Attendance, Absence and PunctualityPolicy

February 2014

Policy on Attendance, Absence and Punctuality

LAW

“The parent of every student of compulsory school age shall cause him/her to receive efficient full-time education suitable:

a)to his/her age, ability and aptitude, and

b)to any special needs he/she may have,

… by regular attendance at school …”

(Education Act 1996 Part 1, Section 7)

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PHILOSOPHY

Leasowes High School;

  • is committed to a clear philosophy which appreciates and promotes the understanding that full and regular attendance is:

A legal requirement,

Essential to ensure that all students benefit fully from their educational

opportunitiesavailable,

Allows students to reach the highest possible levels of educational

attainment.

  • is committed to the provision of a full, rich, efficient and appropriate education for all of its students and acknowledges that education is vital to raising the aspirations of all students.
  • is committed to developing an ethos designed to enthuse, encourage and foster the self-esteem of all students.
  • celebrates achievement and recognises that regular attendance is a critical contributory factor to a productive and successful career.
  • actively promotes and encourages full and regular attendance understanding that not to do so undermine and impairs individual student, school and wider community progress.
  • will challenge all student absence and will not authorise any absence unless it is appropriate to do so.

POLICY

The aims and objectives of this policy are to facilitate and enable maximum parental engagement with school thus ensuring that students are encouragedto take full advantage of the educational opportunities available to them by regular and punctual attendance at School and;

  • To establish and sustain improved levels of attendance in line with OFSTED’s recommendation of whole school attendance of above 95% to receive an attendance grade indicator of ‘High’.
  • To reflect levels of unauthorised absence to inform and support the work of the Education Investigation Service.
  • To ensure that policy and procedures on attendance and punctuality are effective and applied consistently across the whole school.
  • To ensure that registers are completed accurately, consistently and reliably and that analysis of attendance data is used to provide an effective monitoring system and to inform practiceand to target resources.
  • To identify students and vulnerable groups of students whose absence is giving cause for concern and allocate targeted resources to work toward the resolution of any difficulties being experienced.
  • To promote an effective whole-school approach to the management of attendance where each member of the school community, including staff, governors, parents and students are aware of their roles and responsibilities and makes an effective contribution.

PRINCIPLES

Ourschool recognises the vital importance of regular attendance in supporting families to ensure the Safeguarding of students and the promotion of well being, success and achievement for all students by;

  • Being Healthy: enjoying good physical and mental health and living a healthy lifestyle
  • Staying Safe: being protected from harm and neglect
  • Enjoying and Achieving: getting the most out of life and developing the skills for adulthood
  • Making a Positive Contribution: being involved with the community and society and not engaging in anti-social behaviour
  • Economic Wellbeing: not being prevented by economic disadvantage from achieving their full potential in life

All parents/carers have the right for their child/ren to be educated and this school acknowledges its duty to support students in matters of attendance, behaviour and discipline.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

School Governors

  • Will ensure there is a named Governor to serve as the Designated Member with responsibility for attendance – Lynn Sherwood
  • Will ensure that there is a standing item on the agenda of termly full meetings of the Governing Body to continually review attendance.
  • Will ensure the regular review of this Policy and Procedures and play an active part in the whole school community
  • Will, in conjunction with the Principal, set realistic but challenging targets for improvements in school attendance.

Theschool will operate a “Whole School Policy” for the Management of Attendance and in order that School procedures are efficiently and effectively implemented, the following members of staff will undertake the following responsibilities;

Strategic Leadership Team (SLT)

  • SchoolPrincipal & Chair of Governors
  • 1 Designated Member of Senior Staff

All educational establishments must keep two registers of students. The Admissions Register, which records the personal details of every student at the school, and the Attendance Register which records every student’s attendance at every session the school is open to students.

The Registers are governed by and shall comply with the Education (Student Registration) (England) Regulations 2006.

The Principaland the Chair of Governorshold overall responsibility for the contents and maintenance of the Admissions and Attendance Registers and the overall management of attendance.

The Principaland/or Chair of Governors may delegate some or all of these responsibilities.

However, it remains their overall responsibility and to ensure that absence is a standing agenda item for discussion with school governors, and they are appraised by the delegated members of staff as to the condition of the registers and the coding.

At Leasowes High School there is one Designated Member of Senior Staff who has been delegated with the responsibility to analyse studentabsencedata, decide appropriate intervention strategies and allocate cases for Pastoral Support Managers to action. The named senior staff is Matthew Mynott.

Senior Staff will maintain through this policy and any associated procedures the intervention strategies to be undertaken with individual students/families by Pastoral Support Managers.

