Attendance Policy

Aims

To address the Every Child Matters Agenda
To encourage a positive approach
To challenge and reduce levels of authorised and unauthorised absences
To promote a consistent approach by all staff
To recognise and reward good attendance
To acknowledge the link between attendance and attainment
To ensure that all partners involved in the education of young people share the responsibility of optimising attendance.

Principles

Every child has a right to access the education to which he/she is entitled.
Parents and teachers share the responsibility for ensuring that attendance rates at Pensby School are maximised and that rates of unjustified and unauthorised absenteeism are kept to a minimum.
The school recognises that punctual and regular attendance alongside high standards of behaviour is an essential prerequisite to effective learning and is therefore committed to improving levels of attendance, punctuality and positive behaviour.
The school actively promotes a teaching and learning ethos which encourages all pupils to attend whatever their level of ability or need.
It is important to build on clear values, principles and beliefs.
In accordance with other school policies, members of the school community should be able to thrive, feel respected, safe and secure.
Parents are responsible in law for ensuring the regular and punctual attendance of their children as stated in the Home/School Agreement.
Parents and school staff should work closely together to overcome any problems which may affect a child’s attendance.
The school will encourage and value high attendance rates.
The school will recognise the external factors which influence pupil attendance and will work in partnership with parents, the Education Welfare Service and other relevant services to deal with any issues.
The school will take a proactive approach to the promotion of good attendance by defining expectations with students and their parents and will provide an effective and efficient system for monitoring attendance in accordance with legal requirements.

Procedures - Informing School of Absences

Parents are responsible for ensuring that their children attend school regularly and punctually. If their child is not coming into school they should inform the school of the reason for the absence as soon as possible. Where we suspect that students are taking unauthorised absences, we ask parents to inform us on the first day of absence so that we are immediately alerted to possible problems. The School's expectations about the reporting of absence are: If a child is not coming into school, Parents/carers should call the Absence Line: 0151 648 9065 on the first morning they are absent or if they have a Doctor or Dentist appointment at the beginning of the school day

Procedures - Lateness

When a student arrives late to school they should sign in at the designated area, entering the time of arrival and reason for lateness. When a student arrives late to class, the register must be updated to include the lateness. All such lateness must be recorded and dealt with by the Tutor/subject teacher.

After 3 lates a student will be issued with an after school detention on a Monday evening 3.35pm until 4.10pm. Students will be given a slip to take home to parents/carers informing them of this.
A further 3 lates will result in a phone call home to parents and a second Monday evening detention will be issued.
Any further lates will result in a Senior Leader Detention on a Friday night , 3.35pm until 5pm. Parents will receive written notification of this and may be asked to come into to school to discuss the school’s concern re the students lates.

Progress Leaders will review lates on a weekly basis and will contact home if a student’s punctuality gives them cause for concern.

Holiday in Term Time Parents are strongly encouraged to avoid booking family holidays during term time. Parents may request leave of absence, however it is at the discretion of the Headteacher as to whether the time off will be authorised, and only then in exceptional circumstances

Procedures - Promoting and Rewarding Good Attendance

Good attendance improves peer relationships, allows students to achieve their potential and therefore contributes positively to the school community Students with excellent attendance will be rewarded on a termly and yearly basis. At the end of every term pupils with 100% attendance will receive a certificate in assembly presented by the Headteacher. At the end of the year all pupils with a 100% attendance will be awarded, in assembly, a Gold Credit (equivalent to 100 credits), pupils with > 98% but <100%, a Silver Credit (50 credits) >96% but < 98% a Bronze Credit (25 credits). These can be taken by the pupils to be added to their credit balance. (See Behaviour Policy)

Authorised and Unauthorised Absenses

Reasons for Authorised Absence

Sickness
Unavoidable medical/dental appointments, but where possible these should be made outside of school hours
Days of religious observance
Exceptional family circumstances

