The Hugo Meynell Cofe (VC) Primary School

The Hugo Meynell CofE (VC) Primary School

Aiming High; Supporting Dreams

Attendance Policy

October 2017

First approved by Governors June 2012

Signed:Mrs B Gleave, Headteacher______

Mrs J Cheadle, Chair of Governors ______

Review Date: September 19

Attendance Policy

We believe that children cannot learn if they are absent from school. Therefore, we aim to ensure that all our children take full advantage of the educational opportunities available to them and to raise standards by promoting regular attendance and punctuality of pupils.

We are committed to providing an education of the highest quality for all our children. We believe high attainment depends on good attendance.

We expect all school staff to support and promote excellent school attendance by acting as role models and to work hard to provide a learning environment in which all children are ready to learn, feel valued and enjoy coming to school.

We believe it is essential to regularly remind parents of the importance of good attendance and its links to pupil attainment. The Education Act 1996 clearly states that the prime responsibility of parent / carer is to ensure that their child/ren attend school regularly.

Aims

To create a belief in which good attendance is accepted
To demonstratethat good attendance and punctuality is valued by the school
To maintain and develop effective communication regarding the importance of good attendance and punctuality between home and school
To raise standards and ensure every child reaches their full educational potential through a high level of school attendance and punctuality

To keep accurate, up-to-date records and have a robust and rigorous system for analysing attendance
To work with external agencies in order to address barriers to attendance and overcome them

Expectations

We expect all children will:

attend school every day
attend school punctually
ensure that you are prepared for the school day

We expect all Parents / Carers will:

ensure children have regular school attendance and be aware of their legal responsibilities
ensure that children arrive at school punctually and prepared for the school day
ensure that school is informed on the first day of a child’s absence or in advance if known

We expect the school will:

provide a welcoming atmosphere
provide a safe learning environment
keep regular and accurate records of daily attendance and punctuality
monitor whole school attendance and punctuality
follow up any unexplained absences on a daily basis to ensure accurate absence recording
meet regularly with the schools Education Welfare Worker (EWW) to monitor and support school attendance

Arrival and Registration

We expect all children to arrive in school on time and ready to learn. Lateness into school causes disruption to both the individual pupil and that of other pupils in the class. To ensure children arein school, on time and ready to learn, school doors open at 8:40am (10 minutes ahead of registers opening). Staff members supervise each door to ensure that the children enter calmly and sensibly and are also able to speak to any parents should they so need to.

The register is taken twice a day; at 8.55am and 1.05pm. Registers close in the classroom at 9:05am and 1:15pm respectively. A day counts as 2 attendance sessions.

If a child arrives after the register has been taken in class he / she must enter school via the office where they will be marked as Late (L) up until 9:30am. Arrival after this time,will be registered as a ‘U’ and the child will not receive an attendance mark for the morning session.

It is essential that children arriving and leaving school outside the normal school day are signed in or out from the school by completing the signing in / out book at the school office. The signing in / out book will be used in addition to class registers in the event of a fire alarm sounding.

Registers are checked regularly by the EWW to ensure they are kept accurate by school staff and to form part of the schools absence monitoring.

Legitimate reasons for absence

Illness and medical appointments:

We ask parents, where possible, to arrange medical appointments outside of school hours. If this is not possible the school office should be informed and the child should return to school directly after the appointment. If a child is absent from school through illness we ask parents to inform us on the first day of absence. If a child arrives to school late, due to a medical appointment, they will receive a medical mark (M). This is an authorised absence. However, the child will not receive a register mark for this session.

Family bereavement:

The school will work closely with, and be sympathetic to the needs of the child and their family.

Religious observance:

If you are planning to take your child out of school for religious observance we ask that you inform the school at least one week prior to the religious holiday.

Leave of absence:

Leave of absence is a planned leave from school which will be authorised by the Headteacher. In line with the Government’s amendments to the 2006 regulations (appendix 1), holidays during term time will NOT be authorised. Governors have determined that:

leave of absence will only be granted where the Headteacher considers it is due to ‘exceptional circumstances’. Parents will be informed within 7 school days as to whether the request has been authorised or unauthorised. See below for examples of exceptional circumstances
to request a leave of absence due to ‘exceptional circumstances’ please read the guidance notes (Appendix 3) and complete the attached form. The form must be sent to the school for consideration by the Headteacher on behalf of the school governors, no less than 4 weeks prior to the requested date. Consideration will then be given to the pupil’s previous school attendance.
if leave is taken without prior authorisation by the school, it will be recorded as an unauthorised absence and the Local Authority will be notified.

Examples of ‘Exceptional Circumstances’

it is of significant emotional, educational or spiritual value to the child, which outweighs the loss of teaching time.
a parent or grandparent is seriously / terminally ill and the holiday proposed is likely to be the last such holiday
there has recently been a death or other significant trauma in the family and it is felt that an immediate holiday might help the child concerned better deal with the situation
the holiday is a unique, never to be repeated, occasion which can only take place at the time requested
parents professions prevents holidays at a recognised period
leave can only be taken during the requested time due to serious medical / physical needs determined by external factors (respite / treatment plans)

Penalty Notices

Penalty notices can be issued for unauthorised leave and may also be issued if a parent / carer fails to ensure regular school attendance.

