Attendance policy 2013 v2 0

Attendance Policy (Students) Audience:

Parents/Staff/Governors

Status:

Statutory

Date of Issue:

September 2010 (current version September 2013)

Date of Governor Approval:

6th November 2013

Frequency of Review: Annually Post Holder responsible for Review: L. Kelly, Assistant Headteacher Link with Governance:

Curriculum & Learning

Recommended associated documents:

Kingsmead School Attendance Policy (Students) 1.

Contextual Information:

Promoting good attendance is the responsibility of the whole school community. We promote attendance through a personalised and differentiated curriculum and stimulating learning resources, in order that students are encouraged to enjoy, achieve and stay safe during their time at Kingsmead.

2.

Aims and Objectives:   

3.

to ensure that students attend school unless prevented by illness to reduce absence from lessons to ensure that staff, parents and students are aware of their responsibilities with regard to attendance.

Key Principles:       

4.

students should attend school every day, except when there is illness or other abnormal circumstances; attendance at school should be enjoyable; students should feel that they are achieving; good attendance is rewarded; the electronic registration program follows a code system appropriate to social inclusion legislation: being late is unacceptable except in genuine, unavoidable circumstances; staff and parents should encourage and support students to attend school.

Responsibilities: Parents   

have a legal duty to ensure that their son/daughter attends and stays at the school, and that he/she arrives on time; should ensure that students are appropriately dressed and bring the relevant equipment; should inform the school on the first day of absence, by telephone or letter, stating the reason for absence and the expected duration of the absence. If the absence continues beyond two days, the school should be notified every two days.

Kingsmead School  will encourage good attendance and recognise it through attendance awards  will work with parents to address any problems which may lead to non-attendance  will monitor attendance via the Assistant Headteacher with responsibility for Attendance.

The LA 

5.

will ensure that parents fulfil their legal duty. Educational Welfare Officers are employed by the Authority to carry out their statutory duties (which may include the initiation of court action where the absence rate is unacceptable) and to work with schools and schools to resolve difficulties.

Absences

Only absences authorised by the school can be accepted. These are when:      

the student is ill; the student is absent with leave granted by the Headteacher; the student belongs to a religious body which sets aside days for religious observance; the student is prevented from attending by unavoidable causes the student has been excluded for a fixed period; the student has been permanently excluded, but an appeal is in progress.

(Once the permanent exclusion is confirmed, the student will be taken off the school roll on the day following the confirmation.)

The school may refuse to accept a note from parents if the explanation given is not a valid reason for absence, or if the student’s attendance is below 90%.

6.

Leave of Absence

Leave can only be authorised as ‘leave’ by the school (not the parent). Leave will not be granted except in genuine, unavoidable circumstances. It may be granted for the following:  family bereavement;  illness of a parent, where there is no other relative or help available;  to attend an interview for employment or for a place at an institute of further education.

7.

Unauthorised Absence

Any absence which has not been authorised by the school is recorded as unauthorised.

Unauthorised absence will be viewed seriously, and steps will be taken to discover the reasons by:    

holidays – Government guidelines say holiday entitlement is discretionary: at Kingsmead there is no “entitlement”. The holiday will not be granted, even in exceptional circumstances. Parents must still write and notify the school of any period of planned absence. contacting the parents within two days of the start of the absence, if there has been no communication from a parent; requesting the Education Welfare Officer to visit after 3 days of absence without adequate explanation, or earlier in the case of a persistent absentee;

    

inviting the parents of persistently absent students to collaborate with the school to resolve problems of attendance; offering home visits by the school Student Support Worker (Attendance) to support persistently absent students involving the Educational Welfare Officer in overcoming the problems of non-attendance when the steps taken by the school have been unable to promote a student’s regular attendance; telephoning or texting home to enquire about the absence of persistent non-attendees and informing the EWO if this is not successful. Home visits are made where necessary; spot checks made by the Heads of House, E.W.O. and Senior Staff .

