- Home
- Parent Information
- Attendance and Punctuality
Attendance and Punctuality
Our Aims
At Newcastle Bridges School, we recognise the importance of our pupils attending school on a daily basis, not only in raising their attainment but also on their sense of wellbeing and community. We are very mindful, that due to the complex needs of our pupils, there are many factors which may affect a pupil’s attendance. Due to this, we have developed an ethos which considers each pupil’s and families individual circumstances, ensuring that we provide the strategies and support which encourage a positive attitude of regular and punctual attendance. We aim to ensure that all pupils attend school regularly and on time to enable them to take full advantage of the educational opportunities available.
At Newcastle Bridges School we aspire to:
- Improve the overall attendance of pupils at school
- Support each pupil’s holistic development and attainment through good attendance
- Encourage parents/carers to ensure that pupils attend school regularly and arrive at school on time
- To make attendance a priority for all those associated with the school including parents, carers, pupils, teachers and governors
How Newcastle Bridges School will help if your child is persistently absent or late
At Newcastle Bridges School, we want our pupils to access the high quality, bespoke education that they deserve and to enable them to do that, we need them to attend school regularly and on time. It is our duty of care to monitor attendance and punctuality and if your child’s attendance or punctuality becomes a concern, we will offer support in the following ways:
- Safe and well checks by staff in school and support strategies offered
- Invitation to attend an Attendance Review Meeting to offer further support to improve your child’s attendance/punctuality
- If attendance continues to fall despite the above support, advice from the Access and Inclusion team would be sought from school staff to offer local authority support to the family.
How do you report your child’s absence?
If a child is absent, parents/carers should contact the school on the first day of absence and every day thereafter before 9.10am to inform the school of the reason for absence. Please report absences by phoning the below number. Please leave a voicemail if there is no answer or leave a message for School Office.
What can I expect from the school?
Parents/carers are expected to maintain contact with the school throughout the absence.
If you do not keep in contact or provide a reason for your child’s absence we will contact you throughout your child’s absence as part of our safe and well check procedure.
Holidays during term time at Newcastle Bridges School
We kindly ask that parents do adhere to our policy and avoid taking holidays during term time. We acknowledge the complex needs of our pupils and that there may be exceptional circumstances where families cannot avoid taking a trip during term time.
Any leave of absence is at the discretion of the Headteacher and must be made in writing at least two weeks prior to the holiday date. The Headteacher may contact parents to discuss the reasons for the application.
Medical Appointments
We encourage parents/carers to avoid making routine medical appointments and dental appointments during the school day, as far as is possible. Where this is not possible, the pupil should be out of school for the minimum amount of time necessary. At Newcastle Bridges School, we will authorise an allowance of time for the medical appointment and a reasonable amount of time for travel to and from the appointment.
Punctuality Matters!
We are very mindful that there can be a lot of reasons why punctuality may be affected at Newcastle Bridges School and we are here to support you and work with each family individually. Through doing this we strive to ensure our pupils arrive at school on time each day.
If a pupil arrives late to school every day, their routine is disrupted which can then lead to emotional regulation difficulties which directly impacts their ability to engage in their curriculum at school and can affect their regulation and routines at home.
