We encourage a high level of attendance and punctuality at Bitterne Manor. At the end of every year we praise the children who have attended every day without being late. If your child is absent for reasons of sickness, please let the school know promptly by using the Arbor App or by telephoning the school office.

 

We use the “Call Parents” system which automatically telephones parents if a child has not arrived in school and we have had no contact from parents to notify us of their absence.  We are required to keep records of all absences and reasons for absences. If a reason is not provided, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised. If you need to take your child out of school for any other reason you will need to seek authorisation from the headteacher. A form is available for this purpose in the school office. Authorisation cannot be given after the event. The headteacher can only authorise up to five days leave of absence each year. The school does not authorise leave of absence for family holidays during term time. We are part of an “Improving Attendance” initiative with our local cluster of schools. We have a common attendance agreement and leave of absence request form. Unauthorised absences are followed up by the school and persistent cases are followed up by the Education Welfare Officer

Attendance Awards

 

Each week we celebrate the class with the best attendance by awarding “SAM” (School Attendance Matters) the dog and with our school attendance shield. Each term we celebrate the house with the best attendance. Every term we award certificates to children who have 100% attendance and each year we celebrate the children who have 100% attendance for the year with a special award.

 

We also recognise punctuality with "PAM" (Punctuality Also Matters) the bear.  The class that has been the most punctual during the week, receive an extra 5 minutes of playtime.  

Health

 

The school nurse visits school regularly to discuss children’s health. You will be invited to come into school if your child is called for a medical. In their Reception Year, pupils will have their hearing, vision, height and weight screened.  Their height and weight will be screened again in Year 6.  Sight and hearing tests can also be completed at other times upon request. If your child becomes ill, or has an accident during the school day, we will make every effort to contact you so they can be taken home. To facilitate this, we always ask that you notify us of changes of emergency contact details, especially updated numbers for mobile phones. If we are unable to contact you, your child will be cared for by our office staff, who have all completed First Aid qualifications. 

 

Should your child be hurt whilst at school, we will telephone you if it is a bump to the head and in all cases will send home a completed accident report slip. In the majority of cases it should not be necessary to administer medicine during school hours. However, there are some children who are well enough to come to school, but who need medication during the day. Parents are welcome to come into school and administer such medicine. If you are not able to come in, it may be possible for us to administer certain prescription only medicines on your behalf. The administration of medicines in schools is a voluntary activity and parents requiring this service should approach the school office. A form is available, which will need to be completed and signed. We will always do our best to ensure that your child receives the correct medicine, but we do not accept responsibility for such administration. Children must never carry medicines to or from school, or bring non prescribed medicines (e.g. cough sweets) with them.

 

Education Welfare Officer (EWO)

The School's Leadership Team monitor attendance closely and will contact parents if a pupils' attendance is falling below 90% to discuss ways we can work together to bring about improvements where possible.  The Educational Welfare Officer visits school on a regular basis to discuss any problems a child may be having at school which relate to the home environment. He or she will regularly inspect registers and follow up poor attendance by contacting parents.