Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School
ATTENDANCE POLICY
We aspire that through the love of Jesus everyone should
“have life and have it to the full.” Jn. 10v10
2009-2010 Target 95% Absence target 5%
2010-2011 target 95% Absence Target 5%
Actual
Actual
INTRODUCTION
We expect all children on roll to attend every day, when the school is in session, as long as
they are fit and healthy enough to do so. We do all we can to encourage the children to
attend, and to put in place appropriate procedures. We believe that the most important
factor in promoting good attendance is development of positive attitudes towards school. To
this end, we strive to make our school a happy and rewarding experience for all children.
We will reward those children whose attendance is very good. We will also make the best
provision we can for those children who, for whatever reason, are prevented from coming to
school.
AIMS
 To promote regular attendance of pupils, enabling them to take full advantage of the
educational opportunities available to them and raise standards.
 To create a culture in which good attendance is accepted as the norm.
 To demonstrate that good attendance and punctuality is valued by the school.
 To maintain and develop effective communication regarding attendance between
home and school.
OBJECTIVES
 To maximise attendance rates.
 To record attendance regularly.
 To encourage parents to ensure that their children arrive at school on time, properly
dressed and in a condition to learn.
 To actively discourage late arrival.
THE ROLE OF THE GOVERNING BODY
The Governing Body is responsible for
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ensuring that the attendance policy is carried out;
setting the attendance targets for the year; with the Headteacher
termly monitoring of progress towards these targets.
ATTENDANCE TARGETS
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To improve attendance from 92.7% to 95% in the academic year 2009-2010
The school accepts its duty to set focused absence targets. The annual target is the
total number of absences which the Governing Body intends that pupils at the
school will not exceed in the school year, expressed as a percentage of the total
possible attendance’s by pupils at school.
The Head is responsible for:
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the implementation of the policy;
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the daily monitoring of school attendance via Office Staff and Teachers and
Attendance Officer.
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monitoring trends;
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termly meetings with the EWO;
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a system for parents to report a child’s absence;
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reporting to the GB the attendance figures and progress to achieving the set
targets;
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reminding parents of their commitment to this policy.
Teachers are responsible for:
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setting an example of punctuality and good attendance;
implementing the policy;
ensuring that the registers are taken at the appropriate times and are accurate
and up to date;
monitoring class and individual attendance patterns;
informing the school office of any concerns;
emphasising with children the importance of punctuality and good attendance.
raising initial concerns regarding attendance with parents.
Parents are responsible for:
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ensuring that their children are punctual and know the importance of good
attendance;
informing the school on the first day of absence and confirming in writing the
reason for their absence.
informing the school of any changes to their contact details;
collecting their children on time
Providing a medical certificate for pupils who are absent due to illness for a
week.
The office staff are responsible for:
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implementing the policy with the Head;
monitoring individual and class attendance on a daily basis;
keeping the Head informed of attendance figures and trends;
compiling attendance data for the Head, the GB and the EWO;
ensuring electronic registers are kept up to date.
Monitoring lateness and informing the Head of patterns of lateness;
The Attendance Officer is responsible for;
 Cohort of Pupils who are persistently absent
 Referrals to the EWO
 Supporting pupils with significant low attendance and working with outside
agencies to improve pupil’s attendance and punctuality.
 Home Visits with the EWO
IMPLEMENTATION
Registers:
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Attendance registers will be marked at the beginning of each morning and afternoon
session, as an integral and key part of the school day. See appendix 1 for current
symbols, a copy of which is also kept in class folder.
 The symbols are to be accurately used to distinguish between different types of
absence.*
 It is essential to show whether an absence of a child of compulsory school age is
authorised or unauthorised.
 Registers should be returned to the office immediately they have been
completed, for security and Health and Safety reasons.
 Registers are stored in school for a period of three years after the date on which
they were last used, in accordance with 1995 Regulations.
Absences
Authorised and Unauthorised
Only the school, and not the parents, can authorise absence.
