Attendance Policy

1st September 2024

This model policy was approved by the Trust Board on 4 July 2024

Next review date - Summer term 2025

Coop Academy Clarice Cliff

Goldenhill Road, Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent.  ST4 3DP

01782 881480    clar-office@coopacademies.co.uk

https://www.claricecliff.coopacademies.co.uk/

Contents

1. Policy Statement and Purpose        2

2. The Importance of School Attendance        2

3. Legislation and Guidance        4

4. Roles and Responsibilities        4

5. Reporting Absence        7

Reporting and Requesting Planned Absences        8

6. Recording Absence        8

Lateness and punctuality        9

Persistent lateness        9

Recording Attendance at off site provision / dual registered pupils        10

7. Authorised and Unauthorised Absences        10

Fines and Sanctions        11

8. Promoting and Supporting Attendance        12

9. Attendance Monitoring        14

Analysing attendance        14

Using data to improve attendance        14

Identifying and supporting Persistent and Severely Absent Pupils        14

Reintegration after significant absences        15

Identifying and supporting Children Missing in Education        16

10. Links with other Policies        16

Appendix 1 - Coding        17

Appendix 2 - Removing Barriers Flowchart        21

Appendix 3 - Data monitoring and analysis        22

Appendix 4 - Thresholds and Interventions        23

Appendix 5 - Responsibilities        24

Appendix 6 - Legal Interventions        25

Appendix 7 - Templates Letters and Texts        26

Appendix 8 - Attendance Principles        29

1. Policy Statement and Purpose

Coop Academy Clarice Cliff is committed to providing a full education to all pupils that embraces the concept of equal opportunities for all. We provide a welcoming and caring environment where every pupil feels safe and valued. Regular attendance and excellent punctuality are essential in ensuring pupils make sustained academic progress and social development.

The academy works in partnership with pupils and their parents or carers to promote the importance of regular and punctual attendance. Regular and punctual attendance is vital in ensuring that all children have full access to the curriculum, as valuable learning time is lost when pupils are absent or late.

The purpose of this policy is to ensure excellent attendance for all, that maximises pupil potential. As an academy, we recognise that regular attendance has a positive impact on the motivation and attainment of pupils. As such, this policy serves to give clear guidance to all stakeholders on their roles and responsibilities; provide advice and information on statutory duties of parents / carers and the Academy and demonstrate how the Academy will work in partnership with families, the local authority and other organisations to support the best possible attendance of all pupils.

Through this policy we will demonstrate our commitment to:

• Setting high expectations for the attendance and punctuality of all pupils
• Promoting good attendance and the benefits of good attendance
• Reducing absence, including persistent and severe absence
• Ensuring every pupil has access to the full-time education to which they are entitled
• Acting early to address patterns of absence
• Building strong relationships with families to ensure pupils have the right support to attend school

Co-op Academies Trust believes there are fundamental principles behind great school attendance. These have been laid out here in our Attendance Principles - and underpin the spirit and content of this policy. In our whole school approach to raising and maintaining excellent attendance, we aim to work with pupils and families to listen, understand, empathise and support families - whilst continuing to challenge poor attendance and maintain the highest of expectations of all of our pupils.

2. The Importance of School Attendance

Regular attendance at school is vital to support pupils to achieve and help them get the best possible start in life. Good attendance is central to pupils’ academic achievement and personal development.

Research shows that going to school is directly linked to improved exam performance which should in turn lead to further learning opportunities and better job prospects.

As well as this, going to school helps to develop:

• friendships
• social skills
• team values
• life skills
• cultural awareness
• career pathways

We know that 90% of persistent non-attenders do not achieve expected levels of development at KS1 and KS2 and do not gain five or more good GCSEs. Around one third achieve no GCSEs at all.  At KS2, pupils not meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths had an overall absence rate of 4.7%, compared to 3.5% among those meeting the expected standard. At KS4, pupils not achieving grade 9 to 4 in English and maths had an overall absence rate of 8.8%, compared to 5.2% for those achieving grade 4. The overall absence rate of pupils not achieving grade 9 to 4 was twice as high as those achieving 9 to 5 (8.8% compared to 3.7%).

Young people who regularly miss school without good reason are also more likely to become isolated from their friends, to underachieve in examinations and/or become involved in anti-social behaviour. In addition, Keeping Children Safe in Education, 2024 makes clear the fact that Children Missing Education are at significant risk of being victims of harm, exploitation or radicalisation, and becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training) later in life.  For the most vulnerable pupils, research has shown associations between regular absence from school and crime (the proportion of children that had been cautioned or sentenced for any offence that had ever been persistently absent was 81% and for serious violence offence was 85%).  Regular attendance is therefore one of the most important protective factors and the best opportunity for needs to be identified and support provided.