Penalty Notices for Holidays

In accordance with guidance from Staffordshire County Council leave of absence taken without authorisation may be referred to the Local Authority. From 1 January 2018 any period of unauthorised leave may result in prosecution proceedings, or a Fixed Penalty Notice. If a Fixed Penalty Notice is issued, a separate notice would be issued to each parent for each child.

Penalty Notices for Persistent Lateness

From 1 January 2018 a penalty notice may be issued if a pupil achieves 10 unauthorised late marks and these marks do not have to be one after the other in order for the penalty notice to be issued.

Period of time used to measure persistent absence and lateness

If your child has had 10 days unauthorised absence or is late 10 times over a twelve week period, you may receive a penalty warning notice and also potentially a fine. A penalty notice fine is initially for £60 per parent per child. If this £60 is not paid within 21 days from the date of issue it rises to £120. Failure to pay the £120 fine within the period 21 to 28 days may lead to Court proceedings.Further details and a copy of the revised Code of Conduct for issuing Penalty Notices can be obtained from the Staffordshire County Council’s website

The process for monitoring attendance

The school Attendance Officer will log instances of absence and lateness and discuss weekly with the Headteacher. Where issues persist the following will be initiated:

where there are concerns about attendance and punctuality the school will write to the parents / carers.
if the concerns persist the school will arrange a meeting between the parent / carer, headteacher and Education Welfare Worker.
if the concerns persist the school will make a formal referral to the Education Welfare Worker to deal with the on-going issues.
The Local Authority may issue a Penalty notice to parent / carers who are failing to secure their child’s regular school attendance and are not engaging with supportive measures to improve attendance.

Keeping parents informed

The school will send out an attendance certificate along with the child’s end of year report so parents can be kept fully aware of attendance percentages.

Promoting and Rewarding Good Attendance

To promote and encourage good attendance, the following initiatives have been introduced:

Weekly attendance updates to parents in the school newsletter
Weekly attendance assembly
Half termly 100% attendance certificates
100% attendance treat for children who have full attendance for the year

Appendix 1 – Attendance Colour Codes

Appendix 2 – Education Penalty Notices – information for parents
APPENDIX 3

Guidance Notes for Parents requesting Leave in Term Time

Parents who want the school to consider granting leave of absence in school term time should read these notes carefully, complete the attached form and send it to the head teacher. This form should be sent to the school in time for the request to be considered well before the desired period of absence. Parents are strongly advised not to finalise any booking arrangements before receiving the school’s decision regarding their request. Head teachers cannot authorise any leave of absence unless the request is received before the period of absence begins.

The Department for Education makes it clear that head teachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Head teachers now also determine the number of school days a child can be away from school if the leave is granted.

There is no automatic right to any leave in term time.

Staffordshire County Council understands the challenges that some parents face when booking holidays particularly during school holidays. However, we believe that, in order to ensure children receive the best education and prospects, that they should be in school during term time.

Each case will be considered individually and on its own merits. Parents need, therefore, to consider very carefully before making any request for leave of absence. In considering a request, the school will take account of: -

the exceptional circumstances stated that have given rise to the request
the stage of the child’s education and progress and the effects of the requested absence on both elements
frequency of similar requests
whether the parent made the request in advance
students/pupils on examination courses or due to take SATS will not normally be granted leave of absence.

Where parents have children in more than one school a separate request must be made to each school. The head teacher of each school will make their own decision based on the factors relating to the child at their school. However head teachers may choose to liaise with each other as part of their decision-making process.

Should the school decide to grant leave of absence, but the child does not return to school at the time s/he was expected to (i.e. following the expiry of the granted leave of absence period) and no information is available to the school to explain/justify the continuing absence this absence will be recorded as unauthorised.

Should the school decide not to grant leave of absence and parents still take their child out of school, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised, which may be subject to a Penalty Notice fine of £60 per parent* per child. This fine will increase to £120 if not paid within 21 days. Failure to pay the £120 fine within the period 22 to 28 days may lead to Court proceedings.

The Local Authority will continue to monitor all school absences during term time and support head teachers in challenging parents who ignore the law.

* Generally the DfE states that parents include all those with day to day responsibility for a child

Request for leave during term time

To:The head teacher of:…………………………………………… (School) Date……………………......

I request a leave of absence from school during term time for:

my child (full name)……………………………………………………………………………......

for the period from (date) ..…………………...... to (date) …………………......

The exceptional circumstances and reason for this request are: -

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

I have (an)other child(ren) in (an)other school(s) as follows

Child(ren) (full name(s) ) …………………………………….School(s) attended .…………………………......

………………………………………………………………………………………………......

......

(Signature of 1st parent/carer(s)…………………………………Print Name......

(Signature of 2nd parent/carer(s) …………………………………...Print Name......

Please return completed form to the school office. The school will write to you and inform you of the decision on whether the request is authorised or not.

For Office Use Only

Current Attendance………………%

Number of school sessions taken as leave during term time …………………………....(this academic year)

Agreed/Not Agreed

Request for leave is agreed/is not agreed for the above student to take leave during term time between the above dates.

Rationale to decline request : ………………………………………………………………………………

Signed …………………………………………………Head teacher . Date ………………………………

Notification of decision: Date letter sent to parent/carer......

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