Bilingual Primary School Attendance
Attending school provides your child a wide range of experiences in the form of academic lessons, educational trips and activity clubs; it also gives children opportunities to fulfil their potential. School can also help your child’s social skills, such as making and keeping friendships.
Parent/Carer Responsibilities
The links between attendance and attainment are clear. Regular attendance means your child can make the most of their education, improving their chances in later life. In order to achieve their full potential we expect all children attending our school to maintain attendance of at least 95%.
It is a legal requirement under the Education Act 1996 that parents of children of compulsory school age ensure that their children receive a full-time education that is suitable to their age, ability and aptitude and to any special educational needs that they may have.
Parents/Carers can help by:
- Ensuring contact information (addresses and telephone numbers) is kept up to date
- Ensuring your child arrives at school on time (before 9:15am – arriving after 9:15am will result in a late mark)
- Contact the School Office via ParentMail the first and any subsequent days of absence stating the reason for the absence and when your child is likely to return
- Where possible, providing medical evidence for any illness – this will be required if your child’s attendance falls below 90%
Where possible, please try to arrange medical and dental appointments out of school hours. If this is not possible, your child should only be out of school for the minimum amount of time necessary for the appointment.
If your child is absent:
It is the responsibility of the parent/carer to provide an explanation for their child’s non-attendance at school.
It is the responsibility of the Bilingual Primary School to decide if an absence is authorised. Contact the School Office via ParentMail, preferably by 9am, on the first and each subsequent day of an absence stating the reason for the absence and when your child is likely to return.
If no reason for absence is received, the school will contact you, usually by text message. If there is no response the absence will be recorded as unauthorised. Please ensure all contact information is kept up to date.
Persistent Absence
The Brighton & Hove Code of Conduct sets Persistent Absenteeism at 90% attendance.
A pupil becomes a ‘Persistent Absentee’ when they miss 10% or more of schooling across the school year, for whatever reason. Parents or carers will be invited to an Attendance Support Meeting to determine what support we can offer to improve a child’s attendance.
Term-time Absence/Holidays
The Bilingual Primary School is no longer able to authorise holidays during term time. If you need to take your child out of school during term time you must apply in writing to the Headteacher as soon as possible. The letter must include the dates your child will be absent from school and explain the exceptional circumstances surrounding the request for leave of absence.
Please be aware that taking your children out of school in term is liable to result in a Fixed Term Penalty
For more information on School Attendance and Brighton and Hove City Council’s Code of Conduct, please see the links below:
Fixed Penalty Notices - Guide for Parents/Carers:
Fixed Penalty Notices - Council Website
If you have any difficulty meeting the schools attendance target or would like any further information about school attendance, please contact our Attendance Officer on 01273 916212. Please see the BPS Attendance Policy in the Documents/policies section of this website.