Gossey Lane Academy
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Approved by: Governing Board Policy Committee
Signed: …………………………….. Date: ………….
November 2016
1. Rationale
1.1 Gossey Lane Academy bases its Attendance Policy on guidelines set out by Birmingham LEA.
1.2 Whilst the legal responsibility for regular school attendance rests with parents/carers, governing board and staff at Gossey Lane School share with them, and the LEA, responsibility for encouraging good attendance and improving poor attendance.
1.3 Children should be at school, on time, every day the school is open, unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable. Permitting absence from school without a good reason is an offence by the parent/carer.
1.4 Children may sometimes be reluctant to attend school. Any problems with regular attendance are best sorted out between the school, the parents/carers and the child. If a child is reluctant to attend, it is never better to cover up their absence or to give in to pressure to excuse them from attending. This gives the impression that attendance does not matter and may make things worse.
2. Aims
· To maximise attendance of all children.
· To provide an environment which encourages regular attendance and makes attendance and punctuality a priority for all those associated with the school.
· To monitor and support children whose attendance is a cause for concern and work in partnership with parents/carers to resolve any difficulties.
· To implement an effective system of rewards and sanctions.
· To promote effective partnerships with other services and agencies.
· To recognise the needs of the individual pupil when planning reintegration following significant periods of absence.
3. Targets
3.1 Gossey Lane Academy is required by law to maintain records and to publish specified information on the attendance of pupils.
3.2 The school’s attendance target for 2016-2017 is 96%. The government’s current expectation for average attendance is 96% minimum - we have set our target to meet expected.
3.3 Classes from Reception to Year 6 are provided with regular feedback on their attendance, with percentages being announced in periodic assemblies and displayed in classroom windows in order to share the information with parents/carers.
4. Roles and Responsibilities
The following people have key responsibilities in the pursuit of high levels of attendance and punctuality:
· Governors
o to set and monitor progress towards annual targets for attendance
o to evaluate the effectiveness of the Attendance Policy
o to decide whether or not to authorise requested periods of absence during term time
· SLT (Head Teacher, Deputy Head Teacher, Assistant Head Teacher) /Family Support Advisor
o to ensure that effective systems are in place to accurately record individual pupil, class, groups and whole school attendance patterns
o to monitor individual pupil, class, groups and whole school attendance and punctuality
o to make a judgement whether an absence is authorised or unauthorised
o to work in partnership with key agencies if attendance and/or punctuality is an issue
o to provide Governors with information to enable them to evaluate the success of policy and practice
o to write to parents/carers regarding their child’s attendance, at least termly, and more often for those whose attendance is causing concern
o to arrange meetings with parents/carers to discuss support and set targets for those experiencing attendance difficulties
o to implement rewards fairly and consistently (See section 5 – Strategies)
· Class Teacher
o to provide an accurate record of the attendance of each child in their class, completing the register twice daily at the designated time
o to inform the Head Teacher/ Deputy Head Teacher/ Assistant Head Teacher/Family Support Advisor immediately if they have an attendance concern about a child in their class
o when requested to do so by the Head Teacher/Deputy Head Teacher/Assistant Head Teacher/Family Support Advisor, to organise work to be sent home for children in their class who are expected to be absent for an extended period through sickness
· Office Staff
o to prepare, manage and co-ordinate the use of attendance in SIMS.net
o to prepare relevant attendance reports, when requested to do so by the Head Teacher/Assistant Head Teacher/Family Support Advisor
o to contact parents/carers on the first day of their child’s absence to establish the reason
o to ensure that a satisfactory reason for every absence has been established for each child at the end of each week, preparing letters on behalf of the Assistant Head Teacher/Family Support Advisor where a satisfactory reason has not been established
o to prepare and post out attendance letters each term. (See section 5 – Strategies.)
