Attendance Policy

We believe that children cannot learn if they are absent from school. Therefore, we aim to ensure that all our children take full advantage of the educational opportunities available to them and to raise standards by promoting regular attendance and punctuality of pupils.

Download Attendance Policy

We are committed to providing an education of the highest quality for all our pupils. We believe high attainment depends on good attendance.

We expect all school personnel to support and promote excellent school attendance by acting as role models and to work hard to provide a learning environment in which all pupils are eager to learn, feel valued and enjoy coming to school.

Sometimes a pupil’s absence or lateness may not be their fault and in these circumstances it is our policy to be supportive of the child and not to make them feel guilty or inadequate. Also, at times we have to give allowances for religious beliefs and individual family circumstances.

We believe it is essential to regularly remind parents of the importance of good attendance and its links to pupil attainment. The Education Act 1996 clearly states that the prime responsibility of parents/carers is to ensure that their children attend school regularly.

Aims

To create a culture in which good attendance is accepted as the norm.
To demonstrate that good attendance and punctuality is valued by the school.
To maintain and develop effective communication regarding attendance between home and school.
To work with other schools to share good practice in order to improve this policy.

Responsibility for the Policy and Procedure

Role of the Governing Body

The Governing Body will:

delegate powers and responsibilities to the Headteacher to ensure all school personnel are aware of and comply with this policy;
nominate a link governor to visit the school regularly, to liaise with the Coordinator and to report back to the Governing Body;
ensure that the attendance policy is carried out;
ask questions about trends and what is being done to prevent persistent poor attenders;
monitor termly progress;
take responsibility for ensuring this policy and all policies are maintained and updated regularly;
take responsibility for ensuring all policies are made available to parents;

Role of the Headteacher

The Headteacher will:

ensure all school personnel, pupils and parents are aware of and comply with this policy;
undertake the daily monitoring of school attendance via the First Day Contact Supervisor by using an appropriate and effective registration system;
monitor attendance according to gender, age, ethnicity, first language, eligibility for Free School Meals and special educational needs;
target intervention and support to those children that have been highlighted as poor attenders;
have in place a system for parents to report a child’s absence;
report the attendance figures and progress to the Governing Body;
remind parents of their commitment to this policy;
publicise good attendance during assemblies, newsletters and the termly report to the Governing Body;
introduce rewards and incentives to encourage punctuality;
organise training for school personnel on the use and understanding of attendance codes and authorised and unauthorised attendance;
work closely with the link governor and First Day Contact Supervisor;
monitor the effectiveness of this policy;
annually report to the Governing Body on the success and development of this policy

Role of the School Office Staff

The office personnel are responsible for:

implementing the policy with the Headteacher;
monitoring individual and class attendance on a daily basis;
keeping the Headteacher informed of attendance figures and trends;
contacting parents regarding concerns about their child’s attendance;
compiling attendance data for the Headteacher, the Governing Body and the EWO;
ensuring registers are distributed to the teaching staff and are kept up to date

Role of the First Day Contact Supervisor

The First Day Contact Supervisor is responsible for:

contacting parents if they have not reported their child’s absence by 9-30 a.m.;
sending a letter if no contact is made;
continuing to contact the parents throughout the day until contact is made;
contacting the key worker if a child is on the child protection register and no reason has been given for the child’s absence;
informing the Headteacher of trends in absence

Role of School Personnel

School personnel will:

comply with and implement this policy
set an example of punctuality and good attendance;
ensure that registers are taken at the appropriate times and are accurate and up to date;
monitor class and individual attendance patterns;
inform the school office of any concerns about attendance;
emphasise the importance of punctuality and good attendance;
discuss individual pupil attendance at parent-teacher consultations

Role of the Nominated Governor

The Nominated Governor will:

work closely with the Headteacher and the coordinator;
ensure this policy and other linked policies are up to date;
ensure that everyone connected with the school is aware of this policy;
report to the Governing Body every term;
annually report to the Governing Body on the success and development of this policy

Role of Parents

Parents are responsible for:

ensuring that their children are punctual and know the importance of good attendance;
informing the school on the first day of absence;
informing the school of any changes to their contact details;
collecting their children on time
supporting the school Code of Conduct and guidance necessary to ensure smooth running of the school

Role of Pupils

Pupils are responsible for:

arriving at school on time;
knowing the value of good attendance;
taking part in questionnaires and surveys

Dealing with Trends in Attendance

When there is a pattern of poor attendance then the following procedure will take place:

Parents are invited to attend an informal meeting with the Coordinator/Headteacher to explain their child’s repeated absence.
Support will be offered if there are underlying reasons for the absence.
If not, then the situation will be monitored for improvement.
If there is no improvement then appropriate action will be taken.

Dealing with Lateness

The office personnel monitor lateness and inform:

the Headteacher of patterns of lateness;
parents of the school’s concerns;

Absence

Holidays during term time – only in exceptional circumstances will the school agree to a leave of absence in term time. Parents are asked to complete a holiday form requesting permission to take their child on holiday.

Religious Observance – a maximum of three days absence is allowed for religious observance.

Medical, Dental or Hospital Appointments – we encourage these appointments to take place out of school time in order not to disrupt the child’s education.

Raising Awareness of this Policy

We will raise awareness of this policy via:

the school website
meetings with parents such as introductory, transition, parent-teacher consultations and periodic curriculum workshops
school events
meetings with school personnel
communications with home such as weekly newsletters and of end of half term newsletters
Headteacher reports to the Governing Body