Should these steps fail to secure a student’s full attendance, it may be necessary for the LA to initiate court action. In accordance with Staffordshire Local Authority Penalty Notice Protocol, fixed penalties may be applied for under the following circumstances    

8.

A Penalty Notice can only be issued in cases of unauthorised absence.

Use of Penalty Notice will be restricted to one notice per parent of a pupil per academic year.

In cases where there is more than one poorly-attending pupil in a family, Penalty Notices may be issued for more than one child.

There will be no restriction on the number of times a parent may receive a formal warning of a possible Penalty Notice.

Punctuality   

9.

Lates are also monitored by Heads of House and Student Support Workers; A detention is given when a student is late two or more times in any one week; The detention is recorded on the school database.

Truancy

Truancy is absence from school or individual lessons without permission from the school. 

Parents will be informed about any instance of truancy by the Student Support Worker or the E.W.O;  Students who truant will be placed in school detention;  Students will be expected to catch up missed work;  The truancy will be recorded on the school database and the E.W.O. informed.

10.

Postholder responsible for administering, communicating, reviewing and evaluating this policy Assistant Headteacher with responsibility for Attendance

Appendix One

School Procedures for Managing Attendance

Registration Registers should be taken using the SIMS Lesson Monitor program within the first ten minutes of every lesson. If SIMS is not available for any reason, staff should send a reliable student to the Attendance Officer in Resources to collect a set list. The register should be completed on the list and returned to Resources. Students should not be marked present unless the member of staff has seen them. Registers are legal documents and it is essential that staff use the headcount facility to check numbers.

Lateness Lateness is unacceptable without a genuine reason. Students who arrive after Registration has finished should report to Resources, where the late arrival will be recorded. When a student has been late on two or more occasions in any one week, a detention will be given by the Progress Leader. Learning Tutors should check the accuracy of the data with the student.

Targets Students will have an individual Attendance Target each term.

Appendix Two Trigger 100%-99% 98%-97% 96%-95%

Attendance Protocol: Key Stages 3 and 4

Excellent attendance Good attendance Satisfactory attendance

94%-92%

Attendance concern monitoring

91%-90%

Attendance concern action

89%-88%

Poor attendance

87%-85%

Unsatisfactory attendance

Less than 85%

Action Reward issued -VIVO Reward issued -VIVO Learning tutor receives weekly attendance report, checks organiser and discusses Attendance Letter 1 sent.  Generated by Attendance Officer (AO) and sent  Copy given to HOH Attendance Letter 2 sent  Generated by AO and sent  Meeting between Student Support Worker (Attendance) and student (and parent where appropriate)  Attendance target reviewed Attendance Letter 3 sent and appointment booked  Letter generated by AO and sent  Attendance clinic required  EWO/Student Support Worker (Attendance) and AO to attend  Requirement for medical note for absence  Attendance target reviewed  Requirement to attend mentoring sessions part of clinic Attendance Letter 4 sent  Involvement of EWO service for home visit  Requirement for medical note for absence  Attendance target reviewed EWO, fixed penalty/prosecution

Appendix 3 Protocol for Admitting Students, (Other than by Normal Transition) HEAD OF HOUSE……………………………………………………..

What  Request received from Parent/Carer

Who Reception staff

 Check if there is space in that year group/ allocate HoH and check application should not be a managed move.

Asst HeadInclusion

 Contact parent/carer for further details

Head of House

 Contact Head of Year at previous/current school for information

Notes Take details of names of child and parent/carer; address; date of birth; phone number; name of current/previous school; reason for request Give out a copy of application form Pass information to Assistant HeadteacherInclusion Assistant Head will inform the Headteacher of decision Don’t commit to anything at this stage. It may be helpful to Invite parents and student in for a tour of the school before any formal interview For Y9/Y10/Y11 it may be important to find out option choices and career plans. For other years, choice of foreign language.

 Liaise with Assistant Head (Inclusion) if there are issues regarding, behaviour, inclusion or child protection – or if the child is Looked After.  Admission Meeting

Inform Headteacher so he can introduce himself if he wishes.