Senior Staff will maintain overall responsibility for the outcomes ofall cases allocated and have a responsibility to ensure an appropriate level of supervision is maintained with the Pastoral Support Managersto ensure that the required actions are being taken and recorded.

The Designated Member ofSenior Staff will ensure through appropriate supervision with the Principal that the following is applied through policy and procedure:

  • That when any student subject to a Child Protection Plan, or where there are Safeguarding concerns, is absent, the circumstances are reviewed with a Senior Staff Member and the outcome recorded and any actionsagreed are prioritised.
  • That when any student is identified as ‘Vulnerable’ there is a clear action plan which takes their vulnerability into account if/when absent.
  • That early intervention is assured when individual student absence gives cause for concern in accordance with schools policies and procedures.
  • That any student who has been identified with long term medical related issues and where absence has been authorised is reviewed at least once every 4 school weeks with a Senior Staff Member.
  • That clear and challenging attendance targets are set and that timelines and expectationsfor parents, students and school in resolving attendance issuesare identified and recorded.
  • That when making any referral to the Education Investigation Service (EIS)that theEIS criteria is met and that referrals are appropriately detailed in terms of student /parent detail and Schools action prior to referral.
  • That a detailed report on attendance issues is relayed to the Principal and Chair of Governors to include confirmation as to thosecases being managed internally and those referred to the EISfor statutory intervention.
  • The frequency of such reports to be will be termly unless asked for specifically by the Principal/Chair of Governors.
  • That all members of staff are managed to adhere to policy and procedure, and the fair and consistent implementation of this across the whole Schoolin their dealings with students and parents
  • That appropriate action is taken to decide, agree and inform when previously authorised absences have accrued to a level at which the school will no longer authorise any further absences. This will be at 10 sessions of authorised absence in one period of time or in separate absences.
  • That there is full and up to date awareness of all students who may become or are Persistent Absentees (85% and below)
  • That a regular review of the late book is undertaken and that Policies and Procedures around lateness are followed to improve punctuality.
  • That they liaise directly with anEIS District Manager around all removals of students from Roll.

Form Tutors

Form Tutors are responsible for marking the Attendance Registers in accordance with the registration system and guidelines employed by the school and for bringing to the attention of the Attendance Administration team, any student that exhibits irregular attendance at School and/or absence for more than five consecutive days with no reason yet provided.

Operational Team

  • Admin/Attendance Team
  • Pastoral Support Managers

Admin Officers/Attendance Admin Team

There are two dedicated members of staff who will generate reports for SLT on a weekly basis; the reports will be reviewed by SLT to ensure that the appropriate intervention either at individual level or at whole school level is taken, they will also:

  • Produce absence reportson a daily basis that will identify for theAttendance Admin Team the parents/carers to contact by telephone on the first day of astudent’s absence and to establish the reason for that absence.
  • To send a message via group call to the parents/ Carers to highlight further absence
  • To identify when there are 5 sessions of unauthorised absence recorded for any studentand to alert the Pastoral Support Managers responsible for students House Group.
  • The Attendance Admin Team will keep under review all students whose attendance is 90% and below and send standard letter 1(see appendix)
  • To agree/confirm or seek guidance as to if any reason given for absence can be accepted for the ‘authorisation’ of the absence.
  • To assert thatSchool are under no obligation to authorise any absence without appropriate detail, information or in some cases ‘proof’.

Note

New guidance from the DFE now states any studentwhose attendance is 85% or below falls within “Persistent Absence”, and this statistic is fed back to the Government.

Once identified the Attendance Admin Team will write to all parent/s, carer/sstandard letter 2 and alert SLT on a monthly basis.

Pastoral Support Managers

At Leasowes High School there are four members of Pastoral Support Managers who are responsible for and will undertake interventions as directed by SLT, School’s Policy and Procedures in relation to individual students and parental engagement.

This may be by telephone contact,attendance clinics, studentsupport, identification and assessment of needs,home visits and challenging parents around their responsibilities to ensure attendance.

All interventions and contacts with parents must be documented; detail the intervention carried out, and recorded within the student’s file, contemporaneous notes will be maintained at all times within an effective recording system.

All correspondence must be an ‘original’ copy which has been photocopied and retained on file to support any criminal or family court proceedings by the EIS.

Standard Operating Procedures

  • At 10 sessions of absencePastoral Support Managers will write to the parent/carer. This is standard letter 3.
  • At 15 sessions of absence Pastoral Support Managers will invite the parent/carer to a meeting to discuss the absence of the student and to identify, assess and consider how any unmet needs can be addressed.
  • Any Action Plan and/or Recommendations must be in writing to those with Parental Responsibility in letter form and on school headed paper, withthe date, parents/carers names and address, student’s name, DOB, the date of any follow up or review and a signature block.

