Attendance Policy

Attendance Policy

Attendance Policy 2024-25

Introduction

Purpose:

To promote excellent attendance and consistent procedures to promote and

encourage improved attendance.

Aim(s):

To improve attendance to at least 95% for all pupils
To reduce the difference between attendance of pupils affected by poverty and those that are not
To develop a consistent rewards system to promote good attendance
To develop a consistent approach to pupils and families who do not demonstrated positive attendance patterns.

Wider school aims/ethos:

Excellent attendance is an aspiration of the whole school community. It is

underpinned by the school’s vision, values and aims. Improving attendance is also part of the wide local and national improvement agenda.

Consultation:

This policy has been created from guidance from the LA and will be shared with

pupils, parents, staff and governors.

Sources and references:

LA Promoting positive Attendance Policy

Principles/values:

Children and Young People must attend school full time to benefit from their education. This calls for the co-operation of the Local Authority, school

governors, school staff, parents, carers, pupils and support from all of the bodies

represented in the Children and Young People’s Partnership and in the

Community Safety Partnership.

Schools have a special responsibility to encourage full attendance – pupils who

are not in school are not being educated and will not achieve their potential. This

is both unsafe for the child or young person and is not acceptable legally and

morally.

Staff Responsible for whole school attendance:

Mrs C A Prosser, Headteacher

Miss A O’Donnell, Office Manager

Mrs S Morgan, Deputy Headteacher

Procedures and practice

The Law relating to Attendance

Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 states that ‘the parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him / her to receive efficient full time education suitable:-

(a) To age, ability and aptitude and

(b) To any special educational needs he/ she may have either by regular attendance at school or otherwise’

The Law relating to Safeguarding

Section 175 of the Education Act 2002 places a duty on local authorities and

governing bodies to have regard to guidance issued by the Secretary of State with

regard to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and students under the

age of 18.

Fixed Penalty Notice

Our Lady of the Angels RC Primary School will use fixed penalty notices (FPNs), in accordance with the regional fixed penalty guidance. Fixed Penalty Notices may be

considered appropriate when:

At least 10 sessions (5 school days) are lost due to unauthorised absence during the current term. These do not need to be consecutive;
Unauthorised absences of at least 10 sessions (5 school days) due to

holidays in term time or delayed return from extended holidays; or

persistent late arrival at school, i.e. after the register has closed, in the

current term. “Persistent” means at least 10 sessions of late arrival;

Truancy, where the pupil has come to the attention of the police or public

during school hours for being absent from school, without an acceptable

reason.

The FPNs are actioned following detailed support and communication with families. The decision to issue a FPN is decided by the Education Welfare Officer, School Attendance Officer and the head. There is no appeal process for an FPN.

Further information is available in the document, ‘Local Code of Conduct

Education Fixed Penalty Notices’ (June 2014)

Understanding types of absence:

Every half-day absence from school has to be classified by the school (not by the

parents), as either AUTHORISED or UNAUTHORISED.

Authorised absences are mornings or afternoons away from school for a good reason like illness, medical/dental appointments which unavoidably fall in school time, emergencies or other unavoidable cause.

Unauthorised absences are those which the school does not consider reasonable and for which no “leave” has been given. This includes:

▪ Parents/carers keeping pupils off school unnecessarily.

▪ Truancy before or during the school day.

▪ Absences which have never been properly explained.

▪ Pupils who arrive at school too late to get a mark.

▪ Shopping, looking after other children or birthdays.

▪ Day trips and holidays in term time which have not been agreed.

This type of absence can lead to sanctions and/or legal proceedings.

Whilst any pupil may be off school because they are ill, sometimes they can be

reluctant to attend school. Any problems with regular attendance are best sorted out

between the school, the parents and the child. If your child is reluctant to attend, it is

never better to cover up their absence or to give in to pressure to excuse them from

attending. This gives the impression that attendance does not matter and usually

make things worse.

