ATTENDANCE POLICY

SOUTH SHIELDS COMMUNITY SCHOOL

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Student Attendance Policy

ATTENDANCE POLICY

SOUTH SHIELDS COMMUNITY SCHOOL

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STUDENT ATTENDANCE POLICY

RATIONALE

In order that students make the most of their learning, regular attendance at school is essential. Furthermore, students should be made aware of the close links between attendance and attainment so that they perform successfully at all areas of school life.

A IM

To promote good attendance

To establish positive attendance patterns for all students.

To support students who are experiencing genuine difficulties in attending school.

To establish attendance and punctuality monitoring procedures which are understood by all students, staff and parents/carers.

To establish procedures to raise overall attendance and punctuality which are understood by all students, staff and parents/carers.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

SOUTH SHIELDS COMMUNITY SCHOOL

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ROLES AND RESPONSIBIL IT IES

The role of students

To ensure they attend school on time every day and are ready to learn.

To hand their absence note to their tutor during the Enterprise session on the day they return from an absence.

To attend every lesson on time.

To follow school procedures for attendance and punctuality at all times

The role of staff

To take the register every lesson.

To promote good attendance

To discuss attendance and punctuality issues with members of their tutorial group during mentoring time.

To send absence notes to the main office on the day they are received.

When writing reports home to parents, to comment on the impact of poor attendance on learning where appropriate.

The role of parents and carers

To ensure that their child attends school on time every day unless they are too ill to attend.

To telephone the school by 9.00 on the first day of absence to explain the reason for the absence and to give an indication of when the child will return to school.

To send an absence note with the student on the day they return to school stating the reason for the absence and any continuing medical problems. The note should state when the absence began and finished.

To ensure no holidays during term time are planned. Where it is believed there are special circumstances, to contact the school and seek the permission of the Headteacher before any travel plans are made.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

SOUTH SHIELDS COMMUNITY SCHOOL

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To ensure that any unavoidable non-medical absences are agreed in advance by the Headteacher e.g. to attend the graduation of an older sibling or parent.

To support the school by promoting good attendance.

The role of the School Attendance Officer

Daily To produce a list of absentees where no parental telephone

call has been received by the end of period 1 and to e-mail this to all SSMs/TM.

To produce a list of students who are late and to e-mail to SSMs/TM

To produce an absence list by the end of period 1 and to e-mail to SSMs/TM

To log the reasons for absence on the registers on a daily basis. Any absence letters which do not give an acceptable reason will be passed directly to the SSM/TM.

To produce a daily list of students who have returned to school without an absence note.

To check for updates e-mailed by EWOs, print a copy for the student file and forward the e-mail to the relevant SSM/TM.

To inform SLT Attendance personnel of any teachers who have not completed their register for any lessons that day.

To make home visits as required.

Weekly

To produce a list of unauthorised absences for each SSM and TM and SLT Attendance personnel ready for weekly EWO meeting.

To bring any patterns of lateness or absence to the weekly EWO meeting.

To produce a list of students who are late for each SSM and TM.

To produce a list of students in each College and Year 7 who have an overall attendance of below 80% on a regular basis.

To produce an attendance list for each tutor group within the college and years 7 and 11 with individual percentage shown and distribute this to each tutor.

To produce an overall attendance percentage for each SSM, the TM and SLT Attendance personnel. The list should be broken down by year group, enterprise group, gender, looked after students and students with Additional Educational needs (AEN).

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Half Termly To produce a late letter for each child with more than five

recorded lates per half term. List to be checked by SSM/TM before letters are sent.

To send letters to parents/carers of students with between 80 – 92% informing them that attendance is being monitored. List to be checked by SSM/TM before being sent.

To send home congratulation letters for students with 93%+ attendance and send a copy of this list to SSM/TM.

Termly

To produce certificates for good attendance, as follows: Bronze 93%-95% Silver 96%-99% Gold 100%

To organise the display of names and awards on honours board.

To keep and maintain records of data and communications

To produce graphs and records of whole school attendance

As required:

To produce paperwork for the Attendance Panel and for the Headteacher

The Role of the SSM/TM

Daily To oversee attendance and punctuality issues where

appropriate

To check any absence note where reason is unacceptable and contact parents/carers.

