Attendance
At Burpham Primary School we our proud of our high levels of attendance and appreciate the support of parents and carers in maintaining this.
The school staff, alongside the Local Authority, firmly believes that all pupils benefit from regular (i.e. 100%) school attendance. We know that every day lost to education can have a serious impact on children’s attainment and overall progress in school. As a staff we do all we can to encourage parents and carers to ensure that the children in our care achieve maximum possible attendance and that any problems that prevent full attendance are identified and acted on promptly.
Please note that the Headteacher may not grant leave of absence during term-time unless in "exceptional" circumstances. The fundamental principles being that "exceptional" should be rare, significant, unavoidable and short. Any leave of absence during term-time needs to be agreed in advance by the Headteacher using the leave of absence request form. Further information and guidance is included in our attendance policy.
Absences and the Studybugs App
Illness: If your child is unwell we use an App called Studybugs which allows you to report your child’s absence due to illness, medical appointments etc. easily and securely.
The advantages of using Studybugs are:
- It is integrated with our systems so we know right away if your child is unaccounted for.
- It is quick and easy to register and use and automatically reminds you to keep us posted. It also gives parents advice regarding illnesses.
- You will be helping the NHS and other public health organisations to improve children’s health.
If your child has been absent due to sickness or diarrhoea, they can return to school if they have been clear of symptoms for 48 hours.
If you require more information or are unable to download the Studybugs App please contact the office team on admin@burpham.surrey.sch.uk
If you cannot use Studybugs then please report your child's absence via email office@burpham.surrey.sch.uk or call us on 01483 572510.
Penalty Notices
The government have stated that school is mandatory and expect schools to follow their usual attendance policies. We would rather talk through your concerns in the first instance and will not be issuing fines as a matter of course for non-attendance related to Covid-19, although not all absences will be authorised. Children and siblings who are in quarantine or isolation have a special code in the register and this will not affect their attendance. If in doubt, please email the office or contact me to discuss head@burpham.surrey.sch.uk .
However I still need to remind parents/carers that if they take their child out of school for non-Covid 19 related absence, without authorisation for 5 or more days, they will be liable to receive penalty notices. Currently, the amount payable under a penalty notice is £60.00 payable within 21 days, rising to £120.00 if paid within 21- 28 days. If the penalty notice is not paid within 28 days, the Local Authority will consider a prosecution in the Magistrates Court. Please note that Penalty Notices are issued per parent/carer per child, so a family with 2 parents/carers and 2 children will receive 4 penalty notices.