The Local Authority

As a local authority (LA), Torfaen County Borough Council must ensure that:

There are enough school places for the children in its area
Parents secure full-time education for their children

Schools

Schools must:

Record attendance at the start of the school day and during the afternoon on a paper or computer register
Tell the LA if:

- if a pupil fails to attend regularly

- A pupil is absent for 10 or more school days in a row. The school should tell the LA why the pupil is absent if it knows.

Record in the register whether absence is authorised or unauthorised
Publish the percentage and number of authorised and unauthorised absences in the governor’s annual report and prospectus
Comment on any unauthorised absence in pupils’ annual reports
Allow the Local Authority to inspect the register during school hours.

School procedures

Any pupil who is absent from school at the morning or afternoon registration period

will 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 will be

recorded in the first instance as unexplained (code N) and promptly followed up by the school, as part of its early intervention and safeguarding strategies.

The coding for any absences will be in accordance with the guidance provided by the

WG.

Lateness

Morning registration will take place at the start of school at 9.00am. The registers will remain open for a maximum of 30 minutes, in accordance with WG guidance. Any pupil arriving after this time will be marked as having an unauthorised absence (code U) 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 coded as late (L).

Afternoon registration will be at 1.00 pm (KS 2) and 1.15 pm (FP) and any pupil arriving after this time will be marked as having an unauthorised absence (code U) unless there is an acceptable explanation.

Pupils arriving after the start of afternoon registration period will be coded as late.

Parents and carers are reminded that The LA may issue a FPN for persistent lateness after the close of the register in accordance with the Local Code of Conduct, if in excess of 10 sessions.

First day absence

School will endeavour to ascertain the specific reason for non- attendance as soon as possible on the first day of absence, after both morning and afternoon registration. This may include a telephone call or message via the school app. Once the specific

information is received, the register will be amended to reflect the appropriate absence code (Appendix 1).

Priority will be given to children who are deemed to be particularly vulnerable, eg. those known to child protection/safeguarding services or are looked after (LAC). The locality children services team will be notified of unexplained absences of more

than two days of a pupil on the child protection register, or one day following the weekend.

Third day absence

On the third day of absence and if school has not received an adequate explanation, a letter/message will be sent to the parent or carer via the school app requesting this information. The absences will remain unauthorised, until an adequate explanation is

received.

Absence notes

Notes received from parents explaining absence will be kept for an academic year. If there are attendance concerns about the pupil, that may require further investigation, then the notes should be retained in line with education retention schedule. Parents

and carers are aware that only the Head Teacher or their representative can authorize an absence and that further information such as a letter from a GP or Consultant may be required to support reasons given for absence.

Continuing and frequent absence

Within the school it is the responsibility of the class teacher/registration tutor or attendance officer to be aware of and bring attention to the Head Teacher (or person to whom they have delegated responsibility for attendance), any emerging attendance concerns.

In cases where a pupil begins to develop a pattern of absences, the school will try to resolve the problem as soon as possible, before a referral is made to the Education Welfare Service (EWS). This will involve inviting the parents or carers and the pupil

into school for a meeting.

For unauthorised absences of 10 sessions or more in a rolling 12 week period (there are two sessions in a day, morning and afternoon) and following a period of monitoring, the school can request that the LA issue a FPN in accordance with the Local Code of Conduct.

Persistent absence

Welsh Government defines persistent absence as pupils whose absence level is more than 20% (80% attendance). These pupils will be subject to an action plan to support their return to full attendance. The action plan will include engagement with relevant agencies that can support the pupil’s attendance and could include the schools Education Welfare Officer (EWO).

Absence related to discrimination

A pupil’s absence from school may be due to bullying, which can take many forms and can be direct (either physical or verbal) or indirect, for example, ignoring a pupil or not talking to them. Some of this bullying may be discriminatory.

It is against the law for a school, governing body or the LA not to take action where this type of bullying takes place between pupils. As a school, we are required to monitor and report on discriminatory incidents each term and if the reason for a pupil’s absence is related to any of the above issues, must take action to deal with the situation.