Note

This letter needs to be an ‘original’ copy of that sent to parents/carers

and can not be a computer generated document at some later date.

  • Where the needs of the student and family can be met by the school(as a universal service) ensure that the relevant support is identified, provided and outcomes recorded.
  • Where any additional needs have been identified beyond that which can be met by the school and where other agency support may be required the Common Assessment Process shall be offered and followed.
  • At 18 sessions of unauthorised absence over a 6 week period Pastoral Support Managers can refer to the Education Investigation Service this for statutory / legal action against parent/s, carer/s to be considered.

Mail – The EIS, Westox House, 1 Trinity Road, Dudley, DY11JQ

Email –

Fax – 01384 813558

  • Referral can now be made when a student is under 85%, but has missed the referral criteria over 6 week period. Referral will continue to the address as above.
  • Where a case reaches the above Referral Criteria and no Referral is made this should be raised with a Senior Member of Staff and the outcome recorded in writing as to why and who was party to this decision.
  • Undertake home visits to any student that is identified as requiring intervention to secure student and parental engagement.
  • Learning Mentors and Attendance Admin Team to be responsible for cross referencing student attendance at Alternative Educational Providers, or on work experience.
  • To ensure effective tracking of these students and that the schools registers are a true account of their attendance, this should be done at least once a week.

Students

Are expected to;

  • Attend School punctually and on a regular basis appropriately dressed (in accordance with School policy) and prepared for the school day
  • Co-operate with members of staff and the School’s Attendance Admin Team in dealing with any issues relating to their attendance.
  • Report any issues of concern with other students to Form Tutors

Parents and Carers

Are expected to;

  • Ensure that their children attend school regularly and punctually every day it is open.
  • Ensure that they contact the school prior to 09.30 am on the first day of absence; provide a reason for their child’s absence and the expected length of time it is anticipated that the student will be absent.
  • Confirm the reason for the student’s absence in writing on the first day on which he/she returns to school (and keep this on student’s file)
  • Appreciate that the reason given for absence may not lead to the authorisation of the absence.
  • Be prepared to provide further information or detail to support the parental view that their child was unfit to attend school.This could be a letter from the doctor, medical appointment card or medication that can be verified by the school nurse.
  • Ensure that, unless absolutely necessary, any medical or dental appointments in respect of their child are made outside school hours but where such school-time appointments are made that evidence is provided to school staff. Parents should ensure that wherever possible, students attend school before and return to school following medical appointments.
  • Ensure they are contactable should their child be taken ill during the school day, and make appropriate arrangements to collect or have their child collected from reception.
  • Ensure they keep school up to date with changes to contact details including mobile phone numbers and address’
  • Co-operate fully with school staff and respond to all calls and correspondence from school and/or Officers of the Local Authority and/or Education Investigation Service in relation to the attendance of their child/ren

PROCEDURES

Registration

  • A member of school staff is required to mark the registers at the beginning of the morning session and for the afternoon session, this is a legal requirement.
  • Only codes identified in the Education (Student Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 can be used.
  • Individual members of staff are responsible for the security of the register/electronic folders used to mark the registers and should follow the school’s policy in this regard
  • In respect of supply staff, they are required to mark the registers manually on documentation provided and return them to the administrative staff to update the electronic register.
  • The school’s register opens at 08.40amand closes at 8.45 Monday to Friday for all students.
  • All students arriving after 8.45am but before 9.15 am will be marked as late (‘L’ Code)
  • The Principal and Chair of Governors are legally responsible for the keeping of the Admissions and Attendance Registers and for ensuring any removal of a student from Roll complies with the Education (Student Registration) Regulations 2006.

Managing Lateness

  • Registers are marked in accordance with the above and if a student is marked late before registration closes the register shall be marked with the coding “L”.
  • If a student arrives late more than 10 times then the school will remove the privilege of arriving late. This will happen after a meeting with the parent has taken place and agreement given. If a child arrives after 8:45 at this point they will be marked as unauthorised late (‘U’ code.)
  • All students arriving after 9.15am will be marked are unauthorised absence (‘U’ Code)
  • Any student arriving after the close of registers will be coded as “U”, which identifies they arrived late and itsstatistical meaning is “un authorised” absence.
  • The school will implement procedures for tackling poor punctuality through sanctions within school and parental engagement.

Managing Holidays

The Principalhas the discretionary power to grant a student time off duringterm-time for a holiday and/or extenuating or compassionate circumstances.

Leave of absence request forms can be collected from reception, and must be completed at least 4 weeks in advance of the requestby the parent(s), carer(s) that the student normally resides with.

No student may be granted more than 10 days in any school year, except in very exceptional circumstances the reasons being recorded in writing and kept on the students file.