 Inform parents of decision if a decision is necessary.

If students live in the catchment area we cannot normally refuse them.

 Provide parents/carers with an admission form, a prospectus, a uniform list and another relevant paperwork  Agree a starting date

 Inform the previous school and request student records

Especially at KS4 allow sufficient time for Curriculum Leaders to be consulted and a timetable provided.

Head of House

 Inform Curriculum/Exams Officer for admission onto school roll and SIMS database  Inform Curriculum/Exams Officer for academic record and timetable  Inform Assistant Head (Inclusion)  Inform Admin Assistant (Data) and Assistant Head (Data) to enter N.C. levels and generate progress checks and academic targets.  Arrange induction for student (using other students and/or Student Support Worker)  Inform school nurse

To generate target levels and grades, we need the student’s current National Curriculum levels or UPN. Complete Data collection sheet in as much detail as possible

Appendix 4

Procedures for Off-rolling Students (other than by normal transition)

NAME…………………………………………….

What  Message received that the child will be leaving.

Who Tutor / Head of House

 Inform Assistant Head (Inclusion) in order that any Inclusion or Safeguarding issues are managed correctly.  Ask Curriculum/Exams Officer to prepare a Leaving Pack – academic and personal records, including a copy of the latest progress check, latest National Curriculum results, merits/demerits printout

Head of House

 Inform Headteacher via PA

Notes Confirm details with parent: Date of move, name of receiving school

Head of House

Give detail of reason for leaving

 Inform staff and remind them to collect any textbooks before the student leaves  Collect completed KS4 coursework and send it on to the next school.

Always keep a photocopy, in case the work goes missing

 Inform Curriculum/Exams Officer for removal from Kingsmead roll.

The student cannot be removed from the roll until we receive confirmation that they have enrolled at another school

 Inform EWO.

Where we do not receive confirmation from the receiving school, the EWO will investigate.

‘Disappeared’ children can only be off-rolled on the authority of the EWO (and after the child’s name has been placed on the Missing Children database).

 Inform Curriculum/Exams Officer, to remove them from Progress Check lists etc.  Despatch ‘Leaving Pack’ to the receiving school, when requested.

Appendix 5

Data Collection Sheet Data Collection for target setting–new students (KS3)

To JB/JG on ………………Targets entered on……………… Returned to HOH on …………..

Name Date of Birth Year Proposed Tutor Group UPN Previous School Key Stage information: (Test or teacher assessment) English

Maths

Science

Current school Assessment/Target

Teaching group assigned

Kingsmead Target

Key Stage 2 sub levels Key Stage 3

Subject

7

8

9

English Maths Science Art Music PE Drama History Geography RE Citizenship Technology MFL ICT Inclusion Mark as appropriate SEN

Statement School action plus School action

Children in care CAF Child protection To LVK on …………………….Data entered on……………… Returned to H of H on …………..

Data Collection Sheet Data Collection for target setting–new students (KS4) To JB/JG on ………………Targets entered on……………… Returned to H o f H on …………..

Name Date of Birth Year Proposed Tutor Group UPN Previous School Key Stage information: (Test or teacher assessment) English

Maths

Science

Current school Assessment/Target

Teaching group assigned

Kingsmead Target

Key Stage 2 sub levels Key Stage 3

Subject English Maths Science PE RE Citizenship Technology ICT 1 2 3

Inclusion Mark as appropriate SEN

Statement School action plus School action

Children in care CAF Child protection To LVK on …………………….Data entered on……………… Returned to H of H on …………..

Appendix Six

Guidance for Parents/Carers

Most people know what it feels like to wake up in the morning and not want to face the day.

Teenagers may sometimes feel the same but the fact is that if your child doesn’t attend school regularly, he or she will not be as successful as other children. That means that he or she will have fewer choices and fewer chances in life.

Hopefully this information will help you to understand the requirements.