A welcome back

The school will welcome back all pupils on return from an absence. This will 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.

Attendance awards

The school will use an awards system to reward pupils who have good or improving attendance.

Any reward system must be meaningful to the children. The timing of rewards needs to be taken into account to ensure that the children can make the link between their attendance and any rewards

Categorisation of absence

All pupils who are on role but not present in the school must be recorded within one of these categories.

• Authorised Absence

• Unauthorised Absence

• Approved Educational Activity

Unauthorised absence

This is for those pupils where no reason has been provided, or whose absence is deemed to be without valid reason.

Authorised absence

This is for those pupils who are away from school for a reason that is deemed to be valid; only the Head Teacher can authorise an absence.

Approved educational activity

This covers types of supervised educational activity undertaken off the school site but with the approval of the school and or the LA.

This would include:

• Work experience placements

• Field trips and educational visits

• Sporting activities

• Link courses or approved education at another venue

• Education arranged by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service

(CAMHS)

Register checks

The LA will formally check the registers on a regular basis to ensure there is compliance with legislation. It should be noted that registers are legal documents and it is an offence not to maintain accurate records.

Section 2: Registers

The register is a legal document. It may be needed to use it as evidence in court. You must have clear procedures for completing the register. Teachers must fill it in, accurately and consistently for every school session. All attendance codes must be used accurately – improper use of codes can mask attendance and potential safeguarding issues while also potentially impeding prosecutions.

At Our Lady of the Angels Primary we use an electronic register within SIMs. Each staff member has their own log on and it is the teacher’s responsibility to ensure the register is marked. If they delegate the task to a Teaching Assistant, they still remain accountable for the register. The register must be complete at the start of every session.

Completing the electronic register

Teachers must:

· Complete the register immediately at the start of each session.

· Not mark a pupil present unless the pupil is in the room when they call the register · Not leave any spaces in the register

· Make any changes to the register clearly, distinguishing between the original entry and the correction. Both the original entry and any correction must be preserved by ensuring the register is saved within SIMS.

· Not allow pupils to mark the register · Mark pupils who are present / (am)and \ (pm)

· Mark pupils who are absent O if in school’s view no satisfactory explanation is provided.

· Mark pupils who arrive late but before the register is closed L

· Mark pupils who arrive after the register is closed U (see Section 3 for more information).

You should display instructions for filling in the register near to the laptop being used to register the pupils, usually next to the interactive whiteboard. Use the codes within this document – not those within SIMS as they are not the WG approved codes!

Section 3: Authorised and unauthorised absence

This section covers the different types of absence. The Education Welfare Service (EWS) can provide further advice. Authorised absence Only the school can authorise an absence. You should not automatically class an absence as authorised because it is covered by a note from the parent. All notes once dealt with by the teacher should be filed and sent to the school office for safe keeping.

(CODE CATEGORISATION ADVICE FOR THE NEW STATUTORY CODES)

Legislation

Under Section 7 of the Education Act 1996, the parent is responsible for making sure that their child of compulsory school age (5-16) receives efficient full-time education that is suitable to the child’s age, ability and aptitude and to any special educational needs the child may have. This can be by regular attendance at school or by education otherwise (the parent can choose to educate their child at home).

If it appears to the LA that a child of compulsory school age is not receiving a suitable education, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise, they must begin procedures for issuing a School Attendance Order under Section 437 of the Education Act 1996.

If a child of compulsory school age who is registered at a school fails to attend regularly at the school then the parent is guilty of an offence under Section 444(1) of the Education Act 1996. Since March 2001 there has been a further offence where a parent, knowing that their child is failing to attend regularly at school, fails without reasonable justification to cause him to attend (Education Act 1996, Section 444(1A) as amended by the Criminal Justice and Court Service Act 2000). This offence requires proof that the parent knew of their child’s non-attendance and failed to act. Under this aggravated offence a warrant can be issued compelling a parent to attend court and conviction can lead to a custodial sentence.

