Attendance Policy
2017
Archway offers a positive, safe learning environment for its community, in which everyone has equal and individual recognition and respect. We celebrate success and are committed to the continuous improvement and fulfilment of potential in every child. We encourage increasing independence and self-discipline amongst the pupils. Everyone within Archway has an important role to play in sharing responsibility for the development of positive behaviour and attitudes.
Version / September 2017Owner / Archway
Approved
Review Cycle / 1Year
Next Review / September 2018
Designated Safeguarding Lead: Denise Cullen
Deputy Safeguarding Leads:
Sarah Stephenson, Shamila Ali, Lucy Smith
Safeguarding Link MC: Andrew Woolf
Head Teacher: Leigh Beaumont
Chair of Management Committee: Julie McDowell
ATTENDANCE GUIDANCE AND PROCEDURES
1. Statement of Intent
2. School Attendance – The Statutory Framework
3. Registration
4. Absence
5. Reporting of Absence – Procedure
6. Categorising Absence
7. Persistent Absence
8. Lateness
9. Roles and Responsibilities
10. Long Term Absence and Hospital Leave
11. Absconding
Appendix 1 Registration Procedure
Appendix 2 Letter requesting Reason for Absence
Attendance Guidance
1. Statement of Intent
Archway recognises the importance of full attendance and aims to ensure that all students achieve and maintain high standards of attendance.
Regular attendance is fundamental to a good education and, therefore, is a priority. Archway is committed to providing a full and effective educational experience for all its students.
Our aim is to develop students to their full potential. Parents/carers have a responsibility to support this education process by ensuring that their child/ren attends school regularly, on time, and in a suitable condition to learn.
We expect all parent/carers to value Archway and their child’s education and to support the attendance procedures.
2. School Attendance – The Statutory Framework
Education Act 1944 – Establishes the duty of parent/carers to ensure regular attendance of students.
Student Registration Regulations 1995 (amended) gives school Discretionary powers to grant leave for the purpose of a family holiday in term-time.
The Education (Student Registration) Regulations 1997(amended)
Provides the new registration categories of Approved Educational Activity. (Amending Regulation 3(2), (3), (5) of the Education Regulations 1995).
Education Act 1996 places a legal obligation on the Local
Authority to provide education suitable to a child’s age, aptitude and ability and to any special educational needs they may have and also Section 444 states that “The parent/carer of a child of compulsory school age registered at school and failing to attend regularly is guilty of an offence punishable by law”.
Education Act 2002 (Section 53) enables an overall absence target to be set, covering authorised and unauthorised absence, supporting school improvement and raising community awareness of the issue (September 2003).
The Children Act 2004 places a duty on schools and all agencies to safeguard children and to contribute to the Every Child Matters outcomes.
The Anti Social Behaviour Act 2003 introduced Penalty Notices for school absence.
The Education and Inspection Act 2006 placed a duty on Local Authorities to track, locate and reconcile students in education.
3. Registration
3.1 There is a legal requirement upon schools to keep an attendance register on which, at the beginning of each morning and afternoon sessions, students are marked present or absent. The Education (Students Attendance Record) Regulations 1991 introduced a further requirement that attendance registers much show whether an absence of a student of compulsory school age is authorised or unauthorised.
3.2 Both staff and students see the taking of registers as an integral part of the school day, as was indeed intended in law. Particular attention is paid to accurate registration and to the preservation and security of registers.
3.3 Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council requires all registration to use the symbols shown in Table 1 (Appendix 1).
3.4 In accordance with current legislation, each class in school has an electronic attendance register. It is Archway policy that in-house registers should be saved and closed by 9.45am and 1.30pm. Where a student is accessing an alternative provision code ‘N’ is used until confirmation of attendance has been received.
3.5 It is our policy to record a late mark for children who arrive at school after class registration has taken place. However, genuine reasons for lateness, e.g. school bus problems, are taken into account. Where a student arriving on school transport - whether by bus or taxi - is regularly late, the school will take the matter up with the company concerned and Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council’s School Transport Department.
A student arriving between 9.30am - 9.45am is recorded as ‘L’. From 9.45am onwards the record will show ‘U’, which is arrival after close of registration.
4. Absence
4.1 It is the parent/carer’s responsibility to inform the school of the reason for a student’s absence, ideally on the first day of absence.
4.2 It is a fact that parentally-condoned unjustified absence is a serious problem in some schools. This can be every bit as damaging as the more traditional forms of truancy.
Only the school, within the context of the law, can approve absence, not parents/carers. The fact that a parent/carer has offered a note or other notification (telephone call or personal contact) in relation to a particular absence does not, in itself, oblige the school to accept it if the school does not accept the explanation offered as a valid reason for absence. If, after further investigation doubt remains about the explanation offered – or where no explanation is forthcoming at all - the absence will be treated as unauthorised. Where parentally condoned, unjustified absence appears to be a problem in relation to a particular student, and Archway attendance procedures have been followed, the matter will be referred to the Attendance and Welfare Officer at the earliest opportunity.
4.3 An excessive amount of authorised absence can also seriously disrupt continuity of learning and encourage disaffection. Archway is alert to emerging patterns of authorised absence. Archway may authorise absence retrospectively where they are satisfied as to the explanation offered. Absences of students of compulsory school age without valid reason or for which no explanation has been provided will be treated as unauthorised.
4.4 Section 444 of the Education Act 1996 provides that no offence is committed where a student of compulsory school age is prevented from attending school by reason of illness. If the school is satisfied that a student is absent as a result of illness the absence will be treated as authorised.