Attendance and Punctuality - Lost Learning Hours

3. Legislation and Guidance

This policy meets the requirements of the statutory guidance:  Working Together to Improve School Attendance from the Department for Education (DfE), and refers to the DfE’s statutory guidance on School Attendance Parental Responsibility Measures. These documents are drawn from the following legislation setting out the legal powers and duties that govern school attendance:

- Part 6 of The Education Act 1996

- Part 3 of The Education Act 2002

- Part 7 of The Education and Inspections Act 2006

- The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 (2010, 2011, 2013, 2016 amendments)

- The Education (Penalty Notices) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013

It also refers to:

         School census guidance

         Keeping Children Safe in Education, 2024

         Mental health issues affecting a pupil's attendance: guidance for schools

4. Roles and Responsibilities

Trust Board

The Trust Board is responsible for:

• Setting Trust-wide policy, ensuring that this meets statutory requirements and is adopted by all of the Trust’s academies
• Setting high expectations of trust leaders in relation to student attendance
• Regularly reviewing and challenging Trust-wide attendance data and holding Trust leaders to account around the application of the Trust policy

Trust Senior Leadership Team (SLT)

The Trust's central SLT is responsible for:

• Promoting the importance of student attendance across the Trust
• Making sure school leaders fulfil expectations and statutory duties
• Holding school leaders to account for the application of this policy and the impact of this on attendance data
• Reviewing and challenging attendance data on a regular basis

The Headteacher and Academy Senior Leadership Team

The Headteacher and SLT will offer a clear vision for attendance, underpinned by high expectations, the Co-op Ways of Being and our core values, which are communicated to and understood by staff, pupils and families. SLT will make sure staff, pupils and families understand that absence from school is a potential safeguarding risk and understand their role in keeping children safe in education. SLT  will actively promote great attendance at all levels of the organisation to build up a culture of great attendance.

To do this, the Headteacher and all of the senior leadership team will be responsible for:

• Implementation of this policy at the school
• Monitoring attendance figures for the whole school and reporting these to the Trust’s SLT
• Making sure staff receive adequate training on attendance so they understand:

• The importance of good attendance
• That absence is almost always a symptom of wider issues
• The school’s legal requirements for keeping registers
•  The school’s strategies for tracking, following up on and improving attendance

• Making sure dedicated training is provided to staff with a specific attendance function in their role, including in interpreting and analysing attendance data
• Using detailed and granular data analysis to lead on all universal strategies and interventions
• Supporting staff with monitoring the attendance of individual pupils
• Monitoring the impact of any implemented attendance strategies
• Issuing fixed-penalty notices, where necessary
• Working with the parents of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)
• Communicating with Local Authority when a pupil with an (EHC) plan has falling attendance        
• Communicating the school’s high expectations for attendance and punctuality regularly to pupils

Senior Attendance Champion - Mrs E. Day (Head of School)

The senior attendance champion is the strategic lead for attendance and  is responsible for leading attendance across the school including:

• Leading, championing and improving attendance across the school
• Setting a clear vision for improving and maintaining good attendance
• Evaluating and monitoring expectations and processes
• Having a strong grasp of absence data and oversight of absence data analysis
• Regularly monitoring and evaluating progress in attendance
• Establishing and maintaining effective systems for tackling absence robustly QAing
• Liaising with pupils, parents/carers and external agencies, where needed
• Building productive relationships with parents to discuss and tackle attendance issues
• Creating intervention or reintegration plans in partnership with pupils and parents/carers
• Delivering targeted intervention and support to pupils and families

Pastoral Team

School Liaison / Attendance Officer (Miss S.Hudson)

The school attendance officer is responsible for:

• Ensuring absence procedures are followed in line with this policy and the Trust Principles
• Entering codes accurately and keeping the attendance register in line with legislation
• Keeping records of reasons for absence for detailed analysis
• Monitoring and analysing attendance data (see section 7)
• Benchmarking attendance data to identify areas of focus for improvement
• Providing regular attendance reports to school staff and reporting concerns about attendance to SLT
• Completing home visits as identified by the attendance team
• Working with education welfare officers / attendance support to tackle persistent absence
• Working as part of the safeguarding team to report and follow up concerns
• Advising the Headteacher when to issue fixed-penalty notices

Family Support Assistant (Miss K. McDonald)

The Family Support Assistant is responsible for:

