Attendance Policy

Download Attendance Policy.

This policy outlines procedures operating in school to monitor the attendance of pupils. It provides a basis for evidence, should the need arise, for children to be referred to the Attendance Officer (AO). It aims to complement the LEA’s Attendance Policy which outlines Attendance Officer Support.

Rationale

Regular attendance and punctuality are essential components of a child’s education. In order to make the most of the learning opportunities provided within school, children need to have the continuity of provision which consistent attendance allows.

School staff should set an example and ensure that they arrive to lessons on time and demonstrate the value given to time in school. They should also demonstrate an understanding of the individual’s personal circumstances, while encouraging and expecting children to arrive punctually and ready for work. Good personal organisation and time-keeping is part of our school ethos.

Aims

• To encourage prompt arrival at school.
• To encourage excellent attendance.
• To ensure that routines are in place for monitoring attendance and for early identification of any difficulties.

Responsibilities

All members of school staff have a responsibility for identifying trends in attendance and punctuality. The following includes a more specific list of the kinds of responsibilities which individuals might have.

Class teacher

Class teachers are responsible for:

• Keeping an overview of class and individual attendance, looking particularly for either poor overall attendance, anomalies in patterns of attendance and/or unusual explanations for absence offered by children and their parents/ guardians.
• Informing the headteacher/deputy where there are concerns and acting upon them.
• Providing background information to support referrals. (Appendix 1)
• Monitoring follow-up once actions have been taken to correct attendance concerns.
• Emphasising with their class the importance of good attendance and promptness.
• Following up absences with immediate requests for explanation (but not necessarily taking this any further – responsibility of office staff).
• Discussing attendance issues at consultation evenings/days.
• Setting an example by arriving promptly to lessons.

Administration staff

Office staff are responsible for:

• Following up specific requests from the headteacher/deputy for information about individuals.
• Contacting families where concerns are raised about absence.
• Follow the school’s procedures for first day calling.
• Monitoring individual attendance on a daily basis where concerns have been raised.
• Providing reports and background information to inform discussion with the school’s AO and Attendance Team.
• Providing a point of contact between individual teachers, the headteacher/deputy and the school’s AO.
• Informing the headteacher/deputy on a formal and an informal basis of patterns of attendance noted.
• Promptly issuing registers and processing on a daily basis.
• Processing and following up holiday request forms.

The Attendance Team (Deputy Headteacher, Assistant Headteacher, Admin Assistant)

The Attendance Team is responsible for:

• Including information about attendance trends and class percentages in the school bulletin.
• Informing the Headteacher on a formal and an informal basis of patterns of attendance noted.
• Providing a point of contact between individual teachers, the Headteacher and the school’s AO.
• Collating weekly attendance percentages.
• Liaising with other professionals to determine potential sources of difficulties and reasons for absence.
• Use the persistent absenteeism framework for identification of pupils whose attendance falls bellow 80%.
• Ensuring that the attendance policy is followed and that the actions from AO and school attendance meetings are carried out. (Appendix 2 & 3)
• Liaising with and discussing with parents issues relating to attendance.
• Feedback and discussions with the class teacher over individual cases.
• Half termly meetings with the AO.

The Headteacher

The Headteacher is responsible for:

• Overall monitoring of school attendance and setting of challenging attendance target for the school.
• Trends in authorised and unauthorised absence.
• Acting as a point of contact for teaching and non-teaching staff where concerns need to be raised or advice sought.
• Liaising with other professionals to determine potential sources of difficulties and reasons for absence.
• Ensuring that the attendance policy is followed and that the actions from AO meetings are carried out.
• Liaising with and discussing with parents issues relating to attendance.
• Overall preparation and implementation of the attendance policy.
• Half termly meetings with the AO.
• Feedback and discussions with the class teacher over individual cases.
• Promotion of attendance issues during assemblies.
• Monitoring and distribution of class trophy awards and stars for children being monitored.
• Report statistics to the Governor’s as part of the  Headteacher’s Termly Report.

Following up attendance issues – procedures

The Half termly AO Meeting (Tier 3)

Each half term the Headteacher and the Attendance Team meet with the AO to discuss any concerns and follow up the progress of individuals. Prior to the meeting, the following information is collected:

• Attendance record for any child with less than 90% attendance.
• Attendance record for any child whose absence shows particular trends.
• Attendance record for any child who has been frequently arriving at school late.
• Class percentage totals.

