Attendance and Pupil Absence

Good attendance is the foundation of student success and safety. At Bristol Cathedral Choir School, we expect every student to be present and on time, every day which means we must be notified if they will not be.

The law entitles every child of compulsory school age to an efficient, full-time education suitable to their age, aptitude, and any special educational need they may have. It is the legal responsibility of every parent to make sure their child receives that education. Where parents decide to have their child registered at school, they have an additional legal duty to ensure their child attends that school regularly. This means their child must attend every day that the school is open, except in a small number of allowable circumstances, such as being too ill to attend or being given permission for an absence in advance from the school. This is essential for pupils to get the most out of their school experience, including their attainment, wellbeing, and wider life chances.

The national target for school attendance is 96%. Attendance that dips below this (95-90%) is considered ‘low’ whereas a child with attendance below 90% is considered to be ‘persistently absent’.

Moments matter, attendance counts

Students at BCCS are required to attend school for 172 days a year, with 5 hours of learning per day. The slightly shorter term times amplify the need for good attendance to avoid lost learning time.

Yearly Attendance	Days Missed	Hours of Learning Lost
95%	≈ 9 days	≈ 43 hours
90%	≈ 17 days	≈ 86 hours
85%	≈ 26 days	≈ 129 hours
80%	≈ 34 days	≈ 172 hours

*Not inclusive of learning lost in tutor time each day (approx 20 mins)

Over the course of 5 years, 90% attendance will mean 85 days of absence, which roughly equates to 430 hours of learning lost, making it incredibly difficult for even the brightest students to keep up and to reach their full potential.

Working together to support good attendance

The first and perhaps most important point within the home-school agreement asks that parents and carers support their child to attend school on time, so that they can learn the school curriculum in an uninterrupted way. There are also some basics that lay the foundations for good attendance:

Routines: Encourage your child to prepare for the following day the night before. They can shower, pack their bags with the correct books and equipment and lay out their lanyard and uniform the night before. This helps with the morning rush and builds independence. Please support us in checking this so that they can fully participate in school life.
Sleep: It is recommended that children aged 11-16 get around 10 hours of quality sleep. If they do not and wake up exhausted they are more likely to 'feel' unwell. You can promote better sleep habits by ensuring phones/screens out of the bedroom 1 hour before sleep. Visit The Sleep Foundation to find three actions you can take as a family tonight.
Phone free time: We ask that you monitor your child’s phone regularly and have strict controls on their internet access. We find that small friendship issues often escalate to big year group issues with unlimited access to social media, group chats and the wider internet. We really stand by the positive impacts of a smartphone free childhood.
Learning: Ask your child about their learning and whether they feel they understand their school work and are making progress. Encourage them to ask their teachers questions and keep up with homework so that they feel able to participate in the classroom. A child who is falling behind may try to avoid school because it becomes academically too challenging.

Our role in supporting good attendance is to:

raise awareness of the benefits of good attendance;
check your child’s attendance every day and contact you if we do not know where they are;
report on attendance and remind students and families of its importance
phone home to discuss your child’s attendance with you;
invite you into school for attendance meetings or to work collaboratively on attendance support plans if we are concerned;
check-in on your child’s welfare - if we cannot establish a reason for absence, then we may make a home visit;
help you to establish links with other agencies that can support you and your child’s attendance; and
support your child reintegration to school after prolonged periods of absence.

Punctuality

The start of the school day

08:00 - Cresswell Café opens: free breakfast for all students and a supervised space to settle in. We urge all young people to take advantage of this offer.
08:35 - School begins: Students move to their tutor rooms.
08:40-09:05 - Registration in Tutor Groups. Students must be in their seats, in their tutor room by 8:40. Students can join Tutor Time until 9:05 with lateness sanctions applied. This is to ensure students can receive key messaging about the day and benefit from the personal development time throughout the tutor programme.

Lateness to school: Opening for breakfast at 8:00am provides a 40 minute window within which students can arrive on time for school. For lateness up to 5 minutes, 1 behaviour point will be added automatically. For lateness beyond 5 minutes, a 30 minute detention will be added for that same day.

IMPORTANT: If a student is late, arriving any time after 9:05 they must sign in at reception.

