Frederick Bird Primary School

Aim

• To ensure that parents understand their legal responsibility that their child attends school regularly and on time. This responsibility forms part of the Home-School Agreement which is signed by parents/carers and the school annually.

• To ensure that children receive their full entitlement to teaching and learning opportunities at Frederick Bird Primary School by being punctual and achieving the maximum possible attendance.

Rationale

The Government expectation for attendance is a minimum of 97% for each child. 97% and above is deemed to be the level of attendance that gives pupils the greatest opportunity to achieve to the best of their potential in school, both academically and socially. Anything less than this gives Frederick Bird School cause for concern. Parents have a legal responsibility to ensure that their child attends regularly and on time.

1. Daily practice

We ask parents to contact school if their child is unwell and unable to attend, on the first morning of the absence. There is an automated answeringsystem if no- one is available to receive the call. We also ask parents to give notice in advance of any hospitalappointments which fall unavoidably within the school day.Where appointments fall within school hours, we request that parents show us evidence of the appointment by way of an appointment card or letter. The child is expected to attend school until collected to attend the appointment, and return to school following the appointment where appropriate.

We would expect the majority of routine appointments, such as dental check-ups, opticians and injections, to be arranged after school or in the school holidays.

The Attendance Officer will follow up any absence which was not previously notified to us on the first day of absence. This may be by telephone or a home visit if the absence gives cause for concern.

The Attendance Officerwill also contact parents where there are concerns over attendance and punctuality.

The school recognises the need for a multi-agency approach to support the attendance and welfare of some pupils and the need to find varied and differing means of support in the interest of social inclusion. Where we feel it would help to support the child and family, a referral can be made to the school’s Family Support Worker. The CAF process could also be used as a further means of supporting families.

Parents are informed and regularly reminded of the school term-time dates.

2.Rewards and Strategies

The achievement of pupils with good attendance will be celebrated on a regular basis, as will the achievement of pupils with significant improvement in attendance. Reward systems will be reviewed regularly to ensure that they are kept fresh and motivational. The school aims to help pupils develop their own motivation for daily punctual attendance.

FrederickBirdSchool will look for every opportunity to raise the profile of the importance of good attendance with pupils and parents.

• A trophy is awarded each week in achievement assemblies, to the class with the best attendance in each key stage.
• Results are reported in the weekly newsletter.
• Certificates and a small prize are awarded at the end of term for children with excellent attendance for the term.
• At the end of the academic year, children with excellent attendance (99% and above) are rewarded with a certificate and a medal.
• Postcards are sent home to acknowledge improvements in children’s attendance.

3.Persistent absence

Persistent absence refers to a pupil with less than 90% attendance.

Where daily practice has had little impact on improving a pupil’s attendance,parents are invited to a meeting with the Attendance Officer to discuss ways to improve the situation.

The Local Authority monitors attendance of pupils with less than 90%.

Half-termly meetings are held in school to discuss each pupil with persistent absence. The Attendance Officer, Assistant Head for Inclusion, Local Authority Attendance Officer and CAFCO will discuss and determine an appropriate strategy for improvement for each pupil with persistent absence.When agreed strategies for improvement have failed, the Local Authority will enforce attendance by:

• Local Authority Attendance Officer meeting with parents to secure improved attendance.
• Local Authority Attendance Officer liaising with parents to issue a parent contract. If the parent fails to attend this meeting then the parent contract is imposed. Failure to improve could lead to prosecution for continuing poor attendance.

Frederick Bird Primary School fully endorses the Government and Local Authority requirements for attendance and registration.

4.Registration

The legal status of school registers is regularly stressed to all school staff and meticulous effort is made to ensure they are accurately kept. Registers are maintained electronically, which allows either the class teacher or Attendance Officer to add comments about the reason for absence, the efforts made to contact home or the outcome of home visits. The authorisation of absence remains at the discretion of the Headteacher and not the parents.

5.Reports

• Pupil registration certificates are sent to parents on a termly basis with the termly pupil report to keep parents informed of their child’s attendance.
• The Headteacher will report on attendance as part of her termly report to governors
• The Headteacher will also report attendance statistics on a termly basis to the DfE.This data is now collected automatically.

6.Removal from Roll

In the event of school transfer or a pupil moving to another area, a pupil will normally remain on roll until notification is received from the receiving school. Should no notification be received the school will make every effort to locate the pupil in conjunction with the Local Authority. If unsuccessful, a CME (Child Missing from Education) form will be completed by the Attendance Officer and sent to the Local Authority. The pupil will be removed from roll after twenty days.

In the case ofunauthorised holidays, pupils’ names will be removed from the roll after twenty days of absence. Parents are made aware of this before the leave of absence, and by letter when the child’s name has been removed from roll.

7.Late Arrival at School

Poor punctuality gives the pupil who is late a difficult and negative start to their day and disrupts the teaching and learning of other pupils. The importance of punctuality (entry from 8.40 a.m. until 8.50 a.m.), is stressed to parents. A bell rings at 8.50 a.m. to signal to parents and children that the formal day has begun. This also acts as a signal to parents who are en route that the outside doors will be locked.

All pupils who arrive late should come to the external dining room doors and report to the Attendance Officer. An accurate log of their time of arrival is made, and each parent is expected to give a reason as to why they are late. Pupils will be registered by the Attendance Officer and minutes late and any comments are recorded. This log is used in discussion with parents and can also be used as prosecution evidence in court proceedings in the event of persistent lateness.

Registers are closed at 9.30a.m. and any pupil arriving after this time will be given a U code unless there is evidence of a valid reason which has been previously notified (e.g. hospital appointment). The U code equates to an unauthorised absence, consequently parents of pupils with persistent lates could incur a fine.

8.Working with Parents

The importance placed on regular attendance and punctuality is explained to parents when they first enrol their child in the school. At different times during the school year attendance issues are reiterated in school newsletters. Parents are regularly informed that should their child be unavoidably absent they should telephone the school on the first day of absence.

FrederickBirdPrimary School believes that the involvement of parents is a key factor in addressing attendance issues and will ensure that all parents and carers are made aware of their responsibilities with regard to attendance. This is made clear in our home – school agreement.

9.Leave of absence in term time

Frederick Bird School recognises that pupil absence during term time can seriously disrupt a pupil’s continuity of learning. Parents are therefore strongly urged to avoid booking a holiday during term time. If parents are planning to take their children out of school in term time, whatever the reason, they must first make an appointment with the Attendance Officer to discuss their intention, before booking tickets to travel. Holidays in term time will not be authorised and the law will be explained to parents during this meeting alongside the consequences if the parent proceeds to take their child out of school.The penalty notice (a fine) will be levied for ten unauthorised sessions, equivalent to five consecutive days.

In September 2013, the government changed its policy on leave of absence in term time. Department for Education Guidance now states that:

“headteachers may not grant any leave of absence in term time unless there are exceptional circumstances”.

Where family holidays or leave of absence are taken without the permission of the school, parents can be given a Penalty Notice (a fine) for periods of unauthorised absence.

The Penalty Notice is issued to each parent of each child. Each Penalty Notice will be £60 if it is paid within 21 days. It will increase to £120 if paid after 21 days but within 28 days.

Failure to pay the Penalty Notice could result in Coventry City Council starting legal proceedings for the offence of failing to ensure a child’s regular attendance at school.

March 2018