St. John’s CE Primary School is committed to providing a full and efficient education to all pupils and embraces the concept of equal opportunities for all.
We will endeavour to provide an environment where all pupils feel valued and welcome.
For a child to reach their full educational achievement a high level of school attendance is essential. We will consistently work towards a minimum of 95% attendance for all children. Every opportunity will be used to convey to pupils and their parents or carers the importance of regular and punctual attendance.
The school will at all times endeavour to support parents/carers in overcoming any barriers to achieving regular school attendance.
School attendance is subject to various education laws and this school attendance policy is written to reflect these laws and the guidance produced by the Department for Children, Schools & Families
The Law
The Education Act 1996 Part 1 Section 7 states:
The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable-
Either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.
For educational purposes the term parent is used to include those that have parental responsibility and/or those that have the day to day care of the child.
The legislation that appertains to children who are of compulsory school age and are registered at school is contained within the Act.
Part V1 Section 444 contains the details of when an offence is committed if a child fails to attend school.
Register and Admission Roll keeping.
The legal requirements are found in:
The education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006
Each year the school will set an attendance target and will monitor attendance figures at the end of each half term to track progress, monitor the effectiveness of interventions and review systems
This attendance policy will contain the procedures that the school will use to meet its attendance targets and support all pupils to overcome barriers to regular school attendance.
School Procedures
Any child who is absent from school at the morning or afternoon registration period must have their absence recorded as being authorised, unauthorised or as an approved educational activity [attendance out of school]. Only the head teacher or a member of staff acting on their behalf can authorise absence. If there is no known reason for the absence at registration, then the absence must be recorded in the first instance as unauthorised.
Promoting attendance
At St. John’s we promote attendance in the following ways:
Pupil voice – consultation with the school council
Acknowledging achievement
Individual pupil targets
Year targets
Celebrations in assembly
PSHE
Posters around school
Letters to parents
Punctuality
Morning registration will take place at the start of school at 8:55 a.m. The registers will remain open for 30 minutes. Any pupil arriving after this time will be marked as having an unauthorised absence unless there is an acceptable explanation i.e. school transport was delayed. In cases for example, where the absence at registration was for attending an early morning medical appointment, the appropriate authorised absence code will be entered.
Pupils arriving after the start of school but before the end of the registration period will be treated for statistical purposes, as present, but will be coded as late before registers close.
First Day Absence
If a child is absent from school, for whatever reason, it is the responsibility of the parent /carer to inform the school by 9:30 a.m. on the first day of absence by telephoning 0161 921 2130. On your child’s return to school, he/she should bring a note to confirm the reason for the absence.
If a parent/carer does not contact school with a reason, the school will contact the parent/carer to establish reason for absence either by making a telephone call (or send a text message to the contact number school have on file). This will continue until the parent/carer contacts school and provides a reason for their child’s absence. If the school is not satisfied with the reason provided for the pupil’s absence, or if no reason is provided, it will be recorded in the register as an unauthorised absence. Parents cannot authorise a child’s absence from school; it is the school’s decision to authorise/unauthorise absences. If no contact is made, a decision will be made by a senior member of staff as to whether a school welfare check will take place. A text message will be sent prior to this to inform parents and give them another chance to contact school. If access cannot be gained a police welfare check may be requested.
Managing Absence
It is the responsibility of the parent/carer to be aware of and bring attention to, any emerging attendance concerns.
This enables the school to work in partnership with the parent/carer by identifying what the issues are and devising a joint action plan to implement interventions that can improve the situation.
Through reviewing the plan on a regular basis and through listening to the views of all parties it is anticipated that there would be improvements and good working relationships established based on honesty and trust.
If this is unsuccessful the school may refer to the School Health Adviser/School Nurse etc, if the problem appears to be a medical one. In other cases the school will seek advice from the school’s named EWO.
All absences will be tracked and monitored by the school.
The Governors will:
Head Teacher will:
Learning Mentor and Office Manager will:
All teaching staff will:
If there is no improvement in levels of attendance the Attendance Lead will inform the Education Welfare Officer through completing the referral from on the secure upload which will indicate the perceived needs of the child and the actions taken by school to improve the situation.
Persistent Absence
Pupils are categorised as being a ‘Persistent Absence’ pupil if they accumulate 15% or more absences
For children whose attendance falls into the ‘persistent absence’ category, parents/carers will be contacted by the Headteacher and/or they will be invited to school. During this meeting
If the parent fails to attend the meeting or there is no significant improvement in attendance the issues will be brought to the attention Education Welfare Officer by the completion of the referral form as outlined above.
Holidays in term time
St. John’s CE Primary School, in line with the Local Authority, will normally not authorise holidays taken in term time because of the detrimental effect this absence would have upon the child’s learning.
See school’s policy on Holidays in term time.
Legal Sanctions
St. John’s CE Primary School will consider applying for penalty notice warnings in the following circumstances:
The Local Authority can instigate prosecution under the Education Act 1996 section 441 or 441(a) when;-
Disposal for prosecutions for non school attendance can range from a fine to a custodial sentence.
Reintegration to school
It is important that on return from an absence that all pupils are made to feel welcome. This should include ensuring that the pupil is helped to catch up on missed work and brought up to date on any information that has been passed to the other pupils.