School Attendance Policy

The school accepts the policy and practice laid down by Derbyshire LA and DfES.

We believe that good attendance is crucial in ensuring that children make the best possible progress. Irregular attendance undermines the educational process and leads to educational disadvantage which can seriously affect a child's chances in life.

It is expected that a normal healthy child will achieve an attendance level of 94% each year. Children whose attendance falls below 95% will be deemed to have 'poor' attendance and parents notified. Children whose attendance falls below 90% will be a cause for concern and the school will work with parents to improve this.

Children whose attendance falls below 85% will be referred to the Educational Welfare Officer.

The school takes measures to ensure maximum attendance;

• Investigates individual attendance patterns

• Takes steps to advise parents of the impact of high rates of absence.

• Involves the Education Welfare Service to support parents of children with unsatisfactory attendance.

• Positively promotes good attendance

The partnership between parents and schools

Parents should ensure that their children arrive at school on time. They should ensure that their child attends school every day unless there are exceptional reasons why they may not.

Reporting absences

It is parents’ responsibility to inform School of the reason for a child’s absence as soon as possible, usually on the first day of absence. The notification may be by parental note, personal contact or telephone call. Where a child is ill the school should be notified of the nature of the illness and, when this can be predicted, the date the child is expected to be able to return to School. The reason for the absence should be confirmed in writing upon the child's return.

The School will reinforce these responsibilities in the School booklet.

Registration

All schools must keep an attendance register on which, at the beginning of each morning and afternoon session, pupils are marked present or absent and whether absence of a pupil of compulsory school age is authorised or unauthorised.

The School operates in accordance with LEA guidelines for the format of recording absence and the symbols used to distinguish between different categories of absence. These guidelines can be found within each register.

The Education Welfare Service

Where attendance of a registered pupil is causing concern, the LA can apply to the courts for an education supervision order and, where necessary, they can prosecute parents. Derbyshire LEA employs an EWO to help them carry out this statutory responsibility.

The EWO may visit the home to assess difficulties in maintaining regular attendance and support parents to secure good attendance.

Where parents seem to have a problem securing regular attendance for a particular pupil, the School will take measures to secure this. In the first instance, parents will be advised of the poor attendance. If this continues, then the school will contact the parent on the first day of absence to request the reason. If attendance does not improve, then the school will involve the Education Welfare Service at an early opportunity who will support the parents in achieving this. 

100% attendance will be celebrated publicly by a certificate at the end of the school year.

Illness, Medical and Dental Appointments

Section 199 of the Education Act 1993 provides that no offence is committed where a pupil of compulsory school age is prevented from attending school by reason of illness. If a school is satisfied that a pupil is absent as a result of illness the absence will be authorised.

Where there is doubt about the authenticity of absence attributed to illness, the School and EWO can refer the matter to the School Health Service.

Routine dental or medical appointments should be made outside of school hours.

Lateness

Children should arrive at school in good time and parents have a responsibility to ensure that children arrive on time and ready to learn. Children who arrive late disrupt lessons and those who are habitually late will find that this has a detrimental effect to their education. Often, lateness causes anxiety to the child and therefore can be a bad start to the day.

The school opens at 8.50am. Children are expected to be in school so that Registration is completed and lessons can begin promptly at 9.00am . The classteacher will inform parents of children who habitually arrive after the start of lessons.

School registers close at 9.20am. Children arriving after this will be marked 'late'. Children who arrive after the gate has closed must sign in at the school office and the reason recorded (even if this is earlier than 9.20am so that all children on site are accounted for).

Special Occasions

The Headteacher will decide whether an absence in this category should be authorised or not depending on the circumstances of the case with regard to the following factors:

• The nature of the event

• The overall attendance of the child

• Whether absence will be detrimental to the progress of the child

Family Holidays and Extended Trips Overseas During Term Time

The Headteacher may use discretionary power for leave of absence in exceptional circumstances.. However, holidays in term time are unlikely to be sanctioned. This includes family gatherings or celebrations or where relatives have paid for trips. The School will consider each individual request using the following factors:

• The nature and purpose of the trip

• The duration of the trip and its impact on the child’s education

• The overall attendance pattern of the child

• whether the absence would cause the child's absence to fall below expected level.

Where parents fail to abide by the decision reached with the school or keep a child away from school in excess of the period agreed, the extra time would be treated as unauthorised absence. In these circumstances each parent may be issued with a fixed penalty notice.

Days of Religious Observance

Section 199 of the Education Act 1993 provides that an offence is not committed where the absence of a child of compulsory school age results from participation in a day set aside exclusively for religious observance by the religious body to which the parents belong. Such absences are classed as authorised.

Traveller Children

The school would aim to ensure that Traveller children, in common with all other children, attend school as regularly and frequently as possible acting in the best interests of the child whilst remaining sensitive and sympathetic to the lifestyle and cultural traditions of the family concerned.

Advice will be sought from the Traveller Education Service if difficulties arise.

Off-Site Activities

These may be school directed (educational visits, approved sporting activities) or peculiar to a particular individual (music exams). Absence from the former will be authorised and discretion applied to the latter taking account of individual attendance records and the nature of the request.

Excluded Pupils

Where a child has been temporarily excluded (either for a fixed period or indefinitely) he or she should remain on the school roll. Since the action results from specific action by the head teacher, ie the decision to exclude, it should be treated as authorised absence

Fixed Penalty Notices

Parents may be issued with a penalty notice if they prevent a child from attending school. Penalty notices will always be sought when parents take a child out of school on holiday without application. Penalty notices will always be sought for unauthorised holidays taken during SATs assessments weeks.