• Ensuring absence procedures are followed in line with this policy and the Trust Principles
• Keeping records of reasons for absence for detailed analysis
• Monitoring and analysing attendance data (see section 7)
• Working with education welfare officers / attendance support to tackle persistent absence
• Working as part of the safeguarding team to report and follow up concerns
• Working with families to secure improvements in attendance
• Working with individual pupils to make improvements in their attendance

Class Teachers 

Class teachers are responsible for

• Recording attendance on a daily basis, using the correct codes
• Recording all attendance, accurately, on ARBOR (MIS)
• Recording registers in a timely manner
• Giving attendance a high profile and emphasising the importance of school attendance
• Making pupils feel welcome and supporting them after an absence or when late to school
• Helping pupils catch up on missed subject content after absences

School Office Staff

School office staff are responsible for taking calls from parents/carers and pupils about absence on a day-to-day basis and recording it accurately. They will also transfer calls from parents/carers and pupils to the correct pastoral staff, attendance officers or  SLT in order to provide them with more detailed support on attendance. They will input codes accurately and ensure that late students and students leaving during the day are accounted for. Office staff work closely with the attendance and safeguarding team.

Parents/carers

Parents/carers are expected to:

• Make sure their child attends every [day/timetabled session] on time
• Call the school to report their child’s absence before 8.50 a.m. on the day of the absence and each subsequent day of absence, and advise when they are expected to return
• Provide the school with more than one emergency contact number for their child
• Ensure that, where possible, appointments for their child are made outside of the school day
• Keep to any attendance contracts that are made and accept support when it is offered
• Inform the right people, as early as possible, if there are any challenges around attendance.

Pupils

Pupils are expected to:

•  Attend school every day on time
• Attend every timetabled session on time
• Call the school to report their absence before (insert time) on the day of the absence
• Let school staff know if there are any difficulties at school or home to allow school to support

5. Reporting Absence

Parents/Carers will be expected to provide an acceptable reason for every absence and will be able to report an absence on the day by contacting:

The school office before 8.50 a.m. on 01782 881480 to explain to a member of staff the reason for absence.

Parents/carers are requested to make contact on each day of absence even where pupils are absent for consecutive days, unless otherwise agreed with one of the Attendance Officers.

If absence reasons are medical, evidence will need to be provided such as a stamped medical card, appointment text message, hospital letter or prescription in order for the absence to be authorised. We will mark absence for physical or mental illness as authorised unless we have a concern about the authenticity of the illness. If the school is not satisfied about the authenticity of the illness, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised and parents will be notified of this in advance or at the time.

For a full list of authorised and unauthorised reasons for absence please see section 7.

Where communication is not made with the Academy about the reason for pupil absence this will be deemed as ‘unauthorised absence’. The parent/carer will receive contact from the Academy to ascertain reasons for absence. Calls will be made from the beginning of the school day and will be completed by 11 am on the same day. Follow up will be based on the following timescales:

• If a pupil is absent without communication, the attendance team will attempt to contact parents. You will receive a text message via Teachers2Parents after morning registration to request that you contact the school to report the reason for your child’s absence. If you do not report your child’s absence following this text, you will receive a phone call from a member of the attendance team. If the attendance team is unable to contact you, you will likely receive a home visit - even if it is the first day of absence in order to check that both you and your child are ok
• When a pupil is absent for two or more days without the school being provided with a reason, a member of the attendance team will conduct a home visit. Home visits from the attendance team are supportive and intended to establish if any actions need to be put in place in order to support a child’s return to school.
• If, after home visits and phone calls, the attendance team is still unable to get a reason for absence within 5 days, the attendance team will request the Local PCSOs to carry out a ‘safe and well’ home visit. We may also contact childrens’ social services.
• For extended periods of absence without reason, we may also contact the Child Missing Education Team at the Council and/or sibling schools to support with enquiries about the whereabouts of the child.
• If a child is absent from the Academy for 20 days (or 10 days after an authorised holiday) and their whereabouts are unknown or they are reported to have left the area, a referral to the Child Missing Education Team will be made and the child will be removed from roll.
• Where pupils are identified as vulnerable, or we have a safeguarding concern,  if communication is not made on day one of absence, procedures will be followed through more swiftly with welfare checks requested on day one if deemed necessary

Reporting and Requesting Planned Absences

Attending a medical or dental appointment will be counted as authorised as long as the pupil’s parent/carer notifies the school in advance of the appointment by informing the school office or pastoral team.  You will need to show your appointment text or letter to verify your appointment. However, we encourage parents/carers to make medical and dental appointments out of school hours where possible. Where this is not possible, the pupil should be out of school for the minimum amount of time necessary by returning promptly to school following their appointment and also attend prior to appointment if not first thing in the morning. The appointment should be made at the start/end of the academy day to minimise disruption to learning.