Information is shared about previous cases and decisions taken about the next stages of intervention where this is appropriate. Decisions taken are recorded on the attendance monitoring sheet. It is expected that reasonable steps have been taken by the school prior to AO intervention.

Following the meeting with the AO, class teachers are notified of the outcome and agreed actions are discussed with office staff and followed up as appropriate.

School procedures in cases for intervention

Although a range of strategies and actions will be taken on an informal basis, a formal procedure is applied where an absence remains unexplained:

• Discussion on an informal level with the child/parent and reminder about the importance of regular attendance and punctuality.
• Where an absence is unexplained, a green letter (Appendix 4) is sent home requesting a return of the slip explaining the absence.
• A further letter is sent home if no green letter is returned. If this is not returned or the absence explained, the absence may be recorded as unauthorised. A further letter is sent home informing the guardian of this. All letters are recorded in the office on SIMS.
• If attendance remains erratic, letters are sent from school drawing attention to the child’s attendance and enclosing a report showing the pattern of attendance. A meeting time of offered which gives them the opportunity to meet with the headteacher/deputy and/or AO or another member of the attendance team.
• If this is not successful, telephone contact is made requesting a meeting between the parent/guardian and headteacher/deputy in order to discuss the pattern of attendance.
• The next stage is for an approach to be made by the AO, either by letter or through a visit.
• Further formal approaches might then be made according to the LEA’s attendance policy.
• All children’s attendance is categorized into a three tiered system;
  Tier 1: at or above 95% (school involvement)
  Tier 2: at or above 90% (school involvement)
  Tier 3: below 90% (AO involvement)

All children are to be categorized into this tier system each half term based on the previous half terms attendance by the Attendance Team.

Encouraging good attendance and punctuality

It is important to remember that the vast majority of children at Grazebrook arrive on time and every day. An important part of our attendance policy is that this good practice is commended and applauded publicly. In order to do this we:

• Publicise class attendance figures on a weekly basis in the school using class charts that are located on each classroom door. (Appendix 6)
• Award a trophy for the class with the best attendance on a half termly basis.
• Award certificates half termly/termly and annually for children with 100% attendance.
• This year we are piloting the MOTIV 100% challenge. The MOTIV 100% Challenge is a rewards based initiative which encourages excellent attendance attitudes at school over a full term. There are two categories within The MOTIV 100% Attendance Challenge:

1. Badges/Rewards for 100% Attendance
2. Badges/Rewards for 100% Effort for Attendance (one boy, one girl from each class)

100% Attendance Category

• Badge 1 will be awarded for 100% attendance in the first half-term
• Badge 2 will be awarded for 100% attendance in the second half term

This allows pupils the opportunity to be awarded at least one badge in either of the half terms for their 100% attendance – for added incentive use “what does my badge mean at my school” resource.
An attendance reward should be awarded to all pupils who have achieved two badges i.e. 100% attendance over the whole term.
100% attendance is defined by the school register showing all present or statistically present marks. The two exceptions for ‘authorised absence’ are pupils whose absence marks relate to a recognised impairment (as the Disability Discrimination Act requires us to treat those with a disability ‘more favourably’) or those pupils granted leave for religious observance.

100% Effort for Attendance Category

In the 100% Effort category, awarded to one boy and one girl from each class within your school will be included in your badges and rewards package. The 100% Effort pupils follow the same system as above.

The school will determine the recipients for this category in line with school policy but the challenge team would recommend priority to be given to the following pupils:

• Pupils demonstrating a significant improvement on the previous half term; the challenge team would request that at least 50% of these badges and rewards are given to the pupils who have statistically demonstrated the ‘most improvement’ from the previous half-term (for badges) or the previous term for rewards
• Pupils who have been awarded 2 badges in the 100% effort category
• Pupils who have an exceptional reason for an absence which prevented the pupil achieving 100%;
• Pupils who’s medical and dental appointments prevented a pupil achieving 100% but where they attended school before or after the appointment.
• Where there is a ‘tie-breaker’ recorded lateness may be used to determine which pupil receives the Badge or Reward

Monitoring

The Headteacher will report to the governing body, in the ‘Headteacher’s Report’, the attendance percentage for the school and on any specific trends and/or difficulties with individuals.

Review

This policy is due for review during the Autumn Term 2012. Its success should be judged by answers to the following questions:

• Have we reached our attendance target of 95%?
• Is everyone aware of the procedures to be followed?
• Do class teachers and children have high expectations of themselves and others?
• Are forms and records regularly completed?

Download Attendance Policy.