St. Thomas’ C.E. Primary School

Attendance Policy

Vision

Believe, belong, and be the best we can be

“Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of Jesus giving thanks to God the father through Him.”

(Colossians 3.17)

At St Thomas School, all God’s children are welcomed, valued, respected and unique.

We strive to unlock the hidden treasures within us all by creating a nurturing learning environment to which everyone belongs. The whole school community are supported and encouraged to reach their full potential through our culture of lifelong learning.

Rooted in Christian values, we celebrate our faith in God by fostering an environment that embodies compassion, kindness and empathy.

2 Corinthians 4:7 “We have treasures in jars of clay to show that all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”

Spirituality statement

At St Thomas School, spirituality is at the heart of our community, manifesting as a profound sense of awe and wonder in the world around us. It is about becoming more aware of our natural, innate spirituality. We acknowledge something greater than ourselves and provide opportunities for religious experiences while also encouraging individual exploration. We build connections, find inspiration and live with a sense of purpose, love and understanding.

Through our curriculum we hope to inspire students to seek deeper meaning: guiding them on a journey of personal growth and helping them their own purpose. One of the primary ways in which spirituality and behaviour intersect is through the exploration of the nature of reality. Both spirituality and behaviour are concerned with understanding the fundamental nature of the universe and our place within it.

Introduction

Regular attendance at school is essential to ensure uninterrupted progress and to enable children to extend their potential. The attendance pattern for all children is monitored weekly with the school seeking to work actively with parents to ensure a regular pattern is maintained. We expect all children on roll to attend every day, when the school is in session as long as they are fit and healthy enough to do so.

One of our basic principles is to celebrate success. Good attendance is fundamental to a successful and fulfilling school experience. We actively promote 100% attendance for all our pupils and we use a variety of weekly, termly and annual awards to promote good attendance and punctuality.

We encourage children to attend, and to put in place appropriate procedures to support this. We believe that the most important factor in promoting good attendance is development of positive attitudes towards school and learning.

Poor attendance can seriously affect each child’s:-

• attainment in school
• relationships with other children and their ability to form lasting friendships
• confidence to attempt new work and to learn alongside others

The Governors and Headteacher, in partnership with parents have a duty to promote full attendance at school.

Parental Responsibility

Parents have a legal duty to ensure that their child attends school regularly and arrives on time. Full attendance is essential to the all-round development of a child and they should be allowed to take full advantage of educational opportunities available to them by law. Poor attendance undermines their education and sometimes, puts pupils at risk. The school share the attendance percentage with parents regularly and more frequently where there are concerns.

It is the parents’ responsibility to contact the school on the first day their child is absent. This is a safeguarding matter so that all parties know that your child is safe.

Pupils are expected to arrive between 8.45 and 8.50am, when the doors are open and children go to class. All pupils who arrive late must report to the school office where they are registered, their meal requirements noted and the reason for lateness is recorded.

Illness and Medical Appointments

When a child is unwell, parents should contact the school before 9.15am on the first day of absence informing the school of the reason for absence.

When a child is absent, the class teacher will record the absence in the register. As part of our Safeguarding Procedures, the school office will endeavour to contact the parent or carer and other emergency contacts if no message has been received regarding the reason for the absence to check on the safety of the child.

a) Every effort should be made to arrange medical appointments outside school hours.

b) An appointment card or verification by the doctor/ dentist/hospital is required.

c) If it is necessary for a child to be out of school for this reason, the child should be returned to school directly after the appointment.

d) If your child is absent due to vomiting, they should not return to school for the next 24 hours after the last bout of sickness. This is to reduce the risk of infection to other children and adults at school.

e) For more than three days of absence the school require a written explanation of why the child was absent. The school office will request this if it is not produced.

f) Medical certificates are required for absence greater than five days.

g) Parents must obtain a ‘Pupil Pass’, prior to a known absence, from school. This will provide parents with evidence that the school are aware of the absence in the event of being stopped by a ‘truancy sweep’.

h) Advise around Covid-19 changes regularly and any updated guidance and advise is shared with families.

The Role of the School Staff

The Leadership team has overall responsibility for attendance.

Class teachers complete a register at the beginning of each morning and afternoon session. Marking the attendance registers twice daily is a legal requirement. Teachers mark pupils present, absent or the office include late marks. Pupil attendance is monitored weekly to highlight and take action where the attendance of individual children is causing concern.