Section 444(ZA) of the Education Act 1996 (as inserted by section 116 of the Education Act 2005) will extend the circumstances in which a parent can be prosecuted for failing to ensure that a child for whom he is responsible attends regularly to include alternative provision that has been made for the child. An LA must consider applying for an Education Supervision Order (ESO) before prosecuting a parent (Children Act 1 989, Section 36). An LA may apply for an ESO instead of or as well as prosecuting the parent.

For further details please see the following documents:

• Education Act 1996

• Education Act 2002

• Education Act 2005

• Children Act 1989

• Crime and Disorder Act 1998

The special position of Traveller families is also recognised in law (section 444(6), Education Act 1996). Traveller parents are protected from conviction if the parent can demonstrate that:

· he or she is engaged in a trade or business of such a nature as requires travel from place to place;

· the child has attended at a school as a registered pupil as regularly as the nature of that trade or business permits;

· the child, where aged six or over, has attended school for at least 200 sessions (half days) during the preceding twelve months.

Unauthorised absences

Unauthorised absences can be defined as absence from school for any period as a result of a premeditated or spontaneous act by the pupil or parent or both. This includes parentally condoned absence.

Parentally condoned absences include absences when:

· a parent is ill

· a parent is using the child as a child-minder

· a pupil is supporting other members of the family

· work patterns, for example shift work, make it difficult for the family to ensure the child can attend school

· a parent wants company

· a parent gives in to the pupil who wants to stay at home

· it is the pupil’s birthday

· a parent does not care whether the pupil attends school

· a parent has taken the pupil shopping

· a parent cannot control the pupil

· a parent has taken the pupil to the hairdresser

· a pupil is in paid work

· a parent is hostile towards the school or towards education in general

· a parent distrusts authority

· a parent is using the pupil as an interpreter

Children on the child protection register:

The Headteacher and Education Welfare Service will review each child’s attendance that attends Our Lady of the Angels Primary School and recommend appropriate action. The Headteacher (and where the EWS has involvement they) will attend Child Protection Case Conferences and contribute to the core group and care plan where necessary.

Children and young people with medical needs:

Children and young people who are absent from school because of physical or mental health issues need to be reviewed regularly and sensitively. They are entitled to educational provision and the school and EWS can give advice on dealing with medical absence as can the school nurse.

Missing children

Where pupils do not return to school and neither the school nor the EWS have been able to trace the whereabouts of the pupil, and no requests for the school file have been received, the pupil should be treated as a “missing child”. The school must notify the EWO and School Admissions who will place the pupil’s name on the national missing children database. This would also involve contact with and a referral made to Torfaen Social Care and Housing department.

Changes of address

If you suspect that a pupil’s family has moved away from the area without giving you its new address, you must tell the EWS. The school and the EWS must make a reasonable attempt to find out where the pupil has gone. If you are unable to find out where the pupil has gone, you must take the pupil off the school roll after four weeks. You can then record the time since the pupil last attended school as authorised absence.

Pupils who are employed

The Local Authority will issue an employment license to the child if it is satisfied if the proposed employment is lawful, that the child’s health, welfare or ability to take full advantage of their education would not be jeopardised and that the child is fit to undertake the work for which he or she is to be employed.

The Children (Performance) Regulations 1968 & Children & Young Persons Act 1963 covers licensing for children employed in entertainment and the licensing of Matrons/Chaperones. Any child from birth until they cease to be of compulsory school age who is employed in entertainment including modelling, filming, television work, sports or music, for example must be licensed to do so. The law states what hours children may work and when they may do this. The production company should apply for the licence for the child to perform at least 21 days in advance. Those wishing to become matrons or chaperones require a CRB check, references, passport photos, proof of identification and address and will need to complete an application form.

