Attendance Truancy

ATTENDANCE AND TRUANCY POLICY

PolicyStatement:

In order to make the most of the learning opportunities provided within school, students need to have the continuity of provision that consistent attendance allows (taking into account the impact of religious requirements and family circumstances, where appropriate).

It is also important for staff to set an example by arriving at lessons on time and demonstrating the value given to punctuality in school.

Aim of the Policy:

We wish to:

v  Develop habits of good time keeping

v  Develop habits of regular attendance

v  Encourage children/young people and their families to subscribe to the “every lesson counts” message

v  Ensures that all members of the school community understand their role in encouraging good attendance and punctuality

Procedure

Responsibilities

All members of school staff have a responsibility for identifying trends in attendance and punctuality

Students are responsible for:

v  Arriving at school on time, ready for the morning bell

v  Signing in at reception if they arrive at school after registration and signing out if authorized to leave during the school day

v  Attending school and all timetabled classes whenever they are well enough to do so

Parents/Guardians are responsiblefor:

v  Ensuring that their children arrive school before the start of the school day

v  Ensuring that school has current contact details in case of an emergency

v  Notifying the school on the first day of absence no later than 10am

Teachers/Facilitators are responsible for:

v  Keeping accurate and up-to-date registers

v  Keeping an overview of class and individual attendance, in particular poor overall attendance, anomalies in patterns of attendance and/or unusual explanations for non-attendance offered by children and parents/guardians

v  Monitoring follow-up once actions have been taken to address attendance concerns

v  Following up absences with immediate requests for explanation

v  Setting an example by arriving promptly to lessons

Office staff is responsible for:

v  Contacting families where concerns are raised about absence

v  Monitoring individual attendance on a daily basis where concerns have been raised

v  Providing a point of contact between individuals teachers, the Head and the school’s education social worker

v  Informing the Head on a formal and informal basis of patterns of attendance

v  Promptly issuing registers and processing on a weekly basis

The Head is responsible for:

v  Monitoring trends in authorized and unauthorized absence

v  Acting as a point of contact for teaching and non-teaching staff where concerns need to be raised or advice sought

v  Liaisoning with other professionals to determine potential sources of difficulties and reasons for absence

v  Ensuring that the attendance policy is followed and that the actions from education social workers meetings are carried out

v  Liaisoning with and discussing with parents issues relating to attendance

v  Reporting termly to the governing body on progress against targets and cases of persistent non-attendance

v  Meeting with parents who have requested a term-time

The governing body is responsible for:

v  Asking searching questions about trends in attendance – particularly in relation to persistent poor attenders

v  Ensuring that the attendance policy is carried out

v  Ensuring that the school’s medical conditions policy is implemented

First-day Calling

The school implements a first-day calling policy. Parents are requested to call school before 10am if their child is to be away. Where no call is received, office staffs sent a text message or call parents that morning to ascertain the reason of absence. If no contact is made, then a letter is sent first class and further attempts at contact are made at intermittent intervals. Where a student is on the child protection register, the student key worker is informed of his/her absence if no valid reason is given that morning.

Where There Is a Cause for Concern

Where no explanation is received, or where there is an emerging pattern of poor attendance, the following procedures are allowed

v  Discussion on an informal level with the student/parent and a reminder about the importance of regular attendance and punctuality

v  Where an absence is unexplained, a blue letter is sent home requesting a return of the slip explaining the absence

v  If attendance remains erratic, further attempts are made to meet with parents and letters are sent from school, drawing attention to the students attendance and enclosing a report showing the pattern of attendance

v  If there continues to be lack of co-operation and the attendance record does not improve, an approach is made by the education social worker either by letter or in person

Dealing with Truancy

The school will deal with truancy in the following way:

v  Parents or guardians will be informed immediately and, if the student can’t be located within an hour, the police will be informed

v  Following discussion with a truant to establish the circumstances surrounding the truancy, sanctions and support will be imposed

v  In maintained schools and academics, if the truancy becomes a persistent offence, additional support and advice will be requested from the LA and other support services used by the school

v  A programme of monitoring and support may be put into place in conjunction with the education support worker

v  Independent schools will normally deal directly with parents in the event of persistent truancy

Post-registration and Internal Truancy

All teachers are required to take a register at the beginning of each session. This can be checked against the electronically produced register that is supplied to all teachers at the beginning of the school day. Any student identified as begin in school but not in the lesson should be referred to the year leader and their non-attendance investigated further

Long-term Absence

When students have an illness that means they will be away from school for over five days, the school will send material home in order they can keep up with their school work if they are well enough. Where it is likely that the absence will continue for a protracted period of time or be repeated, support services may be contacted in order to arrange tuition outside school.

Holidays during Term-time

We only grant leave of absence where there are exceptional circumstances. Parents who want to take holiday in school-time must discuss their reasons with the Head. When considering an application for leave of absence, we will take into action.

v  The age of the student

v  The time of year proposed for the trip

v  Nature of the trip and pattern of the student

v  The students stage of education and progress

Absence due to Religious Observance

Families are allowed a maximum of three day’s absence for religious observance. Notification should be given of these dates in advance.

Absence due to Medical, Dental or Hospital Appointments

Wherever possible medical, dental or hospital appointments should take place out of school time. Where this is not possible, parents should:

v  Contact school to let them know of the proposed appointment and sent written confirmation to school

v  Provide further evidence if required, which might include a prescription or appointment card

Lateness

Registers are kept open for 20 minutes. Lateness is taken very seriously as it can make it difficult for students to access the remainder of the lesson.

Monitoring

The Head will report to the governing body (via the Head’s report) the attendance percentage for the school and any specific trends and/or difficulties with individuals We monitor attendance according to:

v  Gender

v  Age

v  Ethnicity

v  First language

v  Special educational needs

We also set individual targets for persistent absence.