Good attendance at school is vital for each child to achieve their full educational potential. It is a legal requirement that schools keep accurate records of student attendance.

Parents can help us by:

Ensuring that their child arrives at school on time each day.
Ensuring that their child only misses school for reasons which are unavoidable or justified, such as illness or days of religious observance.
Talking to their child’s tutor or Head of Year if they are concerned that their child may be reluctant to attend.
Contacting the school in advance if their child has a medical appointment during the school day.

What does your child need to do?

Attend school daily and register in their tutor group promptly.
Sign in at reception when arriving at school after the register has closed.
Students must sign out at reception before leaving.

If your child is ill and unable to attend school

You should inform school by telephone or electronically by 09:00 on the first day of absence giving their name, tutor group and a brief reason for their absence.
When he returns to school confirm the dates of absence along with an explanation for the absence in writing (this may be an email to [email protected]).
They must speak to their form tutor and subject teachers in order to catch up and complete all work missed.
If absence is clearly going to be for an extended period of time, you should contact the form tutor to discuss how your child can be supported in their work. We may request a medical certificate to explain extended absences.

Request for Absence

The law gives no entitlement to parents to take their child on holiday during term time. Any application for leave must only be in exceptional circumstances and the Headmaster must be satisfied that the circumstances are exceptional and warrant the granting of leave. The Department for Education (DfE) has stated that headteachers would not be expected to class any term time holiday as exceptional.

Bournemouth School and the Local Authority may issue warnings and Fixed Penalty Notices under Section 444 of the Education Act 1996 (amended regulations 2013). This is an alternative to the prosecution of parents/carers/guardians for failing to ensure the regular attendance of a compulsory school age student where they are registered or at a place where alternative provision is provided. Further advice and guidance on this matter can be located through the DfE website.

Each request for authorised absence will be considered on its merits; exceptional circumstances might include the following:

a parent, grandparent or other close relative is seriously/terminally ill and the holiday proposed is likely to be the last such holiday;
there has recently been a death or significant other trauma in the family and it is felt that an immediate holiday might help the child concerned better deal with the situation.

The financial factor - when a parent claims that they are unable to afford to book a holiday during the school holidays when prices may be significantly higher than in term-time - will not be taken as constituting an “exceptional circumstance”. Similarly, the nature of the proposed holiday - whether, for example, it is a fortnight visiting Rome or a fortnight in a caravan at the seaside - will not be taken as constituting an “exceptional circumstance”.

We will not grant leave, even in exceptional circumstances, if:

a student’s attendance record over the previous 20 week period is less than 95% - even if any previous absence was due to unavoidable causes such as illness; or
the period of leave coincides with the start of term, or is near to, or coincides with, tests, exams or other significant events in the school calendar;
a period of leave has already been granted that academic year.

Application for Leave of Absence should be made by letter to the Headmaster in advance of any booking and other than in the most exceptional circumstances, the request for leave should be made at least 4 weeks in advance of the proposed leave date, and before entering into any travel commitment.

Click here for our Attendance Policy