Parents 

You have a legal duty to ensure that your son or daughter attends and stays at the school, and that he or she arrives on time.  You should ensure that students are appropriately dressed in their school uniform and bring the relevant equipment. If you are not sure about the uniform or equipment, please look at the relevant section of the personal organiser or contact the Senior Leader / Progress Leader  There will be times when your child cannot go to school: for example, if they are ill. But taking time off for holidays, shopping or days out is not acceptable.  If your child won’t come to school and you are struggling to deal with him or her, please let the Learning Tutor or Student Support Worker know and we will put you in touch with someone who may be able to help.

When is it all right for your child to stay away from school?

If a student is ill: 

parents/carers should inform the school on the first day of absence, by letter or telephone.

If your child is absent for more than two days, please ring every two days.

To attend a hospital appointment: 

please try to arrange appointments during holidays or out of school hours. Naturally there may be times when this isn’t possible, but try to let the Learning Tutor know in advance of the appointment.

Bereavements 

Please let the school know as soon as possible if someone in your family dies – at Kingsmead we want to make sure that we treat children sensitively when they are experiencing difficulties.

Exclusion 

If your child has seriously misbehaved, the Headteacher may exclude him or her from the school, for a set number of days. You will be sent a letter to explain the situation and to tell you what you need to do to support your child to return to school. Students who have been excluded are not allowed on the school site. They must stay at home and work. They must not, by law, be in a public place during school hours. Work will be supplied by the school.



On rare occasions, students may also be permanently excluded by the Headteacher, if their behaviour is damaging the education of other students, or compromising their safety.

If this happens, you will receive a letter to explain the situation.

When is it not all right for your child to stay away from school?

If your child is not absent for one of the reasons above, the absence can only be authorised as ‘leave’ by the school (not by the parent). Headteachers do not grant leave simply on request to do so. Leave can only be granted on certain grounds (i.e., those listed above) Unauthorised Absence Any absence which has not been authorised by the school is recorded as unauthorised.     

You will be contacted by text or phone call within two days of the start of the absence, if there has been no communication from you; The Education Welfare Officer will be asked to visit after 3 days of absence without adequate explanation, or earlier in the case of a persistent absentee; Parents of persistently absent students will be expected to attend a meeting to resolve problems of attendance; Days away from school for birthdays, days out, shopping, preparing for holidays etc are unauthorised absences.

Legal action or a Fixed Penalty Notice can be issued if persistent problems cannot be resolved or where any of the following occur o A Penalty Notice can only be issued in cases of unauthorised absence. o Use of Penalty Notice will be restricted to one notice per parent of a pupil per academic year. o In cases where there is more than one poorly-attending pupil in a family, Penalty Notices may be issued for more than one child. o There will be no restriction on the number of times a parent may receive a formal warning of a possible Penalty Notice.

First Day Calling Where the school or the parents have a concern that a student may be truanting, a First Day Calling Plan may be implemented.  

This means that parents should ring and let us know on the first day of absence.

If we do not hear that the absence is genuine, we will ring or text parents to inform them that their child may be truanting.  If the student’s attendance improves over a period of time, then first day calling may be withdrawn at the discretion of the school.

Truancy Truancy is absence from school or individual lessons without permission from the school. 

Please let your child know that attendance is important and that it is not right for them to miss school. It is important to know where children and teenagers are. Truancy is often linked with other serious problems.  If your child makes excuses to try to get out of school, take time to listen to them. There might be an underlying problem. (Are they having problems with their learning, or being

bullied, for example?) Contact your child’s Learning Tutor if you think we may be able to help.

Leaving School at the end of Year 11 The school leaving date is the last Friday in June for all students in Year 11. This is a national date and the school has no power to vary it. It is not legal for students to be in employment before this date. .

For further information please contact your child’s Learning Tutor. Alternatively, our Education Welfare Officer is: Kevin Moore he may be contacted at:

Education Welfare Office Springvale Walhouse Street Cannock Staffs WS11 0DY. or telephone:

01543 512333