Attendance and Punctuality

An excellent attendance record is essential for students to be able to perform to the best of their ability at school. The school’s Attendance and Punctuality Policy can be located here.

If a student has to stay at home because of ILLNESS, please follow these steps:

1. Please contact the school before 8.30am each day of absence using the School Gateway App.  If you are unable to use the app, you can email office@bwsgirls.org
2. Where an absence exceeds 5 calendar days due to illness, (excluding the weekend) you will be expected to provide medical evidence from a doctor (appointment cards, prescriptions, letters or a medical certificate) to the school. Medical evidence may be requested if there are regular absences from school due to illness.

Truancy – if a student is absent from school without permission and a covering letter, this will be identified as truancy and appear as such on school records and reports.  The student will incur a sanction for this.

Medical and dental appointments, unless genuinely unavoidable, should be arranged OUTSIDE school time.  If a student will be arriving late due to an appointment, a parent/carer must contact the school via app or email by 8.30am.  As soon as the student arrives at school, they should sign in at the School Office (B9) and provide the reason (and evidence of appointment as necessary).

Occasionally an appointment will require a student to leave school early.   Students must provide evidence of all appointments (e.g. appointment card issued by the surgery), and show the evidence of their appointment to the School Office to update our attendance records accordingly.  If your child needs to leave school early, they must be collected by a parent/carer from the School Office.  In exceptional circumstances only, if you are unable to collect your child, you should write a note in their contact book to explain the arrangements made and to confirm that you are happy for them to leave school unaccompanied.  The student must show this note to their Head of Year to authorise the arrangement.  They may then go to the School Office when they need to leave and show the note, with the Head of Year authorisation.

School Trips and Visits – attendance and behaviour will be a consideration when inviting students to participate in trips and visits.

Family holidays – these must not be arranged during school time because it disrupts work, progress and achievement (it can also create social difficulties). Family holidays during school time will not be authorised.

Punctuality – students must be in school by 8.25am and in their Period 1 room before 8.30am.  Any students who are late will sit a half hour detention on the following day.  Students arriving late to school must report to the School Office to sign in.