Attendance Officers:

Attendance Administration: Mrs G. Charlton

Home School Liaison Officer: Mr A. Shahid

It is the responsibility of the school attendance team to ensure:

• Attendance and lateness records are up to date
• If no reason for absence has been provided, parents are contacted on the first day of

absence and a reason obtained

• Where it is not possible to make contact, letters are sent to parents requesting reasons for absence with a seven day reply deadline before the absence is recorded as unauthorised
• The appropriate national attendance code is entered into the register.

Action for Low Attendance

96%+       Excellent – Well done! This will help all aspects of your child’s progress and life in

                school. This will give them a good start in life and supports a positive work ethic.

94-95%   Average – Strive to build on this. Work with parents to continue to promote full          

               attendance to move to 96%+.

85-93%   Poor – Absence is now affecting attainment and progress at school. School

               contacts parent directly to seek ways of working together to improve attendance.

Below 85% Unacceptable – Absence is causing serious concern. It is affecting attainment and progress and is disrupting the child’s learning. Meetings between home and school to share strategies for improvement will be called. If improvement is not achieved a referral is made to the Attendance Service - Education Welfare Officer [EWO]

Penalty Notice considered where absence is not authorised.

Non-attendance is an important issue that is treated seriously. However each case is different and the school acknowledges that no one standard response will be appropriate in every case. Consideration is given to all factors affecting attendance before deciding what intervention strategies to apply.

a) In every case, early intervention is essential to prevent the problem from worsening. It is essential that parents keep the school fully informed of any matters that may affect their child’s attendance.

b) Prior to the engagement of the EWO, the school may issue letters to parents clearly defining the concerns within school regarding a pupils’ absence. It is hoped that a quick response and change in levels of absence will prevent the need for EWO involvement.

Children Missing Education

If families move away from the area, or wish to transfer their child to another school, the Head teacher must be informed in writing. Children cannot be removed from the school roll until we have been notified by another school that a place has been offered and accepted. Children who stop attending and who cannot be traced cannot be removed from the school roll. They are reported to the local authority attendance service. Where a child is missing from education, Local Authority guidance will be followed.

Lateness

The class register is taken at 8.50am and at the start of the afternoon session. Pupils arriving after these times must enter school by the main entrance and report to reception where their name and reason for lateness will be recorded. The pupil will be marked as late before registration has closed (Code ‘L’). The register will close at 9.30am. Pupils arriving after the register has closed will be marked as late after registration (Code ‘U’) This national code counts as an unauthorised absence.

Frequent lateness is disruptive to learning both for the child concerned and for the class. This will be discussed with parents at open evenings and may be referred to the Home School Liaison Officer (HSLO) and/or the Education Welfare Officer (EWO). Frequent or regular lateness can provide grounds for prosecution or the issue of a Penalty Notice.

Penalty Notice Proceedings for Lateness

If there are 10 incidents of late arrival after the registers have closed in a term the school will

make a referral to the Attendance Service for a Penalty Notice Warning Letter

The Penalty Notice Warning Letter sets out 5 school days during which no unauthorised absence is to be recorded

If unauthorised absence is recorded during the 5 day period, Penalty Notice(s) will be issued (one per parent per child)

Where a Penalty Notice is not paid within 42 days of issue, the Attendance Service may instigate court proceedings

Definitions

Every half-day absence has to be classified by the school (not by the parents) as either AUTHORISED or UNAUTHORISED. This is why information about the cause of each absence is always required.

Authorised Absence

An absence is classified as authorised when a child has been away from school for a legitimate reason and the school has received notification from a parent or carer. For example, if a child has been unwell and the parent writes a note or telephones the school to explain the absence.

Unauthorised Absence

An absence is classified as unauthorised when a child is away from school without the permission of the Head teacher.

Unauthorised absences are those, which the school does not consider reasonable and for which no ‘authorisation has been given. This includes:

• Parents keeping children off school unnecessarily
• Truancy during the school day
• Absences that have never been properly explained
• Holidays not agreed

Authorising Absence

Only the Head teacher can authorise absence for approved reasons. The absence must be unavoidable. The Head teacher is not obliged to accept a parent’s explanation and if the absence is not authorised, parents will be notified.

Authorised absence codes will only be used after there has been some communication between the parent and school.