5. Strategies for Improvement
5.1 The following benchmarks are used termly to update parents/ carers and children about their attendance:
GOLD – 98% or higher
SILV ER – 97% to 97.9%
BRONZE – 96% to 96.9%
Children achieving Silver and Bronze are awarded certificates and those with Gold are awarded a certificate and attendance badge. Parents/Carers of Gold Level children are invited to an Attendance Assembly. Children with 100% are awarded with a different badge to recognise this achievement.
5.2 Children achieving 100% attendance over the whole academic
year are awarded with a £10 voucher to spend in a bookshop.
5.3 Periodically, the overall attendance winners for EYFS/KS1 and KS2 are announced. The winning class takes care of the cuddly attendance dog (EYFS/KS1) or the tiger (KS2). A class who have 100% attendance for a week or who have an overall attendance of 96% or more during the half term, receive 10 minutes extra playtime.
5.4 Class attendance percentages are announced periodically in assemblies and displayed in the classroom windows of Reception to Year 6. Parents are updated on their child’s termly attendance during parents’ evening.
5.5 Golden Tickets
All children who have 96% attendance or above each term in each key stage (EYFS, KS1, Lower KS2, Upper KS2) will have their name put into a raffle to win an iPad.
The class with the highest attendance percentage at the end of each term will receive a golden ticket for a fun activity.
5.6 During the first week of the Autumn term, class teachers
emphasise the importance of regular school attendance and this is addressed in whole school assembly.
5.7 A clear policy regarding leave during term time has been established. (See section 7 – Leave During Term Time.)
5.8 First day absence calls are made by office staff to establish reasons for absence. This also allows us to endeavour to safeguard children who may be absent from school without the parent/carer’s knowledge.
5.9 Medical evidence is required in order to authorise absence due to illness after the third day of absence.
6. Procedures in the event of absence
6.1 Every half day absence from school has to be classified by the school (not by the parents/carers) as either AUTHORISED or UNAUTHORISED. This is why information about the cause of each absence is always required.
6.2 Unexpected Absence
Parents/carers are asked to contact the school before 9.30am on the first day of absence to provide the reason for the absence and where possible on each subsequent day of absence. Where office staff are not made aware of the reason for a child’s absence they will contact parents/carers by telephone on the first day of absence.
6.3 Appointments
Routine or non-urgent medical appointments should be made outside of school hours. If it is necessary to make an unavoidable appointment during the school day, an appointment card or letter must be provided in order for a child’s absence to be authorised. Parents should report to the School Office to collect their child, signing them out and giving the reason for absence from school. Where feasible, they should be returned to school as soon as possible after their appointment, so that they can continue with their school day.
6.4 Informing the school of absence
When an absence is known about in advance, parents/carers should contact the school as soon as possible.
7 Attendance interventions
7.1 Gossey Lane Academy has various procedures which are followed if a child falls below a certain percentage.
· under 97% - a letter is sent to the parents/carers. This letter is necessary in order to update parents/carers that attendance is close to falling below the government’s expected percentage.
· under 96% - Children whose attendance is under 96% are monitored closely and their parent/carer is contacted directly – see 7.2. Our Family Support Advisor will then work with the parents/carers in order to improve attendance and explain any implications their child’s low attendance may have. We will also use Spotlight procedures to improve attendance if necessary – see section 12.
7.2 Intervention letters for children whose attendance percentage is under 96%
· letter one – an information letter to the parent/carer to tell them that their child’s attendance has dropped below 96% and is being closely monitored.
· letter two - If attendance does not improve, we send a second letter which offers the parent/carer support around improving their child’s attendance and asks them to attend a meeting to discuss this.
· letter three - If attendance still does not improve, we send a third letter, which advises the parent that legal action will commence (see 12.2).
8. Requested Leave During Term Time
8.1 Leave during term time is strongly discouraged. Any request for leave for pupils in Reception to Year 6 must be made in writing to the Head Teacher as soon as possible, using the relevant form. A written response to the request will be sent from the Head Teacher, including an up to date attendance level and a decision as to whether or not the leave will be authorised.
