Whittington CE Primary School Attendance Policy
Introduction
At Whittington CE Primary School our ambition is for all students to strive for 100% attendance. We set expectations of excellent attendance for all pupils and expect pupils to be in school every session and every day that school is open. We consider this paramount to pupils achieving their full potential and enhancing lifelong outcomes.
Our Attendance Policy reflects this and recognises that regular attendance has a positive effect on the motivation and attainment of pupils and is an integral part of our school ethos.
Some pupils find it harder than others to attend school and therefore at all stages of improving attendance we will work together with parents/carers, pupils and relevant partner agencies to remove any barriers and build strong and trusting relationships. Promoting and ensuring excellent attendance is everybody’s business within our school and community.
Roles and Responsibilities
The Governing Board
The governing board is responsible for monitoring attendance figures for the whole school on at least a half termly basis (6 times a year). They should also support the promotion of regular attendance and provide support and challenge holding the headteacher to account for the implementation of this policy.
The Headteacher
The headteacher is responsible for ensuring this policy is implemented consistently across the school, and for monitoring school-level absence data and reporting it to governors.
The headteacher also supports other staff in monitoring the attendance of individual pupils and requests fixed-penalty notices, where necessary.
Assistant Head with Responsibility for Attendance
- Monitors attendance data at the school and individual pupil level. Vulnerable groups are prioritised, with data reported on SEN, PP and LAC.
- Reports concerns about attendance to the headteacher.
- Arranges calls, home visits and meetings with parents to discuss attendance issues.
- Co-ordinates requests for Term-time Leave of Absence and advises the headteacher as requested.
- Seeks support and guidance from the local authority.
- Undertakes attendance training.
Class Teachers/Form Tutors
All teachers and school staff maintain an unconditional positive regard to attendance. They are involved with meetings with parents and the attendance lead to address attendance concerns of individual pupils.
Class teachers are required to take accurate registers of attendance twice per day: once in the morning and once in the afternoon.
Office Staff
School office staff are expected to take calls from parents about absence and record it on the school system. Office staff will ensure the attendance lead is informed of any urgent attendance related concerns.
The School Day
Our pupils must arrive by 8:50 am on each school day. Arrival should be between 8.40am – 8.50am.
Our morning register is taken at 8:50 am and anyone not in school will be classed as late and the minutes noted up to 9.20am.
Our afternoon register is taken at 1:15 pm and will be kept open until 1:45pm
The school day ends at 3:20pm and all pupils not attending an after school club or The Den for after school care are required to leave the school site.
A pupil who arrives late in the morning but before the register has closed will be marked as late (L), which counts as present.
If a pupil arrives after the register has closed (9:20am for the morning session or 1:45pm for the afternoon sessions) they will be marked with the unauthorised absence code “Late after registers close” (U) which is an unauthorised absence mark. However, if the pupil is late arriving due to a valid reason such as an unavoidable medical appointment (where an appointment letter has been provided to the school office), the absence will be authorised and coded accordingly.
Illness
The NHS has produced a helpful guide for parents regarding childhood illness and school: Is my child too ill for school? – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
In most cases, absences for illness which are reported by parents/carers following the school’s absence reporting procedures will be authorised. That is unless the school has a genuine concern about the authenticity of the illness.
The school follows Department for Education guidance ‘Working Together to Improve School Attendance’ 2022[1] which states that if the authenticity of the illness is in doubt, the school may ask the parent to provide medical evidence, such as a prescription, appointment card, or other appropriate form of evidence.
We will not ask for medical evidence unnecessarily. In some exceptional circumstances, the school may ask the parent to obtain a letter from a GP, or the school may seek parental permission to contact the pupil’s GP directly to help support the needs of the individual pupil.
If the school is not satisfied about the authenticity of the illness, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised.
Where a pupil has a high level and/or frequency of absence, the school may require medical evidence of some description in order best support the child or young person and to be able to authorise any future medical absences. If this is the case, the school will make the parent/s aware of this expectation in advance.
The reporting of absence due to illness remains the responsibility of the parent. Absences due to illness which have not been reported to the school by the parent on the first day of absence may not be authorised.
Parents must contact the school office as soon as they are aware that their child is going to be absent and provide the reason for the absence. A message can be left on the school answerphone, which is available 24 hours a day.
If a child is absent for more than one day, the parent should contact the school on each day to provide an update on the child’s condition, unless otherwise agreed by the school.
Mental Health and Wellbeing
Our school supports pupil mental health and wellbeing following DfE guidance Mental health issues affecting a pupil’s attendance: guidance for schools – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Parents who have concerns about their child’s mental wellbeing can contact our school’s Attendance or Designated Safeguarding Lead for further information on the support available.
Online Mental health support and advice can be accessed: Children’s mental health – Every Mind Matters – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Parents can also contact their GP or the NHS Helpline by telephoning 111 for advice if they are concerned. In case of emergency parents should dial 999.