The following reasons are examples of the kinds of absence that will not be authorised:

• Persistent non-specific illness e.g. poorly/unwell
• Absence of siblings if one child is ill
• Parental illness [alternative arrangements should be made to get children to school –

emergencies excepted]

• Oversleeping
• Inadequate clothing/uniform
• Confusion over school dates
• Medical/dental appointments of more than half a day without very good reasons
• Child’s/family birthday
• Shopping trip

Attendance and Lateness

If a new pupil has a history of poor attendance at their previous school, there will be a pre start attendance meeting held and targets for attendance will be set.

For all children, the school monitors absence and lateness and has a stepped approach to taking action. It will not always be appropriate to progress through all of these steps or even to carry them out in the order listed. Responsible staff will use discretion and consider each case carefully.

• Where there has been no contact from parents, first day calling for all pupils.
• Discussion with Attendance Service to identify pupils with attendance below 90%, monitoring trends in pupil attendance and lateness; HSLO support as appropriate.
• Request from school for parent/carer to meet with school staff
• Initiate the process, if appropriate, to access support from other agencies
• Referral to Attendance Service

Reasons for absence are recorded and retained by the school. When a referral to the Attendance Service is made, the child’s Registration Certificate, copies of all letters sent to parents and minutes of any meetings MUST be attached to the completed referral form with any other relevant information.

Local Authority Action

Where there is no improvement in a pupil’s attendance and/or there are at least 10 sessions (5 days) absence in a term the school must consider the following:

Education Welfare Officer Actions

This may include:

• Home visits
• Multi agency meetings
• Sign posting to supportive agencies e.g. Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, Social Services and Family Group Conference Service.
• Fast Track to Prosecution

Penalty Notices for Poor Attendance

Penalty Notices are issued by the Attendance Service in accordance with their Code of Conduct.

• The Attendance Service issue a warning letter setting out 5 school days during which no unauthorised absence is to be recorded
• If unauthorised absence is recorded during the 5 day period a Penalty Notice will be issued (one per parent per child)

Penalty Notices will be issued in the following circumstances

• Truancy
• Parentally-condoned absences
• Persistent lateness after the register has closed
• Being present in a public place without reasonable justification during the first 5 days of any fixed term or permanent exclusion.

Where Penalty Notices are imposed, the regulations state that the penalty will be £120 to be paid within 42 days, reduced to £60 if paid within 28 days. Penalty notices are issued to each parent of each child. Failure to pay the penalty in full by the end of the 42 day period may result in prosecution by the Local Authority.

Leave of Absence/Holiday Absence

Time off school for family holidays cannot be authorised. Schools have the discretion, in exceptional circumstances to authorise leave absence:

• When a family needs to spend time together to support each other during or after a crisis. .(See LA attendance policy for clarification and detail)
• Applications for Leave of Absence where dates can be known ahead MUST be made at least 4 weeks in advance of the requested date
• Consideration is given to each request before a decision is reached on behalf of the Governing Body (Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006). Each case will be judged on its merits in line with the criteria outlined above. The decision is final and once the decision to not authorise the leave is taken, it cannot be authorised retrospectively.

If the absence is not authorised and the holiday is taken anyway, the case will be referred to the Attendance Service who will issue a Penalty Notice for £120 (or £60 if paid within 28 days) to each parent for each child taken out of school.

Penalty Notice Proceedings for Unauthorised Holiday Absence

Penalty Notices are issued in accordance with the Attendance Service Code of Conduct.

The Attendance Service is notified that a request for a term time holiday is not authorised

The Attendance Service issue Penalty Notice(s) (one per parent per child)

If Penalty Notice(s) is/are not paid within 42 days of issue, the Attendance Service may

instigate court proceedings

Rewards for Positive Attendance

The prime benefit derived from regular attendance is that continuity and progression in learning are ensured.

Individual children

Certificates are awarded at the end of each old term for 100% attendance. This is celebrated in the final whole school assembly. At the end of the Summer term all 100% achieving children are entered into a raffle for a prize.

Individual incentives.

Where positive impact is required, all staff in contact with the child must take extra care to welcome the child each morning, praise punctual attendance and acknowledge the effort the child has made.

It is also appropriate to recognise the effort the parent has made to secure the child’s attendance. Individual sticker rewards are sometimes employed as an additional incentive where appropriate; these are designed according to the child’s particular need.

Review

This policy will be reviewed according to the schedule for policy review.