For more information please contact Sarah Allard, Senior Educational Welfare Officer on 01633 647373.

Pupils attending alternative education provision arranged by the school

Where a child remains on the roll of a school, that school must ensure the pupil’s attendance and take appropriate steps where this attendance is unacceptable. There is no specific legislation covering the duty of a provider of alternative education to contact a school in the event of a pupil failing to attend. However, providers have a common law duty of care to play their part in ensuring the health, safety and welfare of a pupil. It is good practice to set up a partnership agreement with the provider to ensure effective communication of attendance and welfare issues prior to using that provider. However, the primary duty to follow up attendance and welfare issues remains with the school.

Setting targets

As a school we set targets for improving attendance every year and for the forthcoming two years. Our current attendance targets are as follows.

The Education (School Performance and Unauthorised Absence Targets) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2006 require the governing bodies of every maintained school (other than a special school established in a hospital) to set targets no later than the 31 December in every school year, and must submit to the local education authority. These targets refer to the level to which the absence rate of the pupils at the school is to be reduced.

Where a governing body has previously set absence targets under these regulations the following will apply:

A final target for the following school year, being the reviewed target set in the previous school year but revised if the governing body deem it necessary to do so.
A reviewed target for the school year next but one, being the provisional target set in the previous school year but revised if the governing body deem it necessary t do so.
A provisional target for the school year next but two.

Where the LA is not satisfied with any target submitted by a governing body as stated above, it must give notice to the governing body of that fact, and the governing body must submit a revised target within 21 days of receipt of such a notice.

Where the LA is not satisfied with the revised target submitted by the governing body it must set the target.

A final absence target set by a governing body must not be modified by the governing body without the agreement of the LA.

Referrals to the Education Welfare Service

All schools should follow the same procedures for involving the EWS. This section explains:

· When you should involve the EWS

· How the EWS deals with persistent absence.

Stage 1: referral to the Education Welfare Service

Before making a referral to the EWS, you must try to contact the parent to resolve the problem. Typically these actions might be:

· Unexplained absence should be followed up by the school using the system they have in place for ‘first day response’.

· Where the pupil’s home cannot be contacted by telephone, after 3 days of unexplained absence a letter should be sent requesting an explanation.

· If the first letter elicits no response from the parents/carers, further contact should be made within a further 3 days, either by telephone, letter or home visit.

· Where specific problems are encountered (e.g. language), the school should consider involving appropriate services to assist.

· At this stage, the appropriate in-school person should address the attendance pattern of the pupil. Plans for dealing with the problem should be devised with the involvement of parents/carers and any support agencies available to the school.

· When successful contact has been made it is often possible to agree strategies which resolve the attendance pattern without recourse to the EWS. Parents/carers should be encouraged to be involved actively in dealing with attendance problems. They should be kept informed about the use of report systems, curriculum or timetable changes, pastoral counselling, and assessment of learning difficulties or other interventions.

· Referral to the EWS should be considered if a pupil’s attendance has not significantly increased, despite school’s endeavours as outlined above, i.e. is above 85% in secondary and 90% in primary.

You must make the referral on form EWS1 (see Appendix 3). You must attach records of your telephone contacts, letters to home and meeting minutes for the referral to be accepted.

Stage 2: Action Plan

On receiving a referral, an EWO will try to contact the pupil’s parents within five working days. On contacting the parents, the EWO will normally arrange a meeting with the family and school staff in school, the purpose of which is to draw up an action plan to target improvements in attendance. The EWO will try to agree the action plan with the family, the school and any other agencies involved and the plan will set out the roles and responsibilities of each. The EWS will produce the action plan within five working days of the meeting and will send a copy to the school, family and any other agencies involved as soon as possible.

The EWS records information about all referrals for non-attendance, including the pupil’s attendance for the most recent 100 half days. This enables the Senior EWO to monitor the effectiveness of the service by comparing attendance before and after the EWS became involved. This information is also important should the LA be forced into considering taking legal action against the family due to non-engagement / continued non-attendance.

