ATTENDANCEPOLICY
Introduction
Regular school attendance is crucial in raising standards in education and ensuring that every child can have full access to the school curriculum and reach their potential. Hollybank Primary will strive to promote an ethos and culture which encourages good attendance and where each pupil will feel valued andsecure.
OurVision
In Hollybank Primary School our mission statement is ‘No Child Left Behind’
Aims
1To improve/maintain the overall attendance of pupils at Hollybank Primary School.
2To develop a framework that defines roles and responsibilities in relation toattendance.
3To provide advice, support and guidance to parents/guardians andpupils.
4To promote good relationships with Educational WelfareService.
Role of theSchool
The Principal at Hollybank Primary School has overall responsibility for school attendance; teachers and non-teaching staff should bring any concernsregarding school attendance to his/herattention.
The Board of Governors provide support by reviewing school attendance figuresand targets and ensuring it is placed as an agenda item at meetings on a regularbasis.
Teaching staff regularly monitor the attendance and punctuality of pupils byensuring that attendance is recorded daily. If a child needs to leave school for an appointment in the afternoon they will then record this on the class attendance record which is recorded on the computersystem.
To enable our school to record and monitor attendance in a consistent way we will adhere to the guidance provided in the Department of Education Circular 2015/02, which can be found at the following link:
Hollybank Primary is committed to working with parents to encourage regularand punctualattendance.
Role ofParent/Guardian
Parents have a legal duty toensure:
Every child of compulsory school age shall receive efficient full time education suitable to age, ability and aptitude and to any special educational needs hemay have, either by regular school attendance orotherwise.
(Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order1986)
Parents are legally responsible for ensuring that their children regularly attend the school at which they are registered.(DE Circular 2015/02)
It is a parent/guardian’s responsibility to inform school of the reason for a pupil’s absence on the first day of absence. This should be confirmed with a written note* when the pupil returns to school. If the absence is likely to be prolonged, this information should be provided to enable the school to assist with homework or any other necessary arrangements which may berequired.
School doors open at 8.45am and pupils are expected to be in school punctually, ready to commence lessons at 8.50am, with registration closing at 9.15am. It is the responsibility of parents to ensure that your child is punctual. Lateness disrupts lessons and puts children at a disadvantage as some of the key information will already have been provided by the class teacher. Lateness is recordedon your child’s attendancerecord. Lateness before 9.15am will be recorded as ’L’ and thereafter as ‘U’.
If your child appears reluctant to attend school, please discuss the matter promptly with the class teacher or the Vice Principal/Principal to ensure that both you and your child receive maximumsupport.
It is important to note that non-emergency appointments should, where possible, be made outside of school hours. It is understood that this is not always possible and so, occasionally, urgent appointments will have to occur during the school day. A note requesting permission for temporary absence must be sent to school. It is not normally necessary for pupils to stay off school for the whole day to attend an appointment and so we would expect parents to bring pupils into school/back to school before and after theirappointment.
Parents should present an appointment card to the school prior to allmedical/dental appointments unless an emergency appointment has beenmade.
It is not appropriate or permissible for children to leave school to attend a birthday partyetc.
Role ofPupils
Each pupil at Hollybank Primary School has a duty to ensure that they attend school punctually and regularly. If you have been absent from school a written note* from a parent/guardian must be provided to your teacher when you return toschool.
* An Absence notification form is available at the school office, if required. This Absence slip is instead of a letter from home. However, if a more detailed reason for absence is required then a letter should always be submitted to the school.
AbsenceProcedures
Absence from school requires the parent/guardian to inform the school of the reason for absence. The school should be informed, in advance, of any dental/medical appointment that necessitates a child being absent from school for part or all of theday.
Where no reason for absence is forthcoming, it is the responsibility of theclass teacher, in the first instance, to ascertain the reason for absence. This may be done by contacting the parent/guardian by note, phone or seeingthe parent/guardian when the child is being left at or collected from school. Ifstill no reason is forthcoming, the absence should be recorded as unauthorised. If attendance is causing concern (falling below 90%), and the reasons given are unsatisfactory, this concern should be communicated to theparent.
At the end of each month, the school will run reports on attendance figures. The school will then identify attendance that has fallen below the threshold of 85%. The principal will then write out to parents making them aware of the individual attendance figures for their child(ren). This is part of a statutory requirement of schools. In addition, the school principal may also request that parents attend a meeting to discuss falling attendance.
The school will also meet on a regular basis with the Education Welfare Officer for the area. During these meetings general attendance issues will be discussed and specific cases may also be discussed. Prior to the meeting, the E.W.O. will always ask for copies of attendance that falls on or below the 85% threshold.
If a child has fallen to or below the 85% threshold then the E.W.O. will always ask the school to provide reasons for absence i.e. notes or explanations provided by home. Even if the E.W.O. feels satisfied that genuine reasons of absence have been provideda professional discussion will take still take place to ascertain if any further action is required. The Education Welfare Service and Hollybank Primary School will always act in the best interests of the child and reserve the right to make referrals even when genuine reasons of absence are provided.
If a referral is made then the parents will be informed by the Education Welfare Service. As a result of the referral, parents will be required to work with both the school and E.W.S. to ensure absence improves.