The pupil’s parent/carer must also apply for other types of term-time absence as far in advance as possible of the requested absence. Go to section 7 to find out which term-time absences are authorised.

6. Recording Absence

Attendance register

By law, all schools are required to keep an attendance register. The academy uses an electronic system (ARBOR) to accurately record attendance and punctuality to every lesson on a daily basis.

There is  a registration period at the start of every day, during which pupils receive their morning registration mark. Any pupils arriving late after the gates close at 8.50am will need to go to the office and a reason for lateness recorded on Inventry. An ‘L’ code is added to Arbor. Afternoon attendance is recorded after lunchtime.

The attendance register marks whether every pupils is:

• Present
• Attending an approved off-site educational activity
• Absent
• Unable to attend due to exceptional circumstances

By law, all schools are required to close their register 30 minutes after they open, and are required to record a U code for any pupils arriving after this point.

Each day, pupils can access the building from the front and back gates which open at 8.45 a.m. They must be in class between 8.50 and 9am where they receive their morning mark. Academy registration closes 30 minutes after this at 9.30 am and any pupil arriving after this time will lose half a day of attendance and be marked with a U (see appendix 1 for attendance register codes).

Any amendment to the attendance register will include:

• The original entry
• The amended entry
• The reason for the amendment
• The date on which the amendment was made
• The name and position of the person who made the amendment

We will also record:

• Whether the absence is authorised or not
• The nature of the activity if a pupil is attending an approved educational activity
• The nature of circumstances where a pupil is unable to attend due to exceptional circumstances

Lateness and punctuality

The statutory register of the academy closes at 9:00am daily. After this point, a pupil arriving late without prior notice or a reasonable explanation, will receive an unauthorised absence mark.

A pupil who arrives late:

• Before the register has closed will be marked as late, using the appropriate code (L)
• After the register has closed will be marked as absent, using the appropriate code (U)

If a pupil arrives:

• After 8:50am and and after the entrance gate has closed, they will enter school through the pupil entrance where they will sign in on Inventry.

If a pupil arrives at the academy late, after the register has closed, parents will need to sign a reason into Inventry.  If pupils walk to school on their own (Year 5 and Year 6), parents will be contacted by the academy, by text or phone call to inform them and ascertain a reason for lateness.

Persistent lateness

It is not acceptable for pupils to persistently arrive late to school (whether before or after the register has closed) as this not only hinders their progress but also disrupts the learning of others. The pupil support and attendance team will monitor late arrivals and follow this up through:

• Letters home
• Meetings with pupils
• Meetings with parents
• Invitations to the two track breakfast provision

Pupils need to arrive at the academy on time in order to be ready for the day ahead. If they are late numerous times across the week, the following phone calls will be made:

• 1 late in a week – phone call home by class teacher
• 2 lates in a week – Phone call home by the attendance officer
• 3+ lates in a week – Phone call home by SLT link and Parent Meeting arranged

All lates and conversations with parents will be logged centrally by the academy.

If a pupil is persistently late to school and has two parent meetings across a half term, a home/school agreement will be drawn up and signed to inform us that parents will support punctuality and be at the forefront of any improvement. A member of the academy attendance team will work with pupils and families regarding punctuality and attendance.

To support all students to attend and be punctual, all Co-op Academies run a breakfast club (free to pupil premium students) before school,  to ensure that pupils can start the day positively and be on time. If a pupil is persistently late, they may be referred to breakfast club to support punctuality.

If all the above are unsuccessful, the Academy will use legal channels in accordance with the local authority policy. This may mean that court action is taken. Every U code counts as half a days unauthorised absence and may result in fixed penalty action or prosecution.

Recording Attendance at off site provision / dual registered pupils

• Attendance at alternative provisions is monitored daily using phonecalls to the providers.  Provisions to make initial contact with parents where pupils are absent – Kerry McDonald - Family Support Assistant to make contact via phonecall.
• pupils will be given a ‘B’ code on Arbor when they have attended external alternative provision. Any absences will be recorded using the appropriate absence code.
• Some provisions, as well as managed moves, are used on a dual-registration basis -Sam Hudson (School Liaison Officer) will oversee this and will give the pupil the appropriate enrolment status. In these cases pupils will be given a ‘D’ code when they are on roll with the provision for all periods where the pupil is expected to attend the other provision/school.
• Pupils who are Guest Pupils at another school will remain as ‘single registration’ at Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff. Where the pupil has attended the other school, a ‘B’ mark will be recorded. All absences will be logged with the appropriate code.
• Attendance Officers from the Academy will conduct home visits where appropriate.
• School Liaison Officer provides daily/weekly attendance figures to key staff
• Once a placement is set up, pupils must attend. Failure to do so will carry the same consequences as non-attendance within the Academy.
• School Liaison Officer to request regular attendance certificates for pupils attending  dual-registration provisions/schools.