Stage 3: Internal Review of Attendance/First Warning

Once the meeting has taken place the EWO will monitor the pupil’s attendance for the next 6 school weeks.

If the pupil’s attendance has improved over this period (i.e. is now at 90% in secondary schools or 92% in primary schools), then the EWO will pass the monitoring of that pupil’s attendance back to school.

If, at the end of the six week monitoring period since the plan was agreed with parent/carer, a pupil takes 10 or more half days of unauthorised absence2, the EWO will automatically send a warning letter to the parent/carer giving a warning that legal action may be taken against them unless there is a significant and immediate improvement in their child’s attendance.

The legal action that the EWS will consider will include:

· Applying for an education supervision order (the Children Act 1989, section 36)

· Prosecuting the parents (the Education act 1996, section 444).

The EWO will call a review meeting with the parents and school staff to happen four weeks later i.e. giving the pupil and parent/carer a further four weeks in which to work with school and the EWO to achieve improvement in attendance.

Stage 4: Second Warning

The meeting described above will happen unless there has been improvement in the pupil’s attendance. If there is no improvement, a second warning will be issued to the parent/ carer.

The EWO will also send a standard letter to both Social Care and the Educational Psychology Service asking them if they are involved and whether or not they are aware of any reasons why a prosecution should not be instigated.

At the review meeting, the plan will be reviewed and adjusted as necessary, and a new review date set for four weeks later. The EWO will clarify for the meeting that, if a significant improvement in attendance is not seen over this period, then the Final Warning Notice will be issued.

Stage 5: Final Warning

This planning meeting will normally involve the pupil, the pupil’s family, the school and any other agencies involved. The meeting normally takes place at the pupil’s school but it will be arranged and chaired by the EWO and, in some cases, the Senior EWO. At the meeting, the EWS will consider the case, consult social services about applying for an education supervision order, and decide whether to take legal action.

Stage 6: Prosecution

If the pupil takes fewer than 10 half days of unauthorised absence in the 100 half days after the final warning, the EWS may close the case. The school can refer the case back to the EWS at any time.

If the pupil takes 10 or more half days of unauthorised absence, the EWS will prepare the papers for a prosecution immediately. If a Parenting Order is recommended or given by the court the EWS will inform Social Services.

Roles and Responsibilities

Governors: are responsible for ratification of policy, setting targets and developing patterns of good attendance as a school.

Headteacher: is responsible for developing the policy based on LA guidance and will monitor and review its implementation.

Teachers: are responsible for implementing the policy.

Pupils: to attend school regularly, on time and tell school if there are barriers to developing excellent attendance patterns.

Parents: to ensure their child attends school regularly and punctually. Support the school policy for attendance; inform the school about absence of their child. Ensure they keep contact details up to date with school so we are able to contact them about pupil absence. Try to avoid taking their child out of school for holidays.

Equal Opportunities: see strategic equality plan.

Health and Safety: See policy. However, relevant safeguarding issues are also covered within the Child Protection policy.

Monitoring and evaluation: The policy will be monitored and evaluated by the HT, Staff member in school office and EWS.

SCHOOL LEVEL ACTION

Identify children with attendance that gives cause for concern, then:

1. First day contact

2. Letter to parent/guardian

3. Meeting in school

4. Telephone conversation

5. Action plan and targets agreed with parents to improve child’s attendance

Recording and Monitoring Cases

The EWS will keep a record of each pupil who is referred for poor attendance.

The record will include:

· The pupil’s personal details

· The pupil’s year group

· The date of the referral

· The stage that the case has reached

· The number of unauthorised absences

The Headteacher can ask to see this information on a monthly basis. If the case is active, the EWO will monitor attendance at least once every fortnight.

Referring a case back to the Education Welfare Service

If a school has to refer a closed case back to the EWS within 100 half days, the EWS will return to the stage at which the case was closed.

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