Medical/Dental Appointments
Parents should always try to make appointments outside of school hours wherever possible. Where appointments during school time are urgent or unavoidable, the pupil should only be out of school for the minimum amount of time necessary for the appointment. It is not acceptable for a child to miss a whole day of schooling for an appointment, unless absolutely necessary, in which case the school will need an explanation as to why this is.
If a pupil must attend a medical appointment during the school day, they must be collected from the school office by the parent or another authorised adult, and signed out. No pupil will be allowed to leave the school site without parental confirmation.
Any appointment must be confirmed with the school office. Advance notice is required for medical or dental appointments and must be supported by providing the school with sight of, or a copy of, the appointment card or letter – only then will the absence be authorised.
First Day of Absence Response
A parent must call the school office by 9.00am on the first day of absence and explain the reason for their child’s absence and an idea of how long the absence will last. On the first day of absence, the school office will contact, by text message and phone call, the first two named adults on the child’s emergency contact list if no phone call from a parent has been received. If there is still no response, the third person on the emergency contact list will be called. If the absence persists, the school office will make contact each day to check on how the child is.
The following groups of children will be prioritised:
Children in Care; children subject to Child Protection Plans; children open to Social Care as a Child in Need; children who have previously been reported missing; pupils who make their own way to school.
All parents will be asked to supply details of at least three people who can be contacted in an emergency, and these details will be reviewed on a yearly basis through a letter at the start of each academic year. Parents must then keep the school up-to-date with any changes to contact details.
If the school is unable to contact any of the emergency numbers provided, and is concerned for the welfare and safety of a pupil, we may request a welfare check from the police.
Leave of Absence Requests – ‘Exceptional Circumstances’
The law does not grant parents the automatic right to take their child out of school during term time.
In line with DfE expectations only very exceptional circumstances will warrant an authorised leave of absence. The school will review each application individually, considering the specific facts and circumstances and relevant background context behind the request. The request must be made by the parent with whom the child normally lives, and permission must be sought in advance. The school will not grant leave of absence unless there are exceptional circumstances. The school must be satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances, based on the individual facts and circumstances of the case; following consultation with other staff as required, including the Attendance/Designated Safeguarding Lead/Governors. If any leave of absence is granted, the school will determine the number of days the pupil can be away from school. A leave of absence is granted entirely at the school’s discretion.
Circumstances which could be authorised include significant family emergencies or funerals. However, parents will also be aware that, wherever possible, it can be better for children to continue to attend school normally during difficult family times.
Parents should complete a Leave of Absence Request form which is available from the school. The request should be submitted as soon as it is anticipated; and wherever possible, at least four weeks before the absence. Although such absence may be unauthorised, it is better that we know your child is safe, rather than missing. Please be aware that you may be required to provide us with additional evidence in order to support your request. If we have any concerns about possible safeguarding risks, we will follow the necessary protocols.
Penalty Notices and Prosecutions
Parents have a legal responsibility to ensure that their child attends school on a regular basis. It is a criminal offence under Section 444 of the Education Act 1996 to fail to secure regular attendance of a registered pupil at the school. This applies to both resident and non-resident parents who may both be subject to legal sanctions if their child fails to attend school regularly. It also applies to others who may not be the parent but may have day-to-day care of the child.
Unauthorised absence from school can result in a number of different outcomes for parents and children. Each case is considered individually.
Under section 444 of the Education Act 1996, if a child of compulsory school age, who is a registered pupil at a school, fails to attend regularly at the school his/her parent(s) are guilty of an offence. Parents with more than one school aged child need to be aware that each child’s irregular attendance is dealt with as a separate matter.
The school will refer cases of unauthorised absence that meet the threshold for a penalty notice to the Local Authority for legal action unless there are reasonable grounds for not doing so. The outcome of a referral to the Local Authority may be a penalty notice or prosecution.
Penalty notices are intended as a sanction for low level offences and a tool to support improved school attendance, for example in circumstances associated with an unauthorised holiday taken during term time. They are an alternative to prosecution and may not be issued if prosecution is considered to be a more appropriate response to a pupil’s irregular attendance.
See DfE’s statutory guidance on School attendance parental responsibility measures for more information
Penalty notices and prosecution proceedings are issued to each parent with responsibility for the child and are issued for each child with irregular attendance. For example, in the case of Penalty Notices, if two siblings had irregular school attendance, and there were two parents with responsibility for the children, four Penalty Notices would be issued. Penalty Notices cannot be paid in instalments.
Persistently and Severely Absent pupils (PA and SA)
A pupil is classed a ‘persistent absentee’ if they miss 10% or more of their schooling across the school year for whatever reason.
A pupil is classed as ‘severely absent’ if they miss 50% or more of their school across the school year for whatever reason.
We monitor all absence thoroughly. Any pupil that is seen to have reached the PA or SA thresholds or is at risk of moving towards that level, will be prioritised by school. Parents will be informed accordingly.