Reporting to parents/carers

Attendance is monitored weekly by the attendance team.  Where attendance becomes a concern, an initial Dojo message will be sent to parents with a supportive message and the overall attendance of the pupil.  Support is offered to parents at this point.  If attendance does not improve, parents are invited into a meeting for an attendance clinic to discuss concerns around attendance and to offer any support.  A plan with targets is then drawn up and reviewed after two weeks.

At the end of every week, a Dojo post is shared with all parents about whole school attendance.  Winners of the highest attendance over the week are shared along with key messages about attendance.  In addition, where attendance needs a focus or to be celebrated, additional Dojo posts will be shared with parents.

At the end of every term, parents receive a colour coded attendance letter which identifies the overall percentage of attendance and identifies where pupils are in terms of attendance expectations:

• Green - attendance is above 96% - attendance is good
• Amber - attendance is between 90.1% and 95.9% - attendance needs improvement
• Red - attendance is below 90% - attendance needs additional support and is a concern

Punctuality is monitored daily and discussed weekly during attendance meetings.  Where punctuality is a concern, letters are sent home to parents detailing the number of minutes missed.  If this continues, an attendance clinic will be arranged and additional support offered.

7. Authorised and Unauthorised Absences

Medical and Illness

Children should attend school on every possible day they can. Mild illnesses such as colds and coughs should not prevent a pupil from coming to school. Guidance for school leaders on authorising absence for mild illnesses, or mild anxiety, from the chief medical officer can be found here and details when parents or carers should make sure pupils attend.

Approval for term-time absence

The Government’s amendments of the Education Regulations 2006 removed the right of Headteachers to authorise family holidays and extended leave. The academy policy, therefore, reflects this legislation.

The headteacher will only grant a leave of absence to a pupil during term time if they consider there to be 'exceptional circumstances'. A leave of absence is granted at the headteacher’s discretion, including the length of time the pupil is authorised to be absent for.

The school considers each application for term-time absence individually, taking into account the specific facts, circumstances and relevant context behind the request.  Any request should be submitted as soon as it is anticipated and, where possible, at least 4 weeks before the absence. Leave of absence forms can be found at the school office. The headteacher may require evidence to support any request for leave of absence including plane tickets; medical evidence; letters from authorities.

Valid reasons for authorised absence include:

• Illness (including mental illness) and medical/dental appointments
• Religious observance – where the day is exclusively set apart for religious observance by the religious body to which the pupil’s parents/carers belong. If necessary, the school will seek advice from the religious body to confirm whether the day is set apart. The academy authorises up to two days for a religious absence per academic year and one day per religious event
• Traveller pupils travelling for occupational purposes – this covers Roma, English and Welsh Gypsies, Irish and Scottish travellers, showmen (fairground people) and circus people, bargees (occupational boat dwellers) and new travellers. Absence may be authorised only when a traveller family is known to be travelling for occupational purposes and has agreed this with the school, but it is not known whether the pupil is attending educational provision

Fines and Sanctions

The school or local authority can fine parents/carers for the unauthorised absence of their child from school, where the child is of compulsory school age. The school is obligated to pass information about unauthorised absence to the local authority. This can lead to a fixed penalty notice issued from the authority. If issued with a fine, or penalty notice, each parent/carer must pay £80, per pupil within 21 days or £160 within 28 days. The payment must be made directly to the local authority. Fines are issued per pupil and per parent so in a family of four, you could receive up to four fixed penalty notices.

Penalty notices can be issued by a headteacher, local authority officer or the police.

The decision on whether or not to issue a penalty notice may take into account:

• Whether the national threshold for considering a penalty notice has been met (10 sessions / 5 days of unauthorised absence in a rolling period of 10 school weeks)
• Whether a penalty notice is the best available tool to improve attendance for that pupil
• Whether support, a notice to improve or other legal intervention would be more appropriate
• Whether any obligations the school has under the Equality Act 2010 make issuing a penalty notice inappropriate

A penalty notice may also be issued where parents allow their child to be present in a public place during school hours without reasonable justification, during the first 5 days of a suspension or exclusion (where the school has notified the parents that the pupil must not be present in a public place).

If the payment has not been made after 28 days, the local authority can decide whether to prosecute or withdraw the notice.

If a second penalty notice is issued to the same parent in respect of the same pupil, within a three year period, the parent must pay £160 if paid within 28 days.