8.2 Family emergencies need careful consideration. It is not always in the best interests of the child nor wholly appropriate for them to miss school for family emergencies that are being dealt with by adult family members. School and school friendships and relationships can provide children with stability
and care during difficult times. The routine of school can provide a safe and familiar background to life during times of upheaval.
8.3 Holiday requests will not be authorised unless they are exceptional circumstances.
8.4 If the child is female and from a Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
practicing or affected community then the Head Teacher (or member of SLT in their absence) will use direct questioning to ascertain whether ‘cutting’ of the girl will be undertaken during this term time absence. The Head Teacher (or member of SLT) will then decide whether to refer to the local safeguarding team or police, based on this information.
8.5 A Leave in Term Time letter is sent out at the beginning of the academic year to all parents of children who are of school age.
9. Punctuality
9.1 Years 1 to 6
School opens at 8.50am for children in Years 1 to 6. Pupils arriving after 8.55 am must report to the School Office to be signed in.
Pupils arriving after 8.55am will be recorded as late.
Pupils arriving after 9.05am will be recorded as absent. Such an absence will be unauthorised unless a satisfactory reason is provided by the parent/carer.
9.2 EYFS
School opens at 8.55am for children in Reception and Nursery. Pupils arriving after 9am must report to the School Office to be signed in.
Pupils arriving after 9am will be recorded as late.
Pupils arriving after 9.10am will be recorded as absent. Such an absence will be unauthorised unless a satisfactory reason is provided by the parent/carer.
9.3 Punctuality will be closely monitored by the Family Support
Advisor/Assistant Head Teacher:
· if a child receives five unauthorised absences during an academic year due to lateness, their parent/carer will receive a letter explaining that punctuality is a concern
· if a child receives ten unauthorised absences during an academic year due to lateness, their parent/carer will be asked to attend a meeting regarding punctuality
· unauthorised absence due to punctuality will trigger the same procedures as in section 11 of this policy
10. Administration
10.1 The School uses SIMS.net Attendance to store and monitor its legal responsibilities in relationship to attendance.
10.2 Registers are a vital legal document and teachers are required by their contractual duties to take an attendance register at the beginning of both the morning and afternoon sessions. Registers are submitted electronically after the closure of the registration period.
10.3 Registers must be completed carefully and accurately, as they provide a record of a pupil’s attendance. Failure to complete a register accurately leaves the school vulnerable to complaint from parents or carers and constitutes a risk if an emergency evacuation has to take place.
11. Monitoring and Evaluation
11.1 Attendance data will be collected regularly by the Assistant Head Teacher/Family Support Advisor to establish patterns of irregular attendance. This will include children with: incomplete weeks; Monday and Friday absences; lateness; periods of extended absence; persistent absence, periods of unauthorised absence and all children with attendance below 96%.
11.2 The Head Teacher, Assistant Head Teacher and Family Support Advisor will discuss the impact of the school’s Attendance Policy and the strategies used to promote good attendance annually. The Head Teacher will recommend an attendance target to the Governing Board.
11.3 The Governing Board will set an annual target of attendance and unauthorised absence and review this annually at its first meeting.
12 Spotlight on Attendance
12.1 The threshold for persistent absence is 90%. All children falling below 90% are closely monitored. If necessary, spotlight procedures are followed.
12.2 Gossey Lane Academy follows Birmingham LEA Spotlight procedures. This involves:
· advice letter – telling parents they are now under spotlight and attendance will be monitored for a further 2 weeks
· invitation to SARM meeting – parents are required to attend a meeting to review attendance
· SARM held – post SARM letters and paperwork are then sent to the parent
· monitoring continues – if there is no improvement, the information is sent to Court Section
12.3 If the school is concerned about a child’s attendance, steps will be taken to identify the cause of the concern. A pre-CAF/CAF may need to be carried out for those children with 90% attendance or below. The school follows the LEA’s Spotlight on Attendance initiative (outlined above) for those children who have had a minimum of 20 sessions (total of 10 days) of unauthorised absences in a calendar year. If the school proceeds with the spotlight, this could ultimately lead to court action and prosecution.