Lateness to lessons: When students are present and on site punctuality to lessons is made easy. There are 5 minutes of ‘transition time’ built into the school day between each lesson. This allows a child walking with ‘pace and purpose’ plenty of time to move from one area of the school to another. If a child is 1-5 minutes for a lesson, beyond this transition time, 1 behaviour point will be allocated. If a child arrives more than 5 minutes late to a lesson, they will be asked to leave and go to the Behaviour Support Unit (BSU). This is to protect the learning environment by keeping it free from disruption. Students who arrive 6 or more minutes late will also be issued a 60 minute detention, that same day.

Reporting absence

We expect students to be here every day, so if they are not going to be in school parents/carers must let us know before 8:00am by phone, email or the Arbor app.

Phone: 0117 353 5017
Email: attendance@bristolcathedral.org.uk
Give the student’s full name, tutor group, and a specific reason for absence.
It is not appropriate for a child to call in themselves, it must be a parent/carer.

IMPORTANT: Parents and carers must contact the school for each and every day of absence.

Illness: We are usually able to authorise absence for illness if the correct reporting procedure is followed. For prolonged or repeating patterns of illness we may request a meeting to discuss the nature of the condition or medical evidence from a pharmacist, GP or hospital for the absence to be authorised. This is also to ensure we can adequately support your child if they have a chronic condition.

Please check the NHS ‘too ill for school’ guidance to support you in making a decision on whether your child is unable to attend and join in with normal activities. Please encourage your child to attend with minor coughs and colds to build resilience, if they are able. It is very common to feel worse at 7:30am than you do at 10:00am. We will always contact you if it becomes apparent that they are not managing and need to come home.

Authorised Absence and Absence Requests

Medical/Dental: When making medical and dental appointments, please endeavour to book these outside of school hours - note the detention window (3:25-4:25pm) is also considered part of the school day. We appreciate this is not always possible but your support is greatly appreciated. We will always permit absence to attend medical and dental appointments, when clearly evidenced. We ask that you provide 24-hour notice, unless emergency appointments, and evidence (letter/text) for any appointments within the school day. Send this information to attendance@bristolcathedral.org.uk. It is also useful to copy in the Head of Year.

Religious Observance: We acknowledge the multi-faith nature of our school community and recognise that on some occasions religious festivals may fall outside of school holidays or weekends. In accordance with the law, we are able to authorise one day’s absence for a day exclusively set apart for religious observance by the religious body to which the parent belongs. If necessary, the school will seek advice from the religious body, to confirm whether the day is ‘set apart’

Holidays and trips abroad: Current legislation does not permit term-time holidays unless there are extenuating circumstances, when it will be at the discretion of the Headteacher or Deputy Headteacher. Requests for such absence must be submitted 4 weeks in advance via this Absence Request Form. Submission of the form does not guarantee authorisation.

IMPORTANT: Unauthorised absence of 5 consecutive days (10 x AM/PM sessions) may result in fines issued by Bristol City Council. These fines can be per parent, per child and increase for repeated ‘offences’ within 3 years.

Emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA)

EBSA is a term used to describe children and young people who experience challenges in attending school due to negative feelings (such as anxiety). EBSA is commonly associated with emotional and physical distress, and a reluctance to attend school, which can lead to reduced attendance and further anxiety regarding school. If your child is reluctant to attend, try these 'openers' to find the root cause:

If you could change one thing about your school day to make it easier, what would it be?
Which lesson do you feel most successful in and most lost in?
Is there a specific person or place that makes you feel anxious?
Are there any lessons that you really don’t look forward to? How can I help?
Which teachers really know you and have good relationships with you?
How do you find breaktime/ lunchtime?
Are there any friendship issues or interactions with other students in your classes that you don’t like?

Further support

For some, the barriers to accessing education are wide and complex, both within and beyond the school gates, and are often specific to individual pupils and families. We are keen to listen to our students and families to understand their individual circumstances so we can try and support them. Please reach out if you would like to discuss your circumstances and explore avenues of support.

For more information on school attendance and supporting good attendance the following links are useful:

The Department for Education Statutory Guidance called ‘Working Together to Improve School Attendance’.
The Bristol City Council website has a number of pages dedicated to information and support in relation to attendance.
Bristol Family Hubs website provides a wealth of multiagency information to support families with attendance and more(including local SEND offer).
EBSA advice and support via Young Minds website.
The Bristol Directory for mental health and wellbeing support is linked here, it also signposts to services in South Gloucestershire.