Student Absence

At The Bulmershe School attendance is a serious matter.  We are all working together to ensure that students achieve their maximum academic potential. The table below demonstrates it’s a well-established fact that poor attendance can have a negative impact on academic progress. Good attendance also shows potential employers that your child is reliable.

All Students should arrive at school promptly by 8.25am ready for registration to start at 8:30am. 

If your child is unable to attend school, it is vital that you call the absence line 0118 935 3353 and press option 1, leaving a clear message detailing your child’s name, tutor group and reason for absence. For lengthy absences you may be asked to provide a medical note from your Doctor. We would ask all parents to please make all appointments out of school hours where possible as it can be very disruptive to learning.

The email address for the Attendance Team is: attendance@bulmershe.wokingham.sch.uk

Since 2015 the government has reduced the persistent absence threshold from 15 per cent to 10 per cent. Therefore, a student is considered to have persistent absence if their attendance falls below 90%. This means that school will be closely monitoring students who are not achieving an overall attendance of 90%.

If you know your child will be absent from school for any reason, please complete and submit a Leave of Absence form to the attendance team in advance of the absence.

Holiday in term time

From September 2013 legislation has changed so that no absence for holidays will be authorised. Exceptional circumstances can always arise and such situations will be taken into consideration if a letter outlining such a request is submitted to our Headteacher. If you decide to take your child out of school, this will be recorded as unauthorised absence. This may result in you being issued with a penalty notice fine from the Local Authority of £60 per child (per parent/carer) if paid within 21 days, which increases to £120 if payment is made between 22 and 28 days. Prosecution will be enforced if no payment is received within 28 days. 

A 90% attendance rate over a child's time at school (on average just 19 days' absence each year) would mean that by the end of Year 11 the equivalent of over a school year will have been missed.

The Bulmershe School Attendance Policy 2023- 24.pdf