Attendance and Punctuality – Working Guidance and Expectations

RESPONSIBILITIES OF STUDENTS, PARENTS AND THE ACADEMY

Good attendance is secured most effectively when students, parents and schools work together.

Responsibilities of Students

Students should take responsibility for monitoring their own attendance. Students should:-

  • Ensure that they attend school regularly and on time.
  • Attend all lessons, tutor periods and assemblies punctually.
  • Leave school only with the permission of a named member of staff (see Appendix 5).
  • Obtain an Authorised Absence Pass from the Attendance Officer, if they need to be out of school for any reason –please note that the police will return students to school who are found during opening hours and are not in possession of an Authorised Absence Pass. This could lead to the issuing of a Penalty Notice.

Responsibilities of Parents

Parents are responsible in law for ensuring that their children attend the school at which they are registered regularly, on time, properly dressed and in a fit condition to learn. (Parents are also responsible for ensuring that their children stay at school once they have registered). Parents can do a great deal to support the regular and punctual attendance of their children. Parents should:-

  • Take an active interest in their child’s school life and work
  • Attend parents’ evenings and other school events
  • Ensure that their child completes his/her homework
  • Ensure that their child is in bed at an appropriate time
  • Be aware of letters from school which their child brings home
  • Ensure that their child arrives at school on time each day (08.45am)
  • Ensure that their child only misses school for reasons which are unavoidable or justified, such as illness or days of religious observance
  • Always notify the school as soon as possible - preferably on the first morning - of any absence
  • Confirm in writing when the child returns to school
  • Provide medical evidence for long-term absences
  • Inform the school if they are concerned that their child may be reluctant to attend
  • Arrange medical and dental appointments out of school times wherever possible, arrange holidays out of school time. Further guidance is offered under the section Holidays in term time

Responsibilities of the School

Our school is responsible for supporting the attendance of our students and for responding to difficulties and issues which might lead to their non-attendance. Schools which adopt a positive and proactive approach towards attendance matters and encourage parents to take an active role in the schooling of their children, can play a major role in improving levels of attendance and punctuality and in reducing absenteeism. The school must;

  • Be open to all pupils for 380 sessions each school year (morning and afternoon)
  • Provide a broad, balanced education that is dependent on regular attendance at school
  • Promote good attendance and punctuality at school, regular encouragement and rewards
  • Efficiently and accurately record and monitor attendance and punctuality
  • Make first day contact with parents/carers when absence is unexplained
  • Prompt action when a problem has been identified
  • Liaise with officers from the local authority to assist and support families where needed
  • Regularly communicate with parents/carers regarding attendance and punctuality including the reporting of their child’s current and target attendance figure
  • Ensure that staff model the high levels of attendance and excellent time-keeping expected from our students

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

It is the responsibility of the Governors to
  • Maintain an overview of attendance through reports provided by SLT
  • Chair School Attendance Panels as necessary
It is the responsibility of the Principal to
  • Sanction permanent and fixed term exclusions
  • Monitor the work of appropriate members of the SLT to ensure an appropriate and effective strategic leadership and management of attendance and punctuality

It is the responsibility of the Director of Behaviour and Inclusion to

  • Ensure that the school is meeting its statutory requirements with regard to inclusion
  • Monitoring the effectiveness of attendance interventions in raising attainment, including re-integration packages for students returning from long term absence and the work of the School Inclusion Team
  • Co-ordinate the development of Pastoral Support Plans and referral of students to appropriate internal and external support agencies and quality assuring these
  • Oversee the return of LA / DfES returns for Behaviour, Attendance and Exclusions
  • Oversee the exclusion process including the preparation of reports as required
  • Co-ordinate the exclusion analyses, identifying and reporting on trends and issues as required
  • Monitor, evaluate and review the school Attendance Policy and associated systems and

procedures and ensure that these are understood by all stakeholders

  • Develop systems and processes that proactively encourage students to achieve through the use of rewards, monitoring that these are used consistently and measuring their impact
  • Identify students at risk of underperformance as a result of poor attendance and punctuality, including truancy and ensure that appropriate provision is made for these students

It is the responsibility of the Attendance Officer (working closely with the Director of Behaviour/Inclusion) to;