Every absence must be explained. A telephone call should be made on first day of absence
and on their return the absence should be explained by the parents in writing. (Appendix 2)
Absence may be authorised if:
a) the absence is due to a special occasion
b) the pupil was ill or prevented from attending by any unavoidable cause;
c) the absence occurred on a day exclusively set aside for religious observance
by the religious body to which the pupil's parents belong. Absence may be
authorised retrospectively.
d) Leave for medical dental or ophthalmic appointments may be given where
confirmation has been received from the parents.
The Head Teacher can unauthorise illness if there is good reason to believe that the
excuse is unfounded See DCFS Guidance
Special Occasions:
In considering individual cases of authorisation of absence regard to the following
factors will be given
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the nature of the event
its frequency ie. is it a 'one-off or likely to become a regular event?
if advance notification was given
the overall attendance pattern of the child
Generally the rule is that only truly exceptional occasions may be sanctioned
through authorised absence.
A sensitive response is to be made regarding requests for leave of absence related to
bereavements, including attendance at funerals or associated events.
Family Holidays
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Regulation 8 of the Education (Pupil Registration) Regulation 1998 gives schools
discretionary power to grant leave for the purpose of an annual family holiday or
annual holiday during term time.
 Parents are asked to fill in a holiday request form in advance of their holiday.
A reply is returned, from the office, stating the number of days
authorised/unauthorised leave taken by that child for the school year. The
parents are informed that any days above the ten allowed are recorded as
unauthorised absence.
 Only in exceptional circumstances may the amount of leave granted exceed, in
total, more than two weeks in any school year.
 Reference will be made to “the Holiday in term time flow chart, “ provided by the
Local Authority
Approved Education Activities
These may be divided into two categories
1. school directed e.g. school visits, sporting events;
2. individual activities e.g. music exams, special tuition.
Excluded Pupils
A pupil who has been temporarily excluded should remain on the school roll. The
absence will have resulted from some specific action by the Head and Governing
Body, thus the absence is authorised
3
Lateness
Times of the day
 pupils arriving after 8.55am must be brought to the school office and signed in
by an adult giving their reason for being late in the late book.
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If a child arrives between 8.55 but before 9.30 am he/she should be marked
“late before registration closed.” Registers close at 9.30am, if a child arrives
after that time they must be marked ‘U’ - Late unauthorised absence.
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If a child arrives between 1.00-1.15 he/she should be marked late before
register closes.
 Keeping registers open for a complete morning or afternoon is totally unacceptable.
 Normally a firm line must be taken on late arrivals and the symbol for late arrival
should be clearly marked.
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The child's arrival must be marked for purposes of emergency evacuation.
Emerging patterns of late arrival should be noted and
(a) discussed with parents
(b) be reported to EWO
The Office staff will Inform parents of the school’s concerns over lateness and
arrange a meeting so that the problem can be addressed with the Head teacher
The individual circumstances of each case of lateness will need to be
considered when enquiries are made and decisions have to be taken.
Arriving Early
The school provides supervision from 8.40am each morning. If children are arriving
before this time, a letter will be sent asking parents to return a slip taking
responsibility for their child's safety before 8.40am. (Appendix 3) an exception to
this will be given to children attending breakfast club.
First day Contact for all absent pupils
Most of our parents contact school on the first day of absence. However If no
reason for the absence is received by school then the School Administrator or
School Secretary will contact parents on the first day of absence by 10.00am and
inform the teachers of the reason for the absence. For children who are at risk, we
also inform any other agencies who have involvement with the child.
If there is no reply to the phone call they will send a letter.
With the EWO making regular visits these procedures shall be followed:
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all correspondence from parents regarding absences will be filed when
symbols have been recorded on registers.
correspondence is retained in school for one complete year after the final date on the
register.
registers are retained for three academic years after the date of their
completion.
Any concerns regarding attendance shall be noted by the staff, Attendance
Officer and Headteacher and discussed with the EWO at his/her next visit.
Advice will be taken from the EWO regarding current practice and issues.
