Attendance
Attendance Champion: Mr J Barlow
Attendance Administrator: Mrs K Coker
Please notify student absence:
- Via the Studybugs App
By 8.30am on the day of absence.
Please note, any previous email addresses are no longer channels by which you can notify us of student absence.
Attendance
On a school day the only place students should be is in school. Students are legally required to attend school every day and should only be absent in real emergencies. If your child is not in school they must have a justified reason. Please notify us via the Studybugs app on the first day and every subsequent day of absence. 6 out of 10 students with an attendance rate of 95% or more gain at least 5 GCSE A* to C grades. An attendance rate of 90% is equivalent to missing half a day of school per week!
Requests for leave of absence should be made in advance, please use the online form below.
Being on time is a very important part of self-discipline and is essential to good time management. Your child should always make sure they are in school on time (by 8.30am) and in the appropriate classroom at the right time.
We will do our utmost to encourage good attendance from our students and want all students to achieve at least 96% attendance. Our strategies may include phone calls from form tutors, letters home from the Heads of Year, Attendance Action Plan meetings in school or referrals to the Education Welfare Officer. Persistent late comers may even receive a phone call home before 8 o’clock to help them get into school each morning. Students who have exceptionally high attendance will be rewarded for their efforts.
Days off and persistent lateness all add up to a loss of learning
There are 190 school days each academic year during which your child is expected to attend.
There are 175 days off, which includes weekend, school and bank holiday. This is your family time for visits, holidays, shopping, household jobs and other appointments.
If your child has 16 days off during the academic year then they will, over a whole year, be out of school more than they have attended (175 + 16 = 191).
A day out of school each week of your child’s entire school life is equivalent to missing 2 years of school!
Attendance Statistics
% Attendance |
= Absence |
+ Days Missed per Year |
Grades Lost |
Weeks Missed |
Years Lost |
| 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 90 | 10 | 19 | 1 | 4 | 0.5 |
| 80 | 20 | 38 | 1-2 | 8 | 1 |
| 70 | 30 | 57 | 12 | 1.5 | |
| 60 | 40 | 76 | 3-4 | 15 | 2 |
| 50 | 50 | 95 | 4-5 | 19 | 2.5 |
| 40 | 60 | 114 | 23 | 3 | |
| 30 | 70 | 133 | 27 | 3.5 | |
| 20 | 80 | 152 | 30 | 4 | |
| 10 | 90 | 171 | 34 | 4.5 |
Punctuality
Punctuality is a very important part of self-discipline and is essential to good time management. Students must always make sure that they are in the appropriate classroom at the appropriate time. Students must arrive by 8.30am in order to be in tutor or assembly by 8.40am. If a student arrives in school after 8.30am they will be marked as late. Late entry is via main reception as the student gate will be locked. Detentions for punctuality will be held at the end of the day from 3.05pm to 3.45pm for Years 7 to 10 and from 3.40pm to 4.10pm for Year 11; parents will be notified by Classcharts during the day.
Minutes Late |
School Days Lost Each Year |
| 5 | 3 |
| 10 | 6.5 |
| 15 | 10 |
| 20 | 13 |
| 30 | 19 |
Please support your child and the school in making every effort to improve attendance and punctuality.
Section 444 of the Education Action 1996 states “if a child of compulsory school age, who is a registered pupil at school, fails to attend regularly at the school, the parents are guilty of an offence”. This is applicable to all students of compulsory school age up to 16.
Appointments / Signing Out
In the unlikely event that you have an appointment or other reason to leave the school during the day, you must bring a letter from your parents explaining the details. You must get the letter signed by your Tutor. When the time arrives for you to leave school, show the letter to your teacher. Report to Main Reception to sign out and leave the letter for the Attendance Officer. On your return to school you must sign back in at Main Reception.
Holidays
Please do not take holidays during term time, as this may be subject to a fixed penalty notice which is payable by parents.
