Attendance

Every school day matters. Excellent attendance promotes excellent learning and regular school attendance is essential if students are to achieve their full potential.

If your child is missing lessons, this could affect their learning in the following ways:

• Affects student’s attainment.  Your child’s results and progress suffers when they are not in school 
• Students suffer a break in the continuity of their learning or miss important topics.
• Students lack confidence due to the fact that they have missed midtopic information and are unable to understand or catch up – much of the work missed is never made up, which puts them at a disadvantage at exam time. 

At Berwick Middle School, we:

• At Berwick Middle School we believe that regular school attendance is crucial to allowing children to maximise the educational opportunities available to them and become emotionally resilient, confident and competent adults who are able to realise their full potential and make a positive contribution to their community.
• Berwick Middle School values all pupils. As set out in our Attendance policy, we will work with families to early identify the reasons for poor attendance and try to resolve any difficulties.
• Berwick Middle School believes attendance is a shared responsibility, involving the whole school community and local community; Our Attendance Policy should not be viewed in isolation; it is a thread that runs through all aspects of school improvement, and is supported by our policies on safeguarding, bullying and behaviour. This policy also takes into account the Human Rights Act 1998, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Equality Act 2010. This policy supports the most recent DfE Guidance: Improving School Attendance.  Please click here to view our Attendance Policy.

Other reasons why we want excellent attendance:

• Being Safe in school – We need to ensure children are safe and in full time education. The only way we know that your child is safe during school hours is when they are in school and where they need to be.
• Access to the full curriculum – At BMS we offer an extensive and engaging curriculum. Students are expected and are entitled to access the full curriculum.
• Sense of belonging – School is not just about learning; we work hard to ensure all our students really feel part of a community and take on board the school values; Be Involved, Make A Difference and Strive to Succeed.
• Life skills – Having good attendance and punctuality is a life skill and it is one that we promote preparing your child for the future in every way. We will often talk to students about what an employer would want in terms of commitment, hard work and reliability.
• Friends – Undoubtedly friendship groups are strengthened the more students are in school. Children that miss school more than their peers often find it more difficult to maintain positive friendships. 
• Future – When students apply for new schools or are learning as part of Careers Guidance in school, we explain that school will be asked for a reference which includes a history of attendance and punctuality, if this is poor this could affect their ability to find employment or a college placement. 

Berwick Middle School define our key levels of attendance as:

Punctuality

Being on time to school is a life skill and one that we promote here at BMS. Being late makes us feel anxious, we miss the start of lessons where often important instructions are often being given and we start the day feeling less engaged than we would have if we had been on time. 

Please note: students who arrive in school after registration closes but before the end of session will receive a U code, which is an unauthorised absence for that session - registration opens at 08:55 and closes at 09:15.  

Routine is the key to success

At home, routine is the key to making simple changes for success and here is a five point plan to try with the family: 

• Going to school unprepared can be a major worry for children – help by checking school bags the night before, packing P.E. bags and keeping an eye on homework progress. 
• Tired children aren’t punctual and find it hard to learn, so ensure your child has a sensible bedtime. 
• Help your children get into a regular routine and set the alarm at the same time every morning. 
• Make time for breakfast so there are no shop stops where children can get side-tracked on the way to school. A nutritious breakfast also fuels more effective learning. 
• Children can become unsettled if they have to go into school late and without their friends – getting children to school in time to meet friends in the yard prevents this.  

What will we do?

• Use our pastoral systems to support – We have an incredible pastoral system here at BMS and one we are very proud of. Communication is important to us and we will always endeavour to respond to queries within a reasonable time. 
• Promote good attendance through praise and rewards – Year teams will drive rewards in their respective years, praising students for having excellent attendance, as well as making improvements to previously concerning attendance levels. 
• Contact you to discuss absences – In the first instance, we will always contact you to ensure we know that every child not in school is safe. Following this you will receive a phone call. We will also communicate with you through letters and emails.
• Write to you to set targets around attendance – If there is no improvement with attendance following phone calls, then we will write to you to set targets.  These may be set by Head Of Year or, where there is an escalating concern, the EWO. This information can all be found in our Attendance Policy linked below. 

All parents/carers are expected to:

• Ensure their child attends every day the school is open except when a statutory reason applies.
• Notify the school as soon as possible when their child has to be unexpectedly absent (e.g. sickness) the preferred method is via School Gateway communication with full explanation, if this is not possible contact school directly on 01289 306140 choosing option 1 to report your child absent.
•  Leave of absence form must be submitted for all requests within 2 weeks of the requested date.
• Book any medical appointments around the school day where possible. Proof of medical appointment is required if during the school day.

Useful Links:

The Department for Education (DfE) has produced statutory guidance for maintained schools, academies, independent schools, and local authorities. It is called “Working together to improve school attendance” and it includes a National Framework in relation to absence and the use of legal sanctions. 

Links to:

Attendance Policy

Letter sent Sept 24

Holiday form

Attendance Strategy from Northumberland County Council

Fines and Penalty Notices

Under the new national framework, Fixed Penalty Notices will be considered when a child has 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a rolling period of 10 school weeks. A school week means any week in which there is at least one school session (a school day is divided into 2 sessions - one in the morning and one in the afternoon). This can be met with any combination of unauthorised absence (e.g. 4 sessions of holiday taken in term time plus 6 sessions of arriving late after the register closes all within 10 school weeks). These sessions can be consecutive (e.g. 10 sessions of holiday in one week) or not (e.g. 6 sessions of unauthorised absence taken in 1 week and 1 per week for the next 4 weeks). The period of 10 school weeks can also span different terms or school years (e.g. 2 sessions of unauthorised absence in the Summer Term and a further 8 within the Autumn Term). 

In September 2024, Penalty Notices (fines) charged to parents/carers will rise to £80 (if paid within 21 days) or £160 (if paid within between 22 and 28 days). Where a penalty notice is unpaid, legal action would be pursued. Under the new framework, only two penalty notices can be issued to the same parent for the same child within a three-year rolling period. Where a second Penalty Notice is issued to the same parent/carer for the same child, the charge will be £160. If a third offence is committed within a three-year rolling period, legal action/prosecution would be considered.