  • Monitor the progress of these students and the impact of any interventions and reporting on the effectiveness of these
  • Implement and maintain a system to monitor and track attendance at various scales-including truancy -for example by individual pupil, by Faculty, by ethnicity, by post code and identify and address patterns that emerge
  • Ensure that attendance data is systematically interrogated and used to inform timely and appropriate intervention strategies and measure the impact of these
  • Chair External Inclusion Meetings to ensure provision for students who are or are at risk of becoming persistent absentees
  • Forge and maintain close links with feeder primaries to identify and facilitate early intervention with students for whom poor attendance could potentially become a barrier to learning
  • Develop strategies to raise the profile of attendance and its link to attainment and safeguarding with students and all stakeholders, including engaging the support of the wider community for example by contacting doctors and businesses
  • Develop systems for facilitating partnership working within the service district to improve attendance for example Safer Schools Partnerships
  • Ensure that all systems are clearly communicated, understood, adhered to and are sustainable

It is the responsibility of the SENCO to

  • Ensure that Personal Support Plans are in place for identified SEN students and that these are actioned, reviewed within the agreed timescale and their impact monitored
  • Make sure that suitable re-integration packages are in place for all SEN students returning from prolonged absence and that all such students have a key worker
  • Assess all SEN students who have become or are at risk of becoming a persistent absentee to ensure that all needs learning have been addressed

It is the responsibility of the Head of House to;

  • Ensure that an appropriate curriculum is provided for students for whom attendance is a barrier to learning and to monitor and assess the effectiveness of this against targets or objective data so that every child is given the best chance of meeting their potential and accessing an appropriate placement post-16
  • Liaise with external agencies as appropriate to remove barriers to learning so that all students make progress in line with potential
  • Ensure that school policies and procedures with regard to attendance are applied
  • Follow up all incidents of poor attendance for children on offsite courses and ensure that systems are in place to monitor this and address any issues in a timely fashion

It is the responsibility of the School Attendance Team to;

  • Make first day contact with all parents of students with unexplained absence
  • Ensure that reasons for individual student absence is well documented and recorded
  • Make use of the electronic messaging service to inform parents of absence and lateness to school
  • Maintain SIMS attendance database and update on a weekly basis
  • Provide reports from SIMS to governors, Principal, other school staff, Local Authority officers as agreed
  • Manage signing in system, including the recording and monitoring of lateness following morning registration and reporting this to the pastoral team
  • Provide students with an authorised absence pass as appropriate
  • Produce attendance data for the Director of Behaviour/Inclusion, with responsibility for monitoring and managing attendance including data for the Student Inclusion Team Meetings
  • Produce statistics and official returns for SLT, EWO and LA
  • Ensure that all registers are taken, the correct codes used and registers closed at the appropriate time
  • Take responsibility for students who sign in late to school and ensure that these are reported and followed up.
  • Promote the importance of good attendance and challenge parentally condoned absences where necessary.
  • Refer all incidents of reported truancy to the Attendance Officer or Head of House and send an automated message home to inform parents
  • Inform HOHs of attendance issues and potential attendance issues facilitating timely intervention, for example post codes, days, truancy and sessions of the week, etc
  • Monitor systems to address lateness to am and pm registration and to lessons
  • Ensure that EWO referrals are appropriate and monitor and review EWO caseloads
  • Managing meetings with Education Welfare Officer
  • Organising attendance panels and interviews for all students as necessary
  • Record actions from meetings with Education Welfare Officer and monitor and review impact

It is the responsibility of the Form Tutor to

  • Promote good attendance and punctuality by acting as a good role model
  • Keep accurate records of student attendance and punctuality
  • Discuss attendance regularly with form group and with individuals for whom attendance is becoming a concern using the data provided
  • Provide a warm and welcoming environment for students
  • Alert the appropriate HOH regarding any patterns of absence or concerns
  • Ensure any medical notes/absence notes are forwarded to the Attendance Manager on date of receipt

It is the responsibility of Class teachers to

  • Ensure the safeguarding of students by reporting the names of students missing from lessons who were present in earlier sessions to the Attendance Officer
  • Accurately mark registers using appropriate codes and return promptly within 10 minutes of the start of the school session
  • Report to HOH any issue or problem which may affect the attendance or punctuality of a student
  • Promote good attendance and punctuality within the classroom and the school by acting as a good role model
  • Refer students to the Pastoral Team only if they feel that there is a real health and safety issue accompanied by a note written clearly in their Planner/Diary

It is the responsibility of the Education Welfare Officer to

  • Liaise with the Attendance Officer and school staff regarding the attendance and punctuality of identified pupils. Receive attendance data and agree action
  • Make contact with parents/carers where concern is raised regarding a pupil’s attendance.
  • Discuss issues affecting attendance and punctuality with parents/carers and clearly outline legal responsibilities and requirements
  • Record and maintain accurate information that work alongside school Attendance systems following any contact
  • Feedback to school staff within the agreed timescale
  • Work with the SLT, school staff, parents/carers and students to promote good attendance and punctuality
  • Take part in initiatives to promote attendance and punctuality e.g. assemblies
  • Support the school in all activities to promote good attendance and punctuality as appropriate for example with attendance sweeps and Attendance Panels
  • Advise on and initiate legal proceedings such as the issuing of penalty notices

