Approved /
Title: 14-16 College Attendance Procedure / Ref: N/A / Page 1 of 6
Key procedure underpinning the 14-16 College’s position on student attendance at year 10 and 11 / Next review date:
July 2016
1. Procedure introduction
It is the procedure of The HCUK 14-16 College to ensure that pupils attend College with an attendance figure of at least 94% and arrive at college and lessons on time.
‘Good attendance is fundamental to raising achievement’.
Any absence affects the pattern of a child’s schooling and regular absence will seriously affect their learning. Any pupil’s absence disrupts teaching routines so may affect the learning of others in the same class. Helping to create a pattern of regular attendance is everybody’s responsibility - parents, pupils and all members of school staff.
Aims:
- To encourage all pupils to attend school regularly and promptly, achieving an attendance rate which enables them to progress and fulfil their potential
- To encourage positive attitudes to school and attendance from parents of pupils and the wider community
- To implement a whole school policy on attendance and ensure that staff are consistently carrying out the policy.
- To reduce unauthorised absences within the school at all levels – whole school, year group, class individual and internal truancy.
- To reduce the level of persistent absence, that is reducing the number of students with less than 85% attendance.
- To reward good attendance and punctuality in keeping with the rewards system in the College.
2. Responsibility and implementation
To facilitate the 14-16 College aim all staffshould:
- set examples by arriving at registration and lessons on time
- be vigilant in monitoring pupil movement around the college
- praise good and improved levels of punctuality
- make all students aware of the importance of punctuality in the information given to prospective employers and colleges
Ensuring accuracy and completion of all registers / √ / √ / √
Statistics for DFE / √ / √ / √
Statistics for LA / √ / √ / √ / √
Statistics for Other staff / √
Half termly attendance cycle materials, process, awards / √
Home visits / √ / √
Monitoring and improving of target group : Less than 70% / √ / √ / √
Monitoring and improving of target group : 70% - 85% / √ / √ / √
Monitoring and improving of target group : 85% - 90% / √ / √
Monitoring and improving of target group : Over 90% / √ / √
Monitoring of a specific group : KS4 5A* - C pupils / √ / √
Monitoring of Travellers, CIPC, Asylum Seekers / √ / √
Attend PSP meetings , Case conferences / √ / √
Child employment / √ / √
Recommendations for Attendance Support Plans / √ / √ / √
Prosecutions for poor attendance / √ / √ / √
First day absence contacts / √
Review and evaluation of procedures / √ / √ / √
Involvement in assemblies re attendance / √ / √
Maintain high profile for attendance / √ / √ / √ / √
Ensure that standard letters are routinely issued / √ / √ / √
3. Procedure details
3.1 All Pastoral Tutors will provide a structured tutorial programme/morning activity work under the guidance of the Head of School, who will monitor the implementation of the programme. Other College staff with responsibility of 14-16 cohorts will monitor and support this work.
3.2All subject tutors will encourage prompt arrival at lessons by:
a)Meeting at the door and taking a register at the start of each lesson (within 10 minutes). An accurate register at the start of a lesson is a legal requirement.
b)Informing the attendance mentor team if a pupil is regularly late so appropriate action may be taken which may involve parents and/or the use ofan Action Card. This will be monitored and supported by The Head of School.
3.4 Punctuality - allmembers of the college will adhere to the following procedures:
- Pupils who arrive after the end of morning registration should go straight to the lesson and obtain a late mark.
- Any pupils who arrive to lessons late should be recorded as late. Pupils who are more than 30 minutes late in one week may be given a whole school detention.
