Attendance and Punctuality
Give your child the best chance of success; get them IN TO LEARN every day! Throughout the year students will be made aware of their attendance through IN TO LEARN monitoring in tutor time.
At Belvidere we expect parents and carers to support us in ensuring that students have excellent attendance. We know that excellent attendance has an impact on progress and examination success and is also a positive habit for young people to develop in preparation for their working lives. We expect all students to strive for 100% attendance and our attendance officer will be in touch if your child’s attendance is falling below 95%. An Educational Welfare Officer works closely with school and will contact you if they have concerns about your child’s attendance patterns.
Every Absence Counts
If the attendance of a student falls below 90% this means that they miss:
- ½ a day per week
- 4 weeks per year
- ½ a year over their 5-year school career
Please support our attendance policy by not taking your children out of school for holidays during term time. Any holiday which is taken during school time will be unauthorised.
Procedure for reporting absence
We understand that there are occasions when attendance may not be possible due to illness or a medical condition and ask that parents/carers follow the school absence procedure and keep us informed of reasons for absence on a daily basis.
If your child is unwell, or unable to attend for any other reason (medical or dental appointment, etc.), please telephone the school on 01743 235073 (24h answerphone) before 8:30am on the first day of absence.
- Leave a message by choosing option 1 (Reporting a student absence)
- Give your name and your child’s name, form and reason for their absence.
- If you know your child will be absent for a fixed period (e.g., time in hospital), please give the date you expect them to return to school.
- If your child is ill, it is very important that you ring again each morning before 8:30am with an update.
- If we do not receive a message explaining your child’s absence by 8:30am you will receive an automated message from the school
Please remember it is your responsibility to inform the school of absence.
THESE PROCEDURES ARE IN PLACE TO SAFEGUARD YOUR CHILD
There are specific circumstances where the Headteacher will grant a leave of absence. Please complete the form below and hand in at reception to make a request.
Punctuality
It is vital that students arrive at school on time every morning to begin their day at 08:45.
If a student arrives:
- 5 minutes late every day, this represents 3 whole days lost each year
- 15 minutes late every day, this represents 2 weeks of lost learning time over the year
- 30 minutes late every day, this represents up to 19 days of absence over a year
As you can imagine, accumulated missed opportunities to learn will have a severe impact on the progress your child will make. Please support us by helping your child to get organised and arrive punctually every day. Parents/carers will be kept informed of lateness and, where school attendance is affected by persistent lateness, the Educational Welfare Officer may become involved.
Holidays during term time
Belvidere School follows Shropshire and national regulations when considering applications for any leave of absence from school. Shropshire Council’s guidance refers to the change in September 2013 to the The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006.
‘Where there used to be an option for headteachers to grant leave of absence for the purpose of a family holiday during term time in ‘special circumstances’ of up to ten days in a year, this has been removed.
Headteachers are now only allowed to authorise any leave of absence when an application has been made in advance, and it's felt to be for an exceptional circumstance. The annual family holiday wouldn't be deemed an exceptional circumstance’, Shropshire Council website, August 2021.
If you still wish to apply for a leave of absence for your child, please complete the Leave of Absence form or request a form from reception.
For further information, please refer to our Attendance Policy or contact our Attendance Officer.
Two weeks holiday in term time = 50 missed lessons to catch up on.
Shropshire guidance on holidays during term time