Registers

Registers are a legal document. Great care must be taken to ensure registers are marked accurately on the computer system available or legibly in ink in the case of paper registers. Attendance is a safeguarding issue. Failing to record absence accurately or report suspected truancy places children at risk. Attendance of all students is monitored and evaluated regularly using the following procedures:

  • Registers must be taken each morning at 8.45am and at the start of period 4.
  • Students should be marked late if they arrive late to form time and the number of minutes logged on SIMs
  • At 8.55am the registers must be saved so they are accessible on SIMs to the Attendance Team.
  • The register will be taken every lesson. This will usually be done electronically. Registers should be taken and saved 10 minutes into the lesson at the latest
  • The names of any students missing from your lesson who were present in earlier sessions must be reported to the Attendance Officer immediately.

Responding to lateness

Students arriving late in the morning (after 08.45am) will receive a late mark and a break time detention. Failure to attend the break detention will result in a detention for 1 hour after school.

Persistent lateness after registration may result in a Penalty Notice being served.

Responding to poor attendance

All students with an attendance of less than 90% (persistent absentees) are automatically referred to the Attendance Team. The Attendance team will hold weekly meetings where strategies will be discussed to address low attendance.

Students whose attendance falls below 88% of the time are guaranteed to be interviewed by the Attendance Officer. This is regardless of whether the absence is authorised. The reason for this is that the student’s attendance has fallen to a low level and the student is classed as a Persistent Absentee and urgent action is required to ensure the percentage improves to above 90%.

Heads of House check each half term that strategies are in place for all students in their House and monitor the effectiveness of these.

An official EWO referral should be made after the school has made some attempt to secure good attendance and punctuality; it is appropriate for referrals to be made under the circumstances as stated below. Referrals may be made when:-

  • A pattern of irregular attendance has developed;
  • Poor overall attendance (eg below 90%);
  • A period of entrenched non-attendance has begun;
  • Communication by the school to the parents has met with little or no response;
  • There is evidence of a lack of parental co-operation in ensuring a child’s regular attendance;
  • A pattern of post-registration truancy is persisting despite the school’s efforts to prevent it;
  • A pupil is withdrawn from school by the parents who are moving to another area and the school does not have a confirmed destination school/provider where the child will resume his or her education (such pupils will be treated as “children missing from education”);

When a student has not attended for 10 school days the school has a statutory responsibility to inform the Education Welfare Service

Truancy

All incidents of suspected truancy must be reported to the School Attendance Officer or HOH. This is a safeguarding issue. The Attendance Officer or HOH will then confirm whether the child has truanted. If the student has truanted, an automatic message will be sent home and the matter referred to the Senior Pastoral Director to be followed up. One off incidents will be dealt with by the HOH, more frequent offenders will be dealt with by the Senior Pastoral Director. Persistent offenders will be referred to the EWO service and parents may face prosecution

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Circumstances under which a child may be sent home from school

Sending students home during the school day is a safeguarding issue. Students may however be sent home after parents have been contacted under the following circumstances

  • If on the advice of the school first aid officer
  • To collect equipment, including uniform if authorised by a Senior member of the Leadership Team.

Special Cases

Children Missing from Education

The school’s Attendance Officer is the nominated member of school staff to liaise with the Children and Young People’s Directorate Children Missing from Education Team. Students who cannot be located will be considered missing. The Children Missing from Education Team will be informed and will pursue the matter in accordance with Local Authority procedures.

Children in Public Care

The school’s Safeguarding Lead and SENCO are joint co-ordinators who liaise with the Children and Young People’s Directorate Looked After Children Team. Looked After Children will be set up as an Attendance Group on SIMS and their individual attendance will be checked each half term.

Awards and Rewards

  • Improved attendance is recognised and rewarded.
  • Termly certificates are awarded to students with 98-100% attendance..
  • Competitions targeted at particular year groups also promote good attendance-such as possibly a ‘Passport to the Prom’.

Attendance Letters

Letter 1

Dear Parent/Guardian

According to the school’s records, your son/daughter was absent from school on the day(s) indicated below. Please could you contact me to give a reason for your child’s absence.

  • Completing the details on the form below and returning it to me at the school
  • Emailing me ______
  • Telephoning my direct number at the school on 01226 742286

If no reason is provided for a child’s absence it is recorded as unauthorised and as such, could trigger involvement from the Local Authority.

Thanking you in anticipation of your support

Attendance Team

✂------

Name of pupil: ______Form: ______