Rewards for Good Attendance
The Head encourages good attendance by:
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publicising our attendance figures during assemblies, newsletters and the termly
report to the GB;
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awarding 100% attendance stickers to pupils when they have achieved 100%
attendance in any one half term, awarded at the last assembly of the term.
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Certificates for a whole term attendance
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Celebrating weekly classes whose attendance has achieved 93% (2009/10)
94% (2010/11) or more during Whole School Golden Assemblies-receiving stars
on a chart display in the hall.
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Gift vouchers for pupils who have 100% attendance at the end of a school year
and those children who just miss 100% attendance at 99%.
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Gold certificate for pupils who at the end of the year have achieved over 95%
attendance
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95%-98% is deemed good attendance 98%-99.9% is deemed excellent
attendance. 100% is deemed outstanding
Long Term Illness
We are aware that Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 states that, ‘Each LEA
shall make arrangements for the provision of suitable education or otherwise
than at school for those children of compulsory school age who by reason if
illness, exclusion from school or otherwise, may not for any period receive
suitable education unless arrangements are made for them’.
We have a duty to provide educational support for pupils who are absent from
school on medical grounds and as far as their medical condition allows.
When children have an illness that means they will be away from school for over five
days, the school will do all it can to send material home, so that they can keep up
with their school work.
If the absence is likely to continue for an extended period, or be a repetitive absence,
the school will contact the support services, so that arrangements can be made for
the child to be given some tuition outside school.
The LA and the EWO will be informed of any child absent from school for more
than 15 days on medical grounds;
The Attendance Officer and will liase with parents and class teachers and
outside agencies.
Monitoring Attendance
Attendance print outs are produced fortnightly by the office staff and are monitored
by the class teachers
Attendance of different groups of pupils.
Pupils who are persistently absent will be monitored
Patterns of absence will be reviewed for particular times of the year, days of the
week or year group.
The school will evaluate the attendance data and put in place strategic actions to
reduce absence and promote attendance.
Class teachers will be responsible for monitoring attendance in their class, and for
following up absences in the appropriate way. If there is concern about a child's
absence, they will contact the school office immediately. If there is a longer-term
general worry about the attendance of a particular child, this will be reported to the
headteacher, who will contact the parents or guardians and involve the Attendance
Officer.
Governors Responsibility
The governing body also has the responsibility for this policy, and for seeing that it is
carried out. It is the responsibility of the governors to monitor overall attendance, and
they will request an annual report from the headteacher. The governors will therefore
examine closely the information provided to them, and seek to ensure that our
attendance figures are as high as they should be.
The school will keep accurate attendance records on file for a minimum period of
three years after the current year.
The rates of attendance will be reported in the school prospectus, and in the annual
governors' report.
This policy will be reviewed by the governing body annually, or earlier if considered
necessary.
Signed ................................................ Dated .....................................
Appendices/enclosures:
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Symbols for registration DCSF
Sample Letter to parents poor attendance:
Sample Letter to parents about absence without a reason (2 letters out only expect a
reply within two weeks otherwise unauthorised)
Sample Letter about lateness
Sample Letter about arriving early
Our Lady's Catholic Primary
School Appendix 1
Key to codes
/
\
Present (AM)
Present (PM)
B Educated off site (not dual
Reg.)
C Other authorised circumstances
D
Dual Registration
E Excluded (No alternative
provision made)
F Extended family holiday
(agreed)
G Family Holiday (Not agreed or
days in excess)
H
Annual family holiday (agreed)
I Illness (not medical/dental
appointment)
T
J
Interview
U Late (after registers
closed)
L
Late (before reg closed)
V
Traveller absence
Educational visit or trip
M Medical / Dental/Opthalmic
W Work experience
N No reason yet provided for
# School closed to pupils &
absence
staff
O Unauthorised absence not covered
Y Enforced closure
by other code
X Non-compulsory school age
P Approved sporting activity
absence
R
Religious observance
Z
Pupil not on roll
S
Study leave
- All should attend / No
mark recorded