A third penalty notice cannot be issued to the same parent in respect of the same child within 3 years of the date of the issue of the first penalty notice. In a case where the national threshold is met for a third time within those 3 years, schools will have to consider prosecution in a magistrates court and a potential fine of £2500 - as well as a possible criminal record for the parent.

Notices to improve

If the national threshold has been met and support is appropriate, but parents do not engage with offers of support, Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff may offer a notice to improve to give parents a final chance to engage.

Notices to improve are issued in line with processes set out in the Stoke-on-Trent LA guidance.  They will include:

• Details of the pupil’s attendance record and of the offences
• The benefits of  attendance and duty of parents under section 7 of  Education Act 1996
• Details of the support provided so far
• Opportunities for further support, or previously provided support not engaged with
• A clear warning that a penalty notice may be issued if attendance doesn’t improve within the improvement period, along with details of what sufficient improvement looks like, which will be decided on a case-by-case basis
• A clear timeframe of between 3 and 6 weeks for the improvement period
• The grounds on which a penalty notice may be issued before the end of the improvement period

8. Promoting and Supporting Attendance

The Academy recognises that poor attendance can be an indication of difficulties in a child’s life. This may be related to problems at home and/or in school. Parents should make school aware of any difficulties or changes in circumstances that may affect their child’s attendance and or behaviour in school, for example, bereavement, divorce/separation, incidents of domestic abuse. This will help the school identify any additional support that may be required.

Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff also recognises that some pupils are more likely to require additional support to achieve excellent attendance, for example, those pupils with special educational needs, those with physical or mental health needs, and looked after children.

Part of promoting and supporting great attendance at Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff is to ensure that the pupils receive the best possible experience on a day to day basis - to ensure that they are excited to attend, feel a sense of belonging and are supported to experience success in their learning. As a school, therefore, we put on a range of extracurricular activities on each day of the week. We also ensure that each and every day, pupil’s feel warmly welcomed into the academy - and that they are offered a broad and exciting curriculum. Part of our universal offer is also to provide a breakfast club each morning; access to a trusted adult during the day; high quality teaching; a fair and proportionate policy for positive behaviour and regular communication with parents. In addition, to support and encourage pupils who might find attendance at school more difficult, we also implement a range of strategies:

• Weekly meetings with pupils who have had more than two unauthorised absences in a half term
• Weekly communication with students about their overall attendance figure where attendance is a concern
• Termly communication home about their child’s attendance in relation to the school
• Daily check-ins with pupils who need it to help them attend more often
• Attendance support plans for pupils who need extra support
• Information published weekly on exciting events and opportunities for the following days
• Bespoke support and further signposting for pupils with barriers to attending
• Regular attendance clinics to understand further reasons for absence and act accordingly
• A family support assistant to work with those who need it
• Two track breakfast provision to support attendance and punctuality

As a very last resort - and only in exceptional circumstances, the Academy may implement a part time timetable to support regular attendance. This would only be as a very last resort, for as short a time as possible and with regular, weekly reviews between school and home.

Rewarding Attendance

Recognising strong attendance is key and celebrating improvements in attendance is important. Positive points on Dojo, will be given to all pupils to acknowledge good attendance, and will be awarded daily for pupils who are “ready to learn”.   In addition, we have the following rewards:

• Every week, a class in each key stage with the highest attendance wins our attendance bears, Benjamin or Bethany.  They spend the week with the class and their adventures are shared in Celebration Assembly the following week.
• Every week, each class is awarded a red, amber or green token based on their attendance for the week.  At the end of every half term, the green tickets are collected and put into a prize draw.  The class who is pulled out of the prize draw wins a £20 Amazon voucher to spend on resources for their class.
• Each week, pupils are identified from attendance meetings who might need additional rewards and incentives.  Reward charts will be put into place for the week with an incentive of 5 Dojos and a Coop prize for improved attendance or punctuality over the year.  These reward charts are logged on Arbor.
• Every month, “know your attendance weeks” are held.  During this week, the attendance team check if pupils know their class attendance (this is recorded on classroom doors every week).  Spot prizes are given along with spot prizes for any children who have improved their attendance and punctuality.
• Further ad-hoc attendance initiatives and events will take place half termly across the year within year groups in order to boost and encourage full attendance. An example of this are random 100% attendance weeks where pupils are rewarded for gaining 100% all week.
• At the end of every term, pupils who achieve 96%+ attendance, have no recorded lates and no holidays will be entered into a prize draw.  The winner will receive a £50 gift card to spend as a family (e.g. cinema voucher, Tesco gift card, Amazon gift card, restaurant voucher).  This is reset every term to give pupils a chance to improve their attendance over the year.

Attendance achievements will be communicated to families regularly through the Arbor app, on the website and through social media.