- Encouraging maximum attendance from all students:
- Tutors and Senior College Staff will praise good and improved levels of attendance during assemblies and within pastoralgroups
- Tutors and Senior College Staff will reward good and improved attendance with certificates, prizes, vouchers and rewards
- Tutors will set specific, realistic and achievable targets for improved attendance with the Attendance Officer and Education Welfare Officer when attendance falls below 85%
- Attendance Officer will highlight attendance through prominent displays in the School
- The Head of School will make Year 10 students aware of the importance of attendance and support this with information given by prospective employers and colleges
- All staff will welcome students back to school after absence and assist their reintegration
- All staff will link attendance to attainment using the half termly data collection, making clear to students how important attendance is to success
- The 14-16 Attendance Officer will monitor punctuality to school and to lessons through analysis of QL registers within the first 20 minutes of each session. The mentor will follow the following staged process to action poor attendance
Stage 1 Attendance Officer identifies pupils causing concern and possible reasons for lateness. If there is cause for concern the mentor will counsel the pupil, setting targets for improvement. The first stage letters will be sent home, phone calls will be made and correspondence logged
Stage 2 If there is no improvement the Attendance Officer should then inform the leadership team who will further counsel the pupil and contact the home.A referralto the Education Welfare Officer(EWO) with stage 1 evidence presented. EWO will complete a home visit and give the family a period of assessment to improve. This is a supportive period with targets and additional signposting were needed
Stage 3 Should there still be no improvement, the Head of School/Attendance Officer will meet with parent/carer again and with theEWO to review actions and reasons for failure, discussing the stage 4
- Stage 4Lead by the EWO as a local Authority statutory duty. Cautions will be issued and the parent/carer will be asked to pay a fine due to persistent non-attendance through stages above. The parent/carer could face a court case due to this. Stage 4 uses all evidence from stages 1 to 3
- College right to remove a student from College roll due to non-attendance.
- Where a student is not attending and this is persistent
- Where the persistent non-attendance is not due to sickness or unavoidable cause
- Where support and re-integration has been offered and no attendance gained.
The local authority will then make alternative arrangements for the student’s education
The following are key actions linked to data reports. The Mentor, EWO and leadership team will manage the process.
Attendance Officer will:
- Identifying students whose attendance is a cause for concern particularly where levels fall below 94% - 90%, 90-85% and 85%- or there are regular patterns of absence emerging.
- monitoring attendance at certain lessons
- Hold a contact log of home contact
- Hold a log identifying possible reasons for poor attendance, overall and in particular lessons, weeks and months
- Weekly, Monthly and termly attendance reports and concerns
- Supply a list of concern for weekly letters
- Meet with the EWO
- Track attendance against attainment
- Review trends and act to implement interventions
- Work with families and young people to reach the 95% + target
- Offer an engaging curriculum at Key Stage 4 that is appropriate to students’ needs through the different vocational and practical learning offers
- When appropriate, enlisting the support of the college’s Learning Support Unit and Learning Mentors and liaising with other agencies
- make special provision for students whose absences are related to learning difficulties through liaison between the Tutors, Head of School , Attendance Mentor and SENCO
- Produce Attendance reports for termly analysis.
- Working closely with the Head of School/Attendance Officerand will visit the homes of students whose attendance falls below 85% with a view to improving attendance levels. She/he will visit the homes of all students falling into the category of “at risk of persistent absence”. That is those students who fall within 4 half termly thresholds of 14, 28, 40 and 52 absences whose attendance patterns do not improve
- Meet with the Attendance Officer and head every fortnight to update on cases and follow up issues
- Have a rapid response when a student’s attendance is giving cause for concern and for students whose attendance is below 85%
- Support the college to caution and lead prosecutions and fines.
- The Head of School will provide parents of new students with information about the legal requirements relating to the education of their children and guidelines on how they can support their children in college
- The College Attendance Officer/Mentor will inform parents when concern has arisen about attendance. Reports of any contact between the Mentor and parents will be given to the Head of School
- The Head of School will make parents aware when awards are given for good and improved attendance. The Head of School will contact the families of students whose attendance has been a cause for concern when they are making improvement
- Tutors and teachers will make reference to attendance in any reports or records that are sent home and parent/carer evenings.
Taking holidays in term time affects students’ progress as much as any other
absence and the college’s expectation is that parents do not take their children
away in school time unless there are exceptional circumstances.
From the first of September 2013, schools will no longer be able to grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Therefore, head teachers will not be in a position to authorise a pupil absence from school due to a term time holiday.
Exceptional Circumstances include;
- Service Personnel parents restricted due to work
- Acute Crisis
- Court Order or separation agreement.
College staff are asked to promote the importance of good attendance and punctuality through regular input in assemblies and presentations at parents’ consultation meetings.
3.8. Rewarding good and outstanding attendance
This is a key feature of the policy. If we are to achieve our targets we must, as a school, promoting good attendance as a very high priority. We must raise the profile of attendance both with pupils and parents and celebrate good and improved attendance.
4. Related documentation (policies, procedures or guidance)
- Student Behaviour and Disciplinary Policy
- DFE, School Attendance, Statutory guidance and departmental advice
5. Procedure Checklist
Senior manager responsible / Group Head of Young People
College Committee / Teaching, Learning and Quality Improvement Committee
Date of next procedure review / July 2016