Rationale
An important part of a successful educational process is the regular attendance of all school classes. St. George International School & Preschool will work with families to identify and resolve any issues related to attendance.
Attendance and effort are intertwined with academic achievement, and it is important for all students to attend school regularly.
Principles and Practice
In line with its overall aims, St. George International School & Preschool recognises that teaching, learning, assessment, and regular attendance to school are fundamentally connected, complementing each other in developing high standards of achievement and positive wellbeing for all students in the school and preschool.
Preschool
The preschool is a community which places the emphasis and importance of academic education at the heart of its development. Therefore, we believe that every lesson attended is of huge developmental value, and missing lessons in the Preschool may have an adverse effect on future academic performance and growth.
St. George Preschool recognises the importance of regular attendance for all of its learners, and takes absences, both short-term, and long-term, very seriously. We also have a duty of care and provision to all of our children and learners, in line with the Safeguarding rules and procedures.
For all children enrolled into the Preschool, attendance, being on-time, and timely to lessons is mandatory. Furthermore, following our rules, procedures and policies, in order to enable a safe and educational facility, is also mandatory. The working hours of the Preschool are as follows:
Pre-Nursery (2 - 3 years old) 08:00 - 18:00. Breakfast between 08:00 - 08:50 am; Nursery (3 - 4 years old) 08:00 - 18:00. Breakfast between 08:00 - 08:50 am; Reception (4 - 5 years old) 08:00 - 18:00. Breakfast between 08:00 - 08:50 am; Year 1 (5 - 6 years old) 08:00 - 18:00. Breakfast between 08:00 - 08:50 am; The start of the academic day commences at 09:00 am for Pre-Nursery, Nursery, Reception and Year 1 groups, and runs until 4:00 pm . The start of the academic day for Year 2 groups commences at 08:15 am, and runs until 15:20 pm . Following this, the children may participate in Extracurricular Activities, as organised by the Head of Preschool (*if permitted by the local authorities and the current order of the Ministry of Health and Education).
Parents/guardians’ Obligations:
Parents/guardians must advise, in writing, if their child/ren will be late, or absent from school.
The email should be sent to sgp.reception@stgeorgeschool.eu and should be received no later than 9am on the day of attendance.
The contents of this email must include:
The child(ren)’s full name; The time of arrival, if late; The length or period of absence, (when not attending preschool); Justification for non-attendance; Relevant documentation (if applicable); A doctor’s note with confirmation that the child(ren) is/are fit and healthy to return to preschool; this must be certified and signed by a medical professional (e.g. General Practitioner (GP); Their full name. Any child from Pre-Nursery, Nursery, Reception and Year 1 groups arriving after 08:50 am and any child from Year 2 groups arriving after 08:10 am is deemed late, and a record of such is taken, unless this has been arranged and notified prior. This will be illustrated on school reports.
The school nurse, school administration, class teacher(s), and the preschool’s senior management team will be notified by the preschool reception and all records must be updated accordingly – on the same day that official notification for absence is given.
Preschool Obligations
Each morning, between 8:00 and 8:50 am each group’s teacher must fill in the Attendance module on NEISPUO platform with the attendance/absence of the children. This is then revised by the Reception staff, and verified and checked by the preschool nurses. The Head of the Preschool also has access to the Attendance module in NEISPUO and may provide data to the regulatory authorities if/when requested.
The parents/guardians of any child with an unknown absence(s) are contacted by the Preschool Receptionists and are asked to provide information concerning the absence and justification. The received information is provided by the Receptionists by email to the Head of Preschool, the Academic Leaders, and the respective teachers.
The Head of Preschool is responsible for monitoring and controlling the absences and lateness and undertaking the necessary measures.
Primary and Secondary School
The working hours of the school are from 08:15 am until 03:45 pm . During this time the students have compulsory lessons. After the end of classes, they can choose to attend various extracurricular activities, organised by the ECA Manager.
Lateness
Being punctual to school, and to class, is of high value at St. George International School and is integral to the learning process. Students and parents have a joint responsibility to ensure punctual and regular attendance.
Students must arrive to school on time, and those students who arrive at school more than 15 minutes late for the start of their school day (08:15am), will be registered as late for the start of the first period.
Lateness for class by up to 20 minutes will result in a half-absence.
Lateness for class by more than 20 minutes will result in one absence.
In cases of lateness to school, parents/guardians must notify by email the school Reception at reception@stgeorgeschool.eu before 8 a.m.
Absences
The absences are counted per lesson period. They are also marked in the Attendance Module in SHKOLO platform.
Possible Reasons for Excused Absences
A student may be absent from school due to the following reasons:
Medical reason which needs to be verified with a medical note. In case of absence due to medical reasons and prior to return ing to school of the student , the following conditions should be met: A day before the return in class, the parents/guardians inform the school via email the school Reception that the student will be back to school (except for short absence due to dental reasons or follow-up examinations) Within three days after returning to school, the student should present a medical document, issued by a General Practitioner or a doctor at a medical institution. The school keeps the right to request also other documents within the deadlines defined for them, if there are any stipulated by the law. The medical note should be presented to the Class Master in the beginning of the day. If such medical note is not presented in the set deadlines, the absences are not excused. Participation in competitions, contents, concerts, etc. The participation is verified with a note issued by the company organising the event. The pre-planned absence is requested in a written form from the school by the parents/guardians of the student. It should be done not later than seven days before the absence. Due to other reasons: Up to 15 days in one school year , but no more than 5 days at a time – the absence should be requested in a written form and addressed to the student`s class master. The request should clearly state the reasons for the absence and submitted before the student's absence, and if this is impossible, the parent notifies the class master on the first day of the student's absence from school. All other absences that do not fall in line with the reasons above will not be excused.