9. Attendance Monitoring

The Academy will monitor attendance and absence data weekly, half-termly, termly and yearly across the school and at an individual pupil level. Through this analysis we will Identify whether or not there are particular groups of children whose absences may be a cause for concern

Pupil-level absence data will be collected each term and published at national and local authority level through the DfE's school absence national statistics releases. The underlying school-level absence data is published alongside the national statistics. The school will compare attendance data to the national average, and share this with the academy governing council and Regional Director..

Analysing attendance

The school will analyse attendance and absence data regularly to identify pupils or cohorts that need additional support with their attendance, and use this analysis to provide targeted support to these pupils and their families. We will look at historic and emerging patterns of attendance and absence, and then develop strategies to address these patterns. See Appendix 3 for how we use attendance data.

Using data to improve attendance

The school will provide regular attendance reports to form tutors and class teachers and to school leaders, to facilitate discussions with pupils and families and use data to monitor and evaluate the impact of any interventions put in place in order to modify them and inform future strategies.

Identifying and supporting Persistent and Severely Absent Pupils

Persistent absence is where a pupil misses 10% or more of school, and severe absence is where a pupil misses 50% or more of school. Research shows that missing 10% or more of school dramatically reduces a pupil’s ability to go on to get great qualifications and to be a healthy and happy individual. The academy will work with parents/carers, staff, agencies and pupils to prevent children from falling into either of these categories.

The school will use attendance data to find patterns and trends of persistent and severe absence. We will hold regular meetings with the parents/carers of pupils and all adults who are listed as holding parental responsibility, who the school (and/or local authority) considers to be vulnerable, or are persistently or severely absent, to discuss attendance and engagement at school. We will provide access to wider support services to remove the barriers to attendance.

Pupils with attendance of less than 90% will be identified by the attendance team and referred to the Academy Attendance Improvement Officers (AIO) for more intensive casework. Preventative intervention work will be done to avoid pupils reaching PA status.

In order to prevent pupils from falling into Persistent Absence category, the following strategy will ensue:

• Use attendance data to find patterns and trends of persistent and severe absence
• Consider potential safeguarding issues and, where suspected or present, address them in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education
• Hold regular meetings with the parents of pupils who the school (and/or local authority) considers to be vulnerable or at risk of persistent or severe absence, or who are persistently or severely absent, to:

o   Discuss attendance and engagement at school

o   Listen, and understand barriers to attendance

o   Explain the help that is available

o   Explain the potential consequences of, and sanctions for, persistent and severe absence

o   Review any existing actions or interventions

• Provide access to wider support services to remove the barriers to attendance, in conjunction with the local authority, where relevant
• Consider alternative support that could be put in place to remove any barriers to attendance and re-engage these pupils. In doing so, the school will sensitively consider some of the reasons for absence

If, after all the above processes are unsuccessful and pupil attendance drops below 70%, we will consider the legal sanctions. If there is another, underlying cause of absence, we will refer to other agencies e.g the SEND team; Educational psychology; Children’s social work services; CAMHs; Early Help. We always aim to work with families to improve attendance and through all of the interventions in place. Where families are not engaging with the support we will have to take more punitive actions including:

• Formal Casework
• Referral to educational welfare officers
• Referral to CHAD if absence becomes serious enough to be a form of neglect

Reintegration after significant absences

Every effort will be made to re-integrate pupils successfully back into the Academy following long periods of absence. This might include:

• Phased returns and reduced timetables, in exceptional circumstances
• Bespoke timetables
• A ‘catch up’ plan with teachers to support with accessing missed curriculum
• Morning check-ins and welcomes and end of day check-ins
• Mentoring from the pastoral team
• An attendance support plan agreed with pupils and Parents
• Identified safe space and trusted adult
• Weekly reviews on progress
• Daily and weekly rewards to support attendance
• Regular communication with parents via Dojo including celebrations of success

Identifying and supporting Children Missing in Education

We recognise that a child going missing from education is a potential indicator of abuse or neglect. A pupil is counted to be ‘Missing in Education’ if they have been absent for 20 consecutive days from the academy (with no reason for absence given) or if they have not returned for 10 consecutive school days after returning from an authorised absence. Where a child is identified as missing education we will comply with our statutory duty to inform the local authority of any pupil who falls within the reporting notification requirements outlined in Children Missing Education – Statutory guidance for local authorities (DfE September 2016) and follow the Stoke-on-Trent Children Missing Education guidance: S-O-T Children Missing  Education Policy .docx

School and college staff members must follow the Stoke-on-Trent Safeguarding Children Board procedures.

