Attendance and Punctuality Policy Next review ... AWS
Attendance and Punctuality Policy Next review: September 2019 Responsibility of Deputy Headteacher - Mrs B O’Hanlon Introduction The Education Act 1996 states: “If any child of compulsory school age who is a registered pupil at a school fails to attend regularly at the school his/her parent is guilty of an offence.” In our endeavour to uphold the law and to live out the school mission statement, St Joan of Arc Catholic School is committed to achieving excellent levels of attendance and a high level of punctuality for all our pupils in order that they are able to take full advantage of the educational opportunities available to them as well as to establish good habits for their working lives. The school acknowledges the clear correlation between high levels of attendance and achievement. This policy has been written in accordance with Hertfordshire’s Children’s Services’ policy on school attendance and should be read in conjunction with the school’s behaviour policy and the home-school agreement. In order to achieve this, staff at St Joan’s work in partnership with pupils, parents and outside agencies to secure high standards, celebrating when these are met by pupils and supporting them and their parents / carers when necessary. As a result there are clear responsibilities for all parties.
Responsibilities Parents / carers will: ● Ensure that their children arrive at school on time (by 8.35), properly dressed, equipped and ready to learn ● Instil in their children an appreciation and understanding of the importance of achieving a high attendance percentage (over 95%) ● Impress upon their children the need to observe the school’s code of conduct ● Take an active interest in their children’s school career, praising and encouraging good work and behaviour and attending all the Academic Reviews and other relevant meetings ● Alert school of any concerns they have about their children’s attitude to school, reluctance to come school or general but persistent/frequent claims of feeling unwell ● Work in partnership with school to resolve issues which may lead to non-attendance ● Ensure that they are aware of the school's attendance and punctuality policy ● Notify school, via the school’s absence line on the first day of absence and subsequent days, providing an explanation of the absence. It is not sufficient to say that their child is ill. This explanation must be confirmed in writing on their child’s return ● Avoid arranging medical/dental appointments during school hours ● Not book holidays during term time ● Support the school when detentions are deemed to be appropriate, especially with regards to poor punctuality
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Be mindful of the fact that it is the school’s responsibility to authorise/unauthorise absences in accordance with guidelines provided by Hertfordshire’s Children’s Services
School will: ● Praise and reward excellent attendance and punctuality ● Inform parents / carers of emerging patterns of absenteeism/lateness ● Be sensitive to the individual needs of pupils ● Set achievable targets for pupils, form groups and year groups to establish and maintain good habits ● Provide appropriate support for re-integrating pupils following long term absences ● Meet regularly with Hertfordshire’s Attendance Improvement Officer and discuss any concerns and agree the appropriate course of action. ● Communicate with other outside agencies on matters of attendance and punctuality as and when it is appropriate ● Contact parents via text if pupils have not been registered as present, where parents have not already contacted the school’s absence line ● Contact parents via text if pupils are late ● Follow the legal procedures for maintaining accurate registers. Pupils will: ● Arrive in school before 8.35am every day in term time, appropriately dressed and equipped, ready to start learning ● Ensure that they are in registration by 8.40 and accept that the tutor will mark them late should they arrive after this time and up until 9.00am ● Bring in a letter from parents, explaining reasons for absence on the first day back in school ● Catch up on work missed and seek help from teachers/form tutor/Learning Co-ordinator when necessary ● Sign in at student reception, should they arrive in school after 9am ● Accept the consequences for persistent poor punctuality Written explanation of absences Letters must be written, dated and signed by parents/carers, not their children. The letter must give the precise reason for the child’s absence and be given to the form tutor. If the explanation is not sufficient to justify the absence from school, then the school may unauthorise the absence. Parents/carers will be informed if this is the case. If a letter is not received within 1 week of the absence, the register will be amended to indicate unauthorised absence.