Both the school and the E.W.S. may provide signposting to organisations where parents can be supported in ensuring that theirchild(ren) attend school regularly.
If poor attendance still continues, even after a referral has been made, then the E.W.S. may be required to escalate concerns and this could result in further measures – Education Supervision Order – Children (NI) Order 1995/Parental Prosecutions – Education & Libraries (NI) 1986, Article 45,Schedule 13.
Internal Procedures to Facilitate the Implementation of the AttendancePolicy
1The class attendance sheet should be completed accurately each day.
2Lateness before registration should be recorded as ‘L’and after registration as ‘U’.
3Attendance sheets should be checked regularly by school staff and recorded onto SIMS.
4‘N’ marks should be investigated as soon as the child returns toschool.
5An ‘Unexplained Absence’ sheet will be issued weekly. Teachersshould annotate this in light of information received about suchabsences.
6Where no note or reason for absence is received, teachers should contact the parent to seek an explanation for the absence using Appendix1.
7The school is obliged to consider and record unexplained absences as unauthorized.
8Where attendance does not improve and falls below 85%, the Principalwill follow the further procedures outlined in the attendancepolicy.
Information on the Codes used can be found at Appendix 2
Family Holidays during TermTime
Holidays must not be arranged during termtime.Pupil attendance and educational achievement are inextricably linked. (DE Circular 2015/02)
Hollybank Primary School discourages holidays during term time due to the impact they have on pupils’ learning. Family holidays taken during term time will routinely be categorised as an unauthorised absence unless there are exceptional circumstances surrounding this need for absence. If permission has not been sought for such absence in advance then this will also be recorded as an unauthorisedabsence.
Procedures for ManagingNon-attendance
Where accumulated absence falls below 85%, the school will contact the parent/guardian. If attendance remains problematic, the parent/guardian will be contacted a second time and offered a meeting to discuss the matter. Parents will receive a letter advising them that failure to redress this situation will result in their child’s attendance being discussed with the Educational Welfare Officer (EWO)which could likely result in a referral being made to this agency. Should the parent/guardian fail to respond, or if there is no improvement in the child’s attendance, the matter will be referred to theE.W.O.
Educational WelfareService
The Education Authority of Northern Ireland through the Education Welfare Service have alegal responsibility to make sure that parents meet their responsibility towards their children’seducation.
Regular attendance is an essential requirement for educational results and where attendance difficulties exist or a pupil’s attendance falls below 85%, Education Welfare Service (EWS) will support staff and parents in developing andimplementing strategies to address or improve schoolattendance.
Parents of a child with a serious or long term illness, which could require pupil absence to be prolonged or frequent, should contact school to ask for advice and guidance as to what further support may be available to assist with such asituation.
Principal:Date:_
Chair of BoardofGovernors:Date:
Appendix 1
Our Reason for Absence form
NOTIFICATION OF PUPIL ABSENCE
This is to notify the school that in class was absent on the following dates:
The reason was:
IllnessHoliday (not agreed)
Medical appointmentReligious observance
Signed: (Parent / Guardian)
Date:
Appendix 2
ABSENCE CODES: GUIDANCE FORSCHOOLS
CODE / DESCRIPTION / STATISTICALMEANING/\ / Present: / = (AM): \ =(PM) / Present
A / ArtisticEndeavour / AuthorisedAbsence
B / Bereavement / AuthorisedAbsence
C / Suspended / AuthorisedAbsence
D / No reason provided forabsence / UnauthorisedAbsence
F / Family Holiday(agreed) / AuthorisedAbsence
G / Family Holiday (notagreed) / UnauthorisedAbsence
H / OtherAbsence / UnauthorisedAbsence
I / Illness (not medical ordental appointments) / AuthorisedAbsence
L / Late (before registrationclosed) / Present
M / Medical/DentalAppointments / AuthorisedAbsence
N / No reason yet provided forabsence (temporary codeonly) / UnauthorisedAbsence
O / Other ExceptionalCircumstances / AuthorisedAbsence
P / Approved SportingActivity / Approved EducationalActivity
R / ReligiousObservance / AuthorisedAbsence
S / StudyLeave / Approved EducationalActivity
U / Late (after registrationclosed) / UnauthorisedAbsence
V / EducationalVisit / Approved EducationalActivity
W / WorkExperience / Approved EducationalActivity
X / Only staff shouldattend / Attendance notrequired
Y / ExceptionalClosure / Attendance notrequired
* / Not onroll / Attendance notrequired
# / Holiday forall / Attendance notrequired
! / No attendancerequired / Attendance notrequired
1 / Alternative EducationProvision (organised by theELB) / Approved EducationalActivity
2 / Home/hospital tuition (organised bythe ELB) / Approved EducationalActivity
3 / Elective HomeEducation / Attendance notRequired
4 / Pupil ReferralUnit / Approved EducationalActivity
5 / Another mainstream school(under Entitlement Framework –EF) / Approved EducationalActivity
6 / Training Organisation (underEF) / Approved EducationalActivity
7 / FE College (underEF) / Approved EducationalActivity
8 / Intensive Support LearningUnit / Approved EducationalActivity
9 / CAMHS / Approved EducationalActivity