Pupil Attendance Policy

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1 Pupil Attendance Policy Hetton Primary School recognises that good attendance: promotes pupils welfare and safeguarding; ensures that every pupil has access to a full-time education to which they are entitled; and enables pupils to succeed whilst at school. For our pupils to gain the greatest benefit from their education it is important that they attend regularly, on time, every day the school is open unless the reason for their absence is unavoidable. We rely on our partnership with parents/carers to ensure good attendance is achieved. It is a parent/carers responsibility to ensure a child s regular attendance at school, and permitting absence from school without good reason creates an offence in law and may result in prosecution. Promoting Attendance Helping to create a pattern of regular attendance is the responsibility of parents, pupils and all members of school staff. To help us all focus on this we will: Give parents/carers details of our attendance in newsletters Report to parents/carers half-termly on their child s attendance Contact parents/carers should their child s attendance become a cause for concern Celebrate good attendance Absence Every half-day of absence from school has to be classified by the school as either authorised or unauthorised. This is why the reason of any absence is always required. Absence will be authorised for sickness, unavoidable medical/dental appointments, days of religious observance and exceptional family circumstances. 1

2 Term Time Leave of Absence From September 2013 the Department for Education amended the regulations surrounding holidays in term time. The new amendments made clear that Headteachers may not grant any leave during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances and gives no entitlement to parents to take their child on holiday during term time. In light of the legislation, it has been agreed by Governors that absence requests to go on holiday or attend weddings is not considered exceptional circumstances and will therefore not be authorised. For all other request the school adopts the following criteria/definition of exceptional circumstances: The fundamental principles for defining exceptional are rare, significant, unavoidable and short. By unavoidable we mean an event that could not reasonably be scheduled at another time. All requests for leave during term time must be made in writing to the Headteacher. Parents need to show how the request for absence meets the criteria for exceptional circumstances. The final decision rests with the Headteacher. Fixed Penalty Notices From September 2014, Sunderland City Council will be implementing the use of Fixed Penalty Notices for unauthorised absences from school, where such absence meets the criteria. The criteria for issuing FPNs are contained in the Sunderland Local Code of Conduct, accessible using the following link The letter sent by the school refusing an application for term time leave is regarded as a formal warning. If parents/carers then take the decision to remove their child, the school will request the Local Authority to consider issuing a Fixed Penalty Notice. Persistent Absenteeism (PA) A pupil becomes a persistent absentee when they miss 15% (4 weeks) or more schooling across the school year for whatever reason. Absence at this level significantly impacts on a child s education and we need the fullest support of parents/carers to address this. Any case that is seen to have reached, or is at 2

3 risk of reaching, PA is given priority and we will inform parents/carers immediately. Absence Procedures If a pupil is prevented for any reason from attending school parents/carers are asked to contact the school office by 9.30am on the first day of absence. In the event of no notification by a parent/carer the School Administrator will contact parents/carers; for pupils identified as vulnerable this will take place as soon as possible on the first morning of absence. Monitoring of Attendance Classteachers have a responsibility to bring to the attention of the Headteacher any concerns they may have regarding the attendance of a pupil. The School Administrator will share in this responsibility. If a pupil is absent regularly, or apparently unnecessarily, the Headteacher will initially contact the parents/carers to notify them of the school s concerns and emphasise that it is a parent s/carers legal responsibility to ensure regular attendance. Each case will be considered on an individual basis and where appropriate support will be offered. If a pupil is persistently absent and the school s efforts have been unsuccessful, the matter will be referred to the Local Authority Attendance Team. Lateness Good punctuality is promoted. The school day starts at 9.00am. Registers are completed at 9.10am and a child will receive a late mark if they are not in school by this time. Lateness is monitored by the school and where there is a persistent problem the Headteacher will initially contact the parents/carers to notify them of the school s concerns. If the school s efforts have been unsuccessful, the matter will be referred to the Local Authority Attendance Team. Children Missing from School The national definition of a child missing from education is: All children of compulsory school age who are not on a school roll or being educated otherwise, and who have been out of any educational provision for a substantial period of time (usually agreed as four weeks or more). 3

4 If a child leaves school without the school being advised by the parent/carer as to the new school the child is transferring to, the school will immediately notify the Local Authority Attendance Team. If the child is the subject of Child Protection Plan or if the school has child protection concerns, the school will also notify the Local Authority s Initial Response Team. The school will follow the Local Authority s Locating Pupils Missing from Education procedures (Appendix 1). Pupils Who Attend Alternative Provision If a child attends alternative provision for part of week, close links will be maintained between the two providers. The providers will inform each other of any absence. It is important that the parent contacts the school if their child is absent. Leavers If your child is leaving other than at the end of Year 6 to go to Secondary School, parents are asked to provide the school with full information about their plans including date of move, new address (if applicable), new school and proposed start date. The school will then complete a transfer form and send this to the Local Authority. These arrangements apply to transfer to Sunderland LA schools only. Ratified by Governors: December 2014 Review Date: December

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