Requests for holidays / leave of absence in term time Changes to legislation make it clear that Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Headteachers no longer have the discretion to allow up to 10 days in a school year for a family holiday or to agree to extended leave for parents to visit their country of origin. If there are exceptional circumstances behind a parent’s / carer’s request these must be discussed with the Headteacher. If a child is absent from school because of a holiday which has not been agreed, this will be classified as an unauthorised absence and it could result in a fixed penalty (a fine) or legal action. Persistent non-attendance It is always the school’s intention to work with parents in order to ensure that their children have a high level of attendance so that they can thrive in school. The school will ensure that the most appropriate form of support and intervention is employed to bring about a positive outcome for pupils who are finding attending school challenging. However, the school, working with Hertfordshire’s
Attendance Improvement Officer will take decisive action if parents do not work in full partnership. This could mean issuing a fixed penalty notice (a fine) or working with the Attendance Officer to initiate court proceedings. Raising Concerns and Referrals Early concerns are usually raised and discussed with parents/carers and tutors in the first instance. If the situation does not improve or there are more complex issues the child’s Learning Co-ordinator will be involved and make referrals to outside agencies such as the Attendance Improvement Officer, where and when appropriate. Mrs O’Hanlon, Deputy Headteacher, has overall responsibility for the school’s policy on attendance and punctuality and the monitoring of the impact the policy has on improving pupil attendance and punctuality. This policy will reviewed in September 2019
Responsibilities Parents / carers will: ● Ensure that their children arrive at school on time (by 8.35), properly dressed, equipped and ready to learn ● Instil in their children an appreciation and understanding of the importance of achieving a high attendance percentage (over 95%) ● Impress upon their children the need to observe the school’s code of conduct ● Take an active interest in their children’s school career, praising and encouraging good work and behaviour and attending all the Academic Reviews and other relevant meetings ● Alert school of any concerns they have about their children’s attitude to school, reluctance to come school or general but persistent/frequent claims of feeling unwell ● Work in partnership with school to resolve issues which may lead to non-attendance ● Ensure that they are aware of the school's attendance and punctuality policy ● Notify school, via the school’s absence line on the first day of absence and subsequent days, providing an explanation of the absence. It is not sufficient to say that their child is ill. This explanation must be confirmed in writing on their child’s return ● Avoid arranging medical/dental appointments during school hours ● Not book holidays during term time ● Support the school when detentions are deemed to be appropriate, especially with regards to poor punctuality
●
Be mindful of the fact that it is the school’s responsibility to authorise/unauthorise absences in accordance with guidelines provided by Hertfordshire’s Children’s Services
School will: ● Praise and reward excellent attendance and punctuality ● Inform parents / carers of emerging patterns of absenteeism/lateness ● Be sensitive to the individual needs of pupils ● Set achievable targets for pupils, form groups and year groups to establish and maintain good habits ● Provide appropriate support for re-integrating pupils following long term absences ● Meet regularly with Hertfordshire’s Attendance Improvement Officer and discuss any concerns and agree the appropriate course of action. ● Communicate with other outside agencies on matters of attendance and punctuality as and when it is appropriate ● Contact parents via text if pupils have not been registered as present, where parents have not already contacted the school’s absence line ● Contact parents via text if pupils are late ● Follow the legal procedures for maintaining accurate registers. Pupils will: ● Arrive in school before 8.35am every day in term time, appropriately dressed and equipped, ready to start learning ● Ensure that they are in registration by 8.40 and accept that the tutor will mark them late should they arrive after this time and up until 9.00am ● Bring in a letter from parents, explaining reasons for absence on the first day back in school ● Catch up on work missed and seek help from teachers/form tutor/Learning Co-ordinator when necessary ● Sign in at student reception, should they arrive in school after 9am ● Accept the consequences for persistent poor punctuality Written explanation of absences Letters must be written, dated and signed by parents/carers, not their children. The letter must give the precise reason for the child’s absence and be given to the form tutor. If the explanation is not sufficient to justify the absence from school, then the school may unauthorise the absence. Parents/carers will be informed if this is the case. If a letter is not received within 1 week of the absence, the register will be amended to indicate unauthorised absence.
Requests for holidays / leave of absence in term time Changes to legislation make it clear that Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Headteachers no longer have the discretion to allow up to 10 days in a school year for a family holiday or to agree to extended leave for parents to visit their country of origin. If there are exceptional circumstances behind a parent’s / carer’s request these must be discussed with the Headteacher. If a child is absent from school because of a holiday which has not been agreed, this will be classified as an unauthorised absence and it could result in a fixed penalty (a fine) or legal action. Persistent non-attendance It is always the school’s intention to work with parents in order to ensure that their children have a high level of attendance so that they can thrive in school. The school will ensure that the most appropriate form of support and intervention is employed to bring about a positive outcome for pupils who are finding attending school challenging. However, the school, working with Hertfordshire’s
Attendance Improvement Officer will take decisive action if parents do not work in full partnership. This could mean issuing a fixed penalty notice (a fine) or working with the Attendance Officer to initiate court proceedings. Raising Concerns and Referrals Early concerns are usually raised and discussed with parents/carers and tutors in the first instance. If the situation does not improve or there are more complex issues the child’s Learning Co-ordinator will be involved and make referrals to outside agencies such as the Attendance Improvement Officer, where and when appropriate. Mrs O’Hanlon, Deputy Headteacher, has overall responsibility for the school’s policy on attendance and punctuality and the monitoring of the impact the policy has on improving pupil attendance and punctuality. This policy will reviewed in September 2019