4.5 Where the school has reason to doubt the validity of an explanation offered in respect of a particular absence, further information will be requested from the student’s parent/carers. If the school continues to be dissatisfied then the absence will be treated as unauthorised. Validation of absence can be supported by appointment cards/letters, copy of named prescription etc
4.6 Where there is doubt about the authenticity of absence attributed to illness, the school or the Local Authority Attendance and Welfare Officer can refer the matter to the School Health Service to arrange support. If a student is absent for a prolonged period or the school notices a pattern emerging, early contact will be made with the Attendance and Welfare Officer and/or the School Health Service.
4.7 Parents/carers are asked to arrange medical and dental appointments outside of school hours wherever possible. However, leave for medical or dental appointments will be given (i.e. the absence will be authorised) where confirmation has been received from the parent/carer (either in person, in writing or by a telephone call) or on production of an appointment card.
5. Reporting of Absence Procedure
5.1 Parents/carers are expected to telephone, contact the attendance administrator at Archway or send a note on the first day of their child’s absence. This will allow the appropriate member of staff to interpret the category of absence. If information is not received, the school will telephone to discover the cause of the absence. It is the responsibility of the parent/carer to provide the school with two telephone numbers. If the family is not on the telephone a letter (Appendix 2) may be sent. If there is no response a further letter will be sent requesting a meeting to resolve the matter (Appendix 3).
5.2 The tutor/attendance administrator will keep all notes and notes of telephone messages and a note of any verbal explanations, dated, in their staff file.
5.3 Records will be kept on SIMs with additional information recorded on CPOMs
5.4 Holidays in term time can damage a child’s education and future life prospects, particularly for those pupils with existing attendance problems, struggling with education or being absent at critical times in the school year. The Redcar and Cleveland Attendance and Welfare are committed to working in partnership with schools and families to manage and reduce school absence due to term time holidays.
5.5 The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 previously enabled the Head Teacher to grant leave of absence for the purpose of a holiday, as long as the request for leave of absence was made in advance and that there were special circumstances for granting the leave, however, these regulations have been amended by regulations of the same name which came into force on 1st September 2013. The new regulations remove all references for holidays and the ability to authorise up to 10 school days of leave, so that leave of absence is only granted where a request is made in advance and the leave is classed as exceptional circumstances. There is no statutory definition of what is classed as an exceptional circumstance and it is the decision of the Head Teacher.
5.6 The Government, the Local Authority and schools acknowledge the financial and work pressures some families are subject to and in exceptional circumstances are prepared to authorise term time leave of absence. Most parents acknowledge the need for these absences to be managed carefully to avoid having a detrimental effect on their child’s education and do co-operate with the schools, however, a significant minority of parents take their children out of school without authority.
5.7 The government has introduced legislation allowing the Local Authority to issue penalty notices to parents who fail to ensure their children attend school and this is incorporated within our school attendance procedures. All schools within the Borough are encouraged to adopt a common leave of absence policy to ensure legal compliance;
• Parents should provide at least 4 school weeks advance notice in writing of any planned absence, the Head Teacher has the discretion to authorise leave of absence in exceptional circumstances.
• The Local Authority may consider taking further action when unauthorised leave of absence is taken at the following critical times and circumstances, if deemed to be in the public interest.
a) At any time in September
b) For any student whose attendance was below 95% within the previous 12 calendar months, measured from the date before the first day of the leave of absence (including authorised and unauthorised absence).
c) At any time during formal external examination and assessment periods, including preparation time (school to provide evidence to support).
d) If a holiday warning letter or Penalty Notice has been issued in the previous 12 calendar months, measured from the date before the first day of the leave of absence regardless of overall attendance during the previous 12 month period.
e) Warning letters will be issued in those cases where attendance is 95% and above during the previous 12 months unless taken at a) or c) above.
f) Warning letters will also be issued at the re quest of head teachers, for those pupils failing to achieve their academic attainment/potential, patterns of previous attendance concerns/punctuality, or any other concerns that impact on their learning.
5.8 The school should publish the formal leave of absence (holiday) policy on an annual basis to all parents. Leave of absence taken without approval for the purposes of a holiday will be recorded as an unauthorised holiday absence (code G). Archway has adopted the Local Authority policy on Unauthorised Leave. If a parent/carer decides to take their child out of school during term time without the permission of the head teacher a referral will be made to Attendance and Welfare Service for further action. This may result in the issue of a fixed penalty notice, which is a £60 per parent, per child if paid within 21 days of issue. Failure to pay this fine within the 21 days will increase the amount to £120 per parent, per child. Failure to pay the penalty notice within 28 days of issue may result in the local authority prosecuting parent/carer for failing to ensure the regular attendance of their child at school under Section:444 Education Act 1996. If found guilty the maximum fine which could be issued is £2500 and/or a 3 month custodial sentence.
5.9 Where a student is present for registration but then has to attend an
appointment, the school need take no action beyond recording the fact that (for the purpose of emergency evacuation) the student, although registered, is not physically present. Similarly the school must note the presence of a student (again for purposes of emergency evacuation) who was not there when the register was being taken but returns later from an appointment. The form tutor/attendance administrator will make a note in the relevant day’s column in the register as to the times the student came or left so that there is information on the student’s whereabouts in the event of emergency evacuation.
6. Categorising Absence
Archway policy deals in general with the categories of absence and cannot cover every eventuality. It will be necessary on occasion to exercise reasonable discretion when investigating some absences. However the following key points must be remembered:
· Registered students of compulsory school age are required by law to be in school;
· Whilst it is appropriate to recognise that some individual students and families have problems, the aim is always to expect regular attendance;
· Lateness will be actively discouraged;
· Where a student is absent without prior authorisation an explanation is required. If one is not forthcoming (for whatever reason), the absence will be treated as unauthorised and the register completed accordingly;