Illness and Accidents
If you feel unwell or have an accident you must tell a teacher straight away. Normally you will be sent to the First Aider who will take care of you. If you are too ill to remain at school or if hospital treatment is necessary then your parents/carers will be contacted to make suitable arrangements. Under no circumstance should you leave the school premises without permission.
* Please note that Brakenhale School term dates may vary to those published for Bracknell Forest.
Home Visits
At Brakenhale attendance and welfare checks may be conducted by the attendance team, safeguarding, teachers or support staff.
We would conduct home visits on the first day of absence if we have not had contact from you for the reason for absence. Where we are unable to make contact following the home visit we will escalate the matter to our safeguarding team who may make a MASH referral to Children Services.
If your child is absent for 3 consecutive days the team at school may visit to check in. We always aim to provide notification so if the timing is not convenient please do let us know so we can reschedule.
Depending on the illness and length of absence we may be able to support with work so that pupils don’t fall behind with their school work.
Providing Supporting Evidence
We generally accept parental notification for illness-related absences, however we may request medical evidence in specific circumstances, especially when there are concerns about the legitimacy of the absence or when absences are prolonged or frequent. Parents are encouraged to communicate openly with school and provide necessary information to support their child’s health and education needs.
In line with Working Together to improve School Attendance we are flexible about the type of evidence requested to ease the pressure off healthcare professionals. We do not expect you to waste NHS time to get appointments for minor ailments.
We will accept the following examples, appointment card, text confirmation prescription, medication labels, evidence of temperatures, evidence of 111 consultation, print screen of medical notes etc.
Here are some helpful NHS resources to consider if your child is unwell:
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/
Brakenhale Bucks Shop
At Brakenhale we celebrate and reward students for attending school
-
Every day, students receive an achievement point for arriving at school on time.
-
Should a student belong to the tutor group with the highest attendance that week, they will receive 5 additional house points.
-
For every week that students attend 100%, they will receive 5 Brakenhale Bucks. These can be saved, pooled with friends, and spent at the Brakenhale Attendance Shop.
We recognise that 100% attendance in a term or a year is often not possible due to unforeseen circumstances and therefore we are ensuring that the students get frequent rewards for every step they take to good attendance. Every Monday, students have a fresh start to aim for 100% attendance.
Brakenhale Attendance Shop
Students will receive a 5BB note on Friday for every week they are in school all week. All Brakenhale Bucks will be logged on the system so the students need not worry about losing them. Please see below an example of the prizes available, with more being added each week.
|
Prize |
BB |
|---|---|
|
Brakenhale Silicone Loop Keyrings |
5 |
|
Brakenhale Foldable Nylon Frisbees |
5 |
|
Brakenhale Torch Keyring |
10 |
|
Brakenhale Ball Poncho |
15 |
|
Brakenhale Notepad and Pen Sets |
20 |
|
Brakenhale Shape Hard Enamel Badges 0.55 |
10 |
|
Brakenhale Fold Up Bottles 0.89 |
10 |
|
Brakenhale 12cm Rock Bars 0.66 |
5 |
|
Football |
50 |
Covid-19 - Please click for more information
Can my child go to school if they have Covid-19 symptoms?
As COVID-19 presents a low risk to children and young people, combined with high vaccination rates in the population, there are no longer specific rules relating to it in schools, colleges, childcare and other education settings.
Children and young people with mild symptoms such as a runny nose, sore throat, or slight cough, who are otherwise well, can continue to go to school, college or childcare.
However, those who are unwell and have a high temperature should stay at home and avoid contact with other people where they can. They can go back to school, college or childcare, and resume normal activities when they no longer have a high temperature, and they are well enough to attend.
What happens if a staff member or my child tests positive for COVID-19?
UKHSA guidance says that it is not recommended that children and young people are tested for COVID-19 unless directed to by a health professional.
For children and young people aged 18 and under who are recommended to take a COVID-19 test by a health professional and test positive, the advice is to try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for three days. This is because children and young people tend to be infectious to other people for less time than adults.
Read more: GOV.UK Guidance October 2023