In the case of online learning, the student is marked absent as per the above-mentioned conditions. During online learning, if the teacher discovers that in the process of learning interaction and learning results feedback and assessment on the subject, the student is not participating, then the student is marked absent for the respective subject lesson.
If the student is absent from school for the entire school day without a valid reason, the Head of Primary, or the Head of Secondary will inform the parents/guardians by e-mail and discuss the reasons for the absence and necessary documents which will need to be presented for the absence to be excused. In cases of prolonged absence by a student, the Head of Primary or Secondary needs to notify the Head of School.
A student may be excused from participating in PE classes only due to medical reasons after presenting a medical note verifying the need for the absence. The student must still attend the class even if they are not actively participating.
Expectations from students
Students are expected to be on time for morning Registration and every lesson, avoiding unnecessary absence from school. St. George International School & Preschool promotes students' proactivity and responsible attitude towards their studies.
In cases of pre-planned absence, the student needs to inform their teachers and collect the classwork and homework that will be missed prior to the absence. The missed assignments are due by the student upon return and must be presented after as many days as the days of the absence. Missed tests and quizzes must be sat by the student after that in the same timeframe, connected with the days of the absence.
If absent due to illness, the student should get information about their classwork/homework from their classmates (Secondary school) or through the school’s online platforms provided by the Class Masters or Reception (Primary School).
Expectations from parents/guardians
At St. George International School & Preschool, we believe that the parents have a vitally important role in the education of their child. We expect the parents/guardians to:
Talk to their child about school and education, showing positive interest in their child’s work and educational progress. Instil the value of education and regular school attendance within the home environment. Contact the school within the defined deadlines if their child is absent to let the school know the reason why and the expected date of return. This must be followed by a note where possible. Try to avoid unnecessary absences. Wherever possible, make appointments for the doctors, dentists etc. outside of school hours. If the parents/guardians wish to pick up the child from school in order to visit a doctor they should inform the school by sending an email to reception@stgeorgeschool.eu at least 24 hours prior to this. If a child/student leaves the school due to medical reasons he/she should present a medical note for this period, otherwise, his absence will be marked as unexcused. The absences which are not excused remain in the student’s file as unauthorized absence and in case of accumulation of more than 15 absences, the student is subject to sanction, according to the Law for Preschool and School Education, as the type of the sanctions is defined in relation to the reasons and circumstances for the violation, type and severity, as well as the age and personal characteristics of the student. Inform the school of any change in circumstances that may impact on their child’s attendance. Prolonged absences, and intermittent periods of lateness and missed academic learning may be checked by the Head of School at their discretion and a meeting with the parents/guardians arranged to discuss such circumstances.
Duty of Care:
All staff working at SGIS and SGP have a duty of care, and a responsibility for the children during their academic hours, or working day, as advised and directed by the Head of School/ Preschool, while at St George International School & Preschool. Each member of staff supervising children, working at SGIS and SGP understands, and has read, the school’s safeguarding policy and procedures, and is fully aware that they are responsible at their allocated and given times (throughout the school day) to safeguard all children, monitor attendance (through register checking/head counts etc.) and to securely hand over children. Children must be passed over safely to either those responsible after school, such as parents/guardians, or to other employed staff.
The Academic Supervisor is responsible for monitoring the absences and lateness in Primary and Secondary Schools and reporting to the Head of Primary, Head of Secondary, Head of 6th Form and Head of School in case there is a student with frequent absences or lateness.
The Head of Primary and the Head of Secondary are responsible to inform the parents/guardians and undertake the necessary measures for:
Avoiding any further systematic lateness and absences. Ensuring that the student is able to catch up with the gaps in learning. The Head of School is responsible to ensure that these processes function in the best possible way and that the impact of absences and lateness on the learning process is duly minimized for each student.
The Head of Administration is responsible to request from the parents/guardians all necessary documents according to Inclusive Education Ordinance and keeping them in the duly order.
The Class Master is responsible to check every day if every teacher has recorded the lateness and absences of each student and in case of any discrepancy to report to the Academic Supervisor, Head of Primary, Head of Secondary and Head of School until the end of the working day.
The school Nurses should not allow a child/student to leave the building of the school without the approval of the respective Head of Preschool, Head of Primary, or Head of Secondary. Where, and only if permission was granted, the school Nurses will inform Reception via email, stating the reason for leaving and further actions (if applicable, e.g. visit to the GP, testing, etc), ensuring that the respective Heads of School are included in the communication.
Attendance in case of online learning
In case of online learning of a child/student/class/whole school, the teachers register the attendance of each student in NEISPUO (preschool) and SHKOLO (school). After the end of the school day, the Class Masters check the tracker and inform Academic Supervisor, Head of Preschool and Primary, Head of Secondary and Head of School in case a student has not attended one or more lessons.
All records and logs for all attendance are kept secure, in line with GDPR compliance.
The present Student Attendance Policy of St. George International School & Preschool is written in compliance with the Bulgarian educational legislation which could also be used for all other cases, not described in the current document.
