidable, many children nationally miss school when they could be present. At Bristnall Hall Academy, we are committed to supporting your child to be in school as much as possible, but we cannot do so without the support and commitment of our families. Please see below some advice and support.
Did you know?
- If your child is feeling under the weather, you can contact their Achievement Coordinator to ensure that check-ins are completed throughout the day. You are also able to store medication (such as paracetamol) in school so this can be administered during the school day if needed. Please contact BHA-info@attrust.org.uk or your child’s Achievement Coordinator should you wish to do so.
- If your child is menstruating, we have a fully stocked cupboard of sanitary products – including sanitary towels, tampons and period pants – should your child need them. We also have spare uniform that could be provided. If your child has heavy periods, please do not hesitate to let your child’s Achievement Coordinator know so we can be aware and issue additional temporary support during these times. Please be assured this will always be handled discreetly.
- If your child is anxious about attending school, we have an expert team of pastoral and safeguarding staff who can explore any barriers to attendance and support your child to reduce or eliminate these barriers. The best thing in this case is to contact your child’s Achievement Coordinator so we can meet with your child when they arrive in school and support them throughout the day and beyond. If reasons for anxiety are complex, please request a meeting and we will meet with you at the soonest opportunity.
- If your child requires a medical or dentist appointment, families are advised where possible to make these appointments outside of the school day. Where this is not possible, for pre-planned appointments, families should get school’s agreement in advance by contacting the Attendance Officer. Students should only be out of school for the minimum amount of time necessary for the appointment. Families must show the appointment card to school. If a student is absent for a full day to attend a medical appointment, then the student may incur half a day unauthorised absence.
- If your child experiences a bereavement, our school has trained staff who can provide sensitive and appropriate support during this difficult time. We work closely with a range of internal and external services to ensure your child receives the help they need. Alongside this, we recognise the importance of maintaining a sense of normalcy, and we will carefully balance this with the understanding, flexibility, and care your child deserves.
- If your child has transportation issues, we will strive to support them to get into school. In this case, please contact your child’s Achievement Coordinator; the Attendance Team; or email BHA-info@attrust.org.uk.
- If you have concerns about your child’s mental health, we have an internal Mental Health Coordinator in school who can support your child; signpost them to relevant services; or make referrals where appropriate. Please ensure you make your child’s Achievement Coordinator aware if this is the case, and be assured that we will look after them throughout the day.
- If you book a holiday during term time, please be aware that holidays are not authorised in normal circumstances and are only considered at the discretion of the Principal in extenuating circumstances. Absence due to unauthorised holiday may incur a penalty notice.
More than anything, it is important that you communicate with us in a timely manner and with transparency, so staff can implement appropriate support for your child where necessary.
Persistent Absence
Great attendance = a student being in school for as many days as possible, with all students aiming for 100%.
Frequent absence can be harmful to your child’s progress at school, in addition to their social interactions and wider opportunities.
In particular, students whose attendance is less than 90% (19+ days of absence throughout the academic year) are considered persistently absent.
Wider research states that persistent absence (90% or below attendance; 19+ days of absence) can impact a child’s academic progress. These students are less likely to pass 5 or more GCSEs, including English and Maths, compared to students who rarely miss school. This echoes our own internal analysis, which highlights that students who achieved higher average grades also had higher attendance to school.
Furthermore, research indicates that persistently absent pupils in secondary school could earn £10,000 less at age 28 compared to pupils with near-perfect attendance. In fact, each day absent was proven to, on average, reduce a person’s lifetime earnings by £750 per day of absence.
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 |
| 90% | 19 days | 4 weeks | 100 lessons |
| 80% | 38 days | 8 weeks | 200 lessons |
| 70% | 57 days | 11.5 weeks | 290 lessons |
Legal Action Information for parents/carers
Please be aware that it is the legal responsibility of parents/carers to ensure their child attends school regularly. The school will always relentlessly strive to support students and families to maintain good attendance, but a failure to do so can result in legal action by the local authority.
Section 23(1) Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2007:
Penalty Notices may be issued to the parent of pupils who have unauthorised absence from school. The amount of the penalty is £80.
- If this is not paid within 21 days, the amount rises to £160.
- If not paid within 28 days, the Local Authority may prosecute under Section 444(1) unless it comes to our attention that the penalty notice had been issued in error.
Section 444(1) Education Act 1996:
“If you are the parent of a child of compulsory school age who fails to attend school regularly, you are guilty of an offence.”
- The court can fine each parent up to £1,000 per child, order payment of the prosecution costs and/or impose a Parenting Order.
Section 444(1A) Education Act 1996:
“If in the above circumstances you, the parent, know that your child is failing to attend regularly at the school and fail without reasonable justification to cause him/her to attend, you are guilty of an offence.”
- The court can fine you up to £2,500 per child, order payment of the prosecution costs, impose a Parenting Order and/or sentence you to a period of imprisonment of up to 3
Please note that:
- Penalties and prosecutions are in respect of each parent for each
- “Parent” includes any person who is not a parent but who has parental responsibility for the child or who has care of him/her.
These prosecutions are criminal proceedings and could result in you having a criminal record.
Additional Information and Support
Summary table of responsibilities for attendance: Summary table of responsibilities for school attendance
Resources for families: https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/back-into-school/resources-for-families/
Where can I get support?
If your child is struggling with their punctuation and attendance, please reach out to the school for support. You can contact the following teams:
- Samantha Smith and Samantha Chilton – Attendance Officers
- Kelly Carroll – Vice Principal and Senior Attendance Champion
- Your child’s Head of Year and/or Pastoral Support Officer