Unauthorised Absence Absence will not be authorised for

Shopping trips
Looking after other family members
Domestic chores
Birthdays or similar events

Approved Educational Activity Pupils will not be deemed absent when out of school to take part in

Sporting activity
Educational visits
Extra-curricular activities in or with other schools
Approved educational activities e.g. music exams

Procedures - Roles and Responsibilities

The Headteacher has overall responsibility for whole school attendance

Sets annual school attendance target with Leadership Group and returns to Local Authority
Ensures that whole school attendance policy is implemented (and regularly reviewed)
Ensures that the policy is communicated to pupils staff, parents and Governors
Ensures detailed attendance data is regularly collected and used to inform strategic planning on attendance matters
Reports to Governors on attendance matters

Attendance Officer

Processes registers/absence forms and signing in and out book
Records telephone absences onto school system
Produces absence lists on a weekly basis to Progress Leaders to disseminate to Form Tutors and produce summary attendance data for Progress Leaders.
First day response calls home
Liaises with Assistant Headteacher for Pastoral on a regular basis.

Progress Leaders

Progress Leaders are responsible for monitoring the attendance of their year group. They should:

Induct new staff in the year team on attendance procedures
Monitor attendance on a weekly basis so that targets can be set for improvement as appropriate
Monitor the performance of individual tutor groups, following up with individual tutors instances where patterns of absenteeism are not being effectively addressed
Review registers and attendance and punctuality figures on a weekly basis.
Regularly put attendance onto the Agenda of Year Team meetings
Report to the Assistant Head for Pastoral any students who are a cause for concern for either punctuality or attendance.
Ensure that contact is made with parents of poor attendees and also of those with poor punctuality.

Support individual student needs re attendance
Monitor the reintegration of students who have had long term absence by leasing with Assistant Head for Pastoral and the Learning Mentor.

Meet with the EWO and Assistant Headteacher on a regular basis in order to discuss students who have not responded to the school’s strategies/interventions and when necessary to make referrals
Follow up internal truancy with appropriate punishments
Manage Reward Scheme for students who have consistently high attendance and those who have shown a significant improvement
Promote good attendance and punctuality through assemblies

Form Tutor

At Pensby High School the Form Tutor is seen as the key figure in promoting regular punctual attendance. The Form Tutor should:

Provide a good example by always being punctual.
Carry out registration in a prescribed manner
Ensure that students who are late are recorded on the system
Ensure that all notes from parents regarding absences are scrutinised and recorded on the system
Monitor patterns of absence for individuals within their Tutor group
Alert the Progress Leader when there is an attendance problem
Offer praise to individual students whose attendance and/or punctuality is good or improves

Head of Faculty/Department

The Heads should:

Endeavour to encourage good attendance and punctuality through personal example
Ensure that members of their Department take their register at the beginning of every lesson
Put attendance on the Agenda of every Department Meeting in order that members of the Department may query any anomalies in students’ attendance eg patterns.

Subject Teachers

Subject Teachers should:

Endeavour to encourage good attendance and punctuality through personal example
Take a Register at the beginning of every lesson (and ensure that the students know that the register is being taken)
Follow up any suspected internal truancy by informing the Progress Leader
Monitor progress of pupils with poor/good attendance and how it relates to their attainment.

Learning Mentor

The Learning Mentor should support and welcome back any student who has been absent for a long period of time so that they feel able and confident to return to the classroom.

Governor

The Governor will monitor and review the school’s attendance figures with the Headteacher.

Education Welfare Officer

Supports the regular school attendance of pupils at Pensby School and help remove any barriers which may be preventing a pupil from fully accessing the education to which he/she is entitled
In some cases of poor attendance a system of Fixed Penalty fines are applied
In extreme cases parents and students may be subject to Court action.

Consultation, Monitoring Evaluation and Reviewing

This policy went through the consultation process in the summer term of 2008 and was discussed at student council in the autumn term. It will be monitored, throughout the school year and evaluated fully on the biennial basis.