Where no telephone call has been received on first day of absence, to decide which absentees to call and which to visit. Pass requests to attendance officer or appropriate LC.

To oversee and monitor the attendance of targeted individuals.

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Weekly To maintain close liaison with SLT Attendance personnel

regarding attendance issues where appropriate

To coordinate the work of and maintain close liaison with the EWO in intervention, monitoring and support

To meet with EWO and LCs as required to action plan for improvement in attendance.

To meet with targeted students and EWO to highlight attendance concerns.

To follow up on unauthorised absence.

To coordinate late detentions for students as required. (3 lates = detention.)

To place students on late or attendance report as required.

To speak to individual students about lateness/attendance issues or for congratulations as required.

Half Termly

To check the lists of students to receive late and attendance letters.

To congratulate students on individual improvement.

To speak to tutor groups with best and worst attendance and punctuality.

To coordinate the work of Learning coaches such, that each has a caseload of students with 81 – 92% attendance to monitor

To coordinate target groups of students as follows: - those with attendance below 80% to become caseload for EWO monitoring and intervention; (b) those students with attendance between 81 – 92% to become caseload for Learning coaches for monitoring, intervention and support.

To liaise with Inclusion personnel to allocate students to groups for weekly attendance intervention work

To meet parents/carers as required.

Termly

To plan Congratulations and Attendance Assemblies.

To prepare cases and coordinate paperwork for Attendance Panel

As required: To organise phased re-integration timetables for students

returning to school after a long absence through illness or refusal to attend.

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To meet targeted students with EWO to highlight attendance concerns.

To contribute ideas for school attendance displays and rewards

The Role of the SLT Attendance Personnel

To oversee and lead on attendance in the school, including the functions outlined above

To meet parents as required

To respond to leave of absence requests from parents

To call the Attendance Panel as required.

The Role of the EWO To meet with SLT attendance and other key personnel as

required

To meet weekly with their assigned SSM/TM

To closely monitor specific groups of students as allocated e.g. the attendance of a targeted group of students with below 80% attendance.

To make visits and report back as appropriate.

To work with individual families to improve attendance

To meet with individual students with attendance issues.

To prepare information for attendance panels and proposed legal action as required.

STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE GOOD ATTENDANCE AND PUNCTUALITY

Attendance accepted as a whole school issue

All staff, students and parents/carers to promote good attendance through regular updates, information and reminders

First day call system

Texts home to remind parents/carers about issues that will affect attendance e.g. that school has reopened after a holiday

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Sending an annual calendar home with INSET days, holidays, exam dates and so on

Displaying a board of honour, attendance charts in tutor rooms and corridors.

Attendance printed on all reports home with a comment

Regular meetings with key personnel

Home visits

Effective support from EWO and LA e.g. ‘Attendance Days’

LC support

Advertising the benefits of good attendance and punctuality around school.

Implementing a pass out system for students leaving the school premises during the day for genuine reasons.

Regular College and Year 7 Attendance Assemblies.

Annual personalised attendance pamphlet for each student.

Use of a traffic light attendance monitoring system which indicates good, borderline and unacceptable attendance.

Effective data usage

REWARDS

Termly certificates and letters home

Happygrams/ letters home to inform parents/carers of improvement.

Name on honours board

Termly draw for appropriate reward e.g. ipod/bicycle where student names are put in draw for each week of 100% attendance and punctuality.

The form with best annual attendance paid school visit.

SANCTIONS

Three late marks will mean a detention.

Placement on punctuality or attendance report.

Referral to EWO

Individual interviews with target student, SSM and EWO, if there is no improvement after three weeks meet with parent to go through legal implications.

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Called before Attendance Panel for final warning before court proceedings begin.

Court proceedings.

The Role of Governors To support the promotion of good attendance in the school

To support the strategies for good attendance that are developed and carried out across the school

To do their best to ensure that attendance issues and procedures are followed

To be represented on the attendance panel, once created

Draft Policy to Staff 25th Feb 08

Draft Policy to Governors Full Governors: 4th March 08

Agreed By Governors

Review Date