WHOLE-SCHOOL ATTENDANCE POLICY - Smithdon High School ...

SMITHDON HIGH SCHOOL
WHOLE-SCHOOL
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Mr J Goodchild
Headteacher
September 2006
Revised June 2009
Revised June 2011

Smithdon High School is committed to providing a full and efficient education to all its
students and embraces the concept of equal opportunities for all, taking into account the
school’s Race Equality Policy.
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 goal of 100% 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.
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 Education and
Skills.
Each year the school will examine its attendance figures and set attendance targets. These
will reflect both national and Norfolk attendance targets.
The school will review its systems for improving attendance at regular intervals to ensure that
it is achieving its set goals.
This policy will contain within it the procedures that the school will use to meet its attendance
targets.
School Procedures
Any student who is absent from school must have their absence recorded as being authorised
or unauthorised. Only the headteacher or a member of staff acting on his behalf can
authorise absence.
Lateness
Morning registration will take place at the start of school. Registration will be electronic, using
Lesson Monitor. Students arriving after the start of the session will be registered as late.
Registers will remain open until 9.00am. Any student arriving after this time will be marked as
having an unauthorised absence unless an explanation given is accepted as grounds for
authorising the late arrival.
The afternoon registration will be taken electronically by the class teacher at the start of the
afternoon session at 1.25 and will close at 1.55pm.
Lesson Monitor
All registration will be electronic. Student attendance at and punctuality to lessons will also be
monitored through this system, with all staff using Lesson Monitor to register students in
their classes.
First Day Absence
If a student is unable to be at school, parents are expected to telephone the school office to
report the absence before 9.00am, using the school’s attendance line. Any absence should be
followed up with a note to the student’s Form Tutor upon their return. Parents are asked to
keep the school informed of any continuing absence. Absences advised by telephone are
registered electronically by the Attendance Administrator. A note, advising the Form Tutor of
the reason for the absence, is entered as a comment on Lesson Monitor.
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Any absence which is unexplained will generate an automated telephone message and/or text
message, via Truancy Call, to the parents of the student, informing them of the absence and
asking them to contact school. This message will be repeated at intervals until a response is
forthcoming.
Second Day Absence
A list of all students with unexplained absence for a second day is produced by the school
office and circulated to the relevant Head of Year. A letter is generated, asking parents to
contact school to explain the absence. This is copied to the Form Tutor.
Fourth Day Absence
If there has still been no contact from the parent/s a further letter will be sent. The Head of
Year or school Attendance Administrator will endeavour to make contact with the parent by
telephone.
Ten Days’ Absence
Any student who is absent without an explanation for 10 consecutive days will be referred to
the Norfolk Pupil Attendance Service [This is a legal requirement]. The school will include
details of action that they have taken.
Frequent Absence
It is the responsibility of the Form Tutor to be aware of any emerging attendance concerns
and to bring them to the attention of the Head of Year.
In cases where a student begins to develop a pattern of absences, the school will try to
resolve the problem with the parent/s. If this is unsuccessful the school will refer to the
School Health Adviser if the problem appears to be a medical one. In other cases the school
will discuss the problem with the school’s Attendance Improvement Officer (AIO).
Frequent Medical Absences
The school will discuss with the School Health Adviser those students who frequently miss
days for medical reasons. At the discretion of the Head of Year, future absences may be
unauthorised unless medical evidence is produced.
Students Causing Concern.
In cases where attendance does not improve, despite contact with parents, the parents and
child will be invited to an Attendance Panel, comprising the Attendance Improvement Officer
and the Head of Year. At this meeting a clear plan for improvement will be discussed and
agreed.
Fast Track for Persistent Absentees
In severe cases, where attendance falls to below 80% and no medical condition has been
determined, then a Fast Track Attendance Panel meeting will be convened, comprising the
AIO, the Head of Year and the Assistant Headteacher. The parents and child will be invited to
this formal meeting where an action plan will be agreed in order to improve attendance. At
this meeting it will be made clear that court proceedings will follow should attendance targets
not be met within the review period. The procedure will be that set out by the Local
Authority.
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A Welcome Back
It is important that on return from an absence, particularly a lengthy one, that all students
are made to feel welcome. This should include ensuring that the student is helped to catch
up on missed work and brought up to date on any information that has been passed to
the other students.
Absence notes
Notes received from parents explaining absence should be kept for a short period (4 weeks).
If there are attendance concerns about the pupil, that may require further investigation, then
the notes may need to be retained for a longer period.
Promoting attendance
The school will use opportunities as they arise to remind parents/carers, that it is their
responsibility to ensure that their children receive their education. The Home/School
agreement can be used in this way.
Holidays in term time
Holidays during term time are strongly discouraged. The school asks that family holidays are
not taken during school time, if at all possible. Any holiday period which exceeds ten days for
the academic year will be recorded as unauthorised absence, except in exceptional
circumstances. All requests for holidays in term time should be made to the Headteacher.
(Further guidance is available within the Norfolk Pupil Holiday document.)
It should be noted that all holiday requests for pupils in Year 10 and 11 will not be
authorised.
Attendance Awards
The school will use the following system to reward students who have good or improving
attendance.
Students who achieve 100% attendance in a half term will be entered in a prize draw, to be
drawn in full-school assembly.
Students achieving 100% attendance in a term will receive a certificate, presented in year
assemblies.
All students achieving 100% attendance for the year will be presented with a certificate and
gift token in the annual year group Celebration of Achievement. In addition, a similar
presentation will be made to the student who has made the most improvement in their
attendance over the course of the year.
Weekly rewards are also presented to tutor groups achieving the highest attendance for the
week and for those who achieved 100% for a complete week.
Attendance Targets
The school’s attendance last year was 93.05%
The school’s attendance target for 2010/11 is 94%.
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The registration system
The following codes /marks will be used to record attendance information.
CODE DESCRIPTION MEANING
/ Present (AM) Present
\ Present (PM) Present
B Educated off site (NOT Dual Approved Education Activity
registration)
C
Other Authorised Circumstances (not Authorised absence
covered by another appropriate
code/description)
D
Dual registration (i.e. pupil attending Approved Education Activity
other establishment)
E Excluded (no alternative provision Authorised absence
made)
F Extended family holiday (agreed) Authorised absence
G
Family holiday (NOT agreed or days in Unauthorised absence
excess of agreement)
H Family holiday (agreed) Authorised absence
I
Illness (NOT medical or dental etc. Authorised absence
appointments)
J Interview Approved Education Activity
L Late (before registers closed) Present
M Medical/Dental appointments Authorised absence
N No reason yet provided for absence Unauthorised absence
O
Unauthorised absence (not covered by Unauthorised absence
any other code/description)
P Approved sporting activity Approved Education Activity
R Religious observance Authorised absence
S Study leave Authorised absence
T Traveller absence Authorised absence
U Late (after registers closed) Unauthorised absence
V Educational visit or trip Approved Education Activity
W Work experience Approved Education Activity
X Non-compulsory school age absence Not counted in possible attendances
Y Enforced closure Not counted in possible attendances
Z Pupil not yet on roll Not counted in possible attendances
# School closed to pupils Not counted in possible attendances
Registers are kept by the school for five years.
Register Security
Registers are stored electronically and regular printouts taken as a paper record. These are
stored centrally.
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