Contact: https://safeguardingchildren.stoke.gov.uk/

Or:  cme-offroll@stoke.gov.uk         

Tel: 01782 235100

Children who are absent, abscond or go missing during the school day are vulnerable and at potential risk of abuse, neglect, CSE or CCE including involvement in county lines. Academy staff members must follow the academy’s procedures for dealing with pupils who are absent/go missing, particularly on repeat occasions, to help identify the risk of abuse and neglect including sexual abuse or exploitation and to help prevent the risks of going missing in future.

10. Links with other Policies

This policy links to the following policies:

• Academy Safeguarding Policy
• Behaviour policy
• Exclusions Policy
• Co-op Academies Trust Attendance Principles

Appendix 1 - Coding

The following codes are taken from the DfE’s guidance on school attendance.

Appendix 2 - Removing Barriers Flowchart

(from Working Together to Improve School Attendance)

Successfully treating the root causes of absence and removing barriers to attendance, at home, in school or more broadly requires schools and local partners to work collaboratively in partnership with, not against families. All partners should work together to:

Expect

Aspire to high standards of attendance from all pupils and parents and build a culture where all can, and want to, be in school and ready to learn by prioritising attendance improvement across the school.

Monitor

Rigorously use attendance data to identify patterns of poor attendance (at individual and cohort level) as soon as possible so all parties can work together to resolve them before they become entrenched.

Listen and understand

When a pattern is spotted, discuss with pupils and parents to listen to and understand barriers to attendance and agree how all partners can work together to resolve them.

Facilitate support

Remove barriers in school and help pupils and parents to access the support they need to overcome the barriers outside of school. This might include an early help or whole family plan where absence is a symptom of wider issues.

Formalise support

Where absence persists and voluntary support is not working or not being engaged with, partners should work together to explain the consequences clearly and ensure support is also in place to enable families to respond. Depending on the circumstances this may include formalising support through an attendance contract or education supervision order.

Enforce

Where all other avenues have been exhausted and support is not working or not being engaged with, enforce attendance through statutory intervention: a penalty notice in line with the National Framework or prosecution to protect the pupil’s right to an education.

Appendix 3 - Data monitoring and analysis

As a minimum, the following data will be analysed and collected on a daily, weekly and half termly basis

Appendix 4 - Thresholds and Interventions

Appendix 5 - Responsibilities

Appendix 6 - Legal Interventions

Education supervision order:

Either local authority can apply for an education supervision order, but it will usually be the Home LA that acts as the ‘designated LA’ and therefore both local authorities should discuss and agree before proceeding.

Penalty notice:

A penalty notice must be issued in line with the National Framework and local code of conduct for the area in which the child goes to school, and if issued by a local authority, it must be the School LA. The National Threshold for issuing penalty notices is 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a rolling period of 10 school weeks. A school week means any week in which there is at least one school session. This can be met with any combination of unauthorised absence (e.g. 4 sessions of holiday taken in term time plus 6 sessions of arriving late after the register closes all within 10 school weeks). These sessions can be consecutive (e.g. 10 sessions of holiday in one week) or not (e.g. 6 sessions of unauthorised absence taken in 1 week and 1 per week for the next 4 weeks). The period of 10 school weeks can also span different terms or school years (e.g. 2 sessions of unauthorised absence in the Summer Term and a further 8 within the Autumn Term) and different schools.

Prosecution:

Either local authority has the power to prosecute, but in general it should be the School LA that takes forward prosecutions under section 444(1) and (1A) of the Education Act 1996. It is, however, good practice for the School LA to inform the Home LA that legal action is being taken.

Parenting orders:

Where a prosecution leads to a Parenting Order, the Court will specify a responsible officer in line with section 372(5) of the Sentencing Act 2020. Both local authorities should discuss and agree who is most appropriate to act as responsible officer in advance of seeking the Order, within the statutory requirements. The most appropriate officer will often depend on the reason for absence. 

School Attendance Orders (SAOs):

Where it appears a child of compulsory school age in their area is not receiving suitable education, either at school or otherwise than at a school (such as unsuitable home education), that local authority (the Home LA) is responsible for serving a notice and if necessary a SAO in line with sections 437 to 442 of the Education Act 1996. Likewise, if prosecution for breaching the SAO is deemed necessary, it should be taken forward by the Home LA.

Appendix 7 - Templates Letters and Texts

Nudge letter

Attendance matters – and you can help!

Dear {Parent/CarerName}

I am writing to you because {Student Name} has missed more school than other students this year.         

{Student Name} has been absent for {#.#} days so far this year which is a percentage of  {##.##%}   The average attendance of the students at Co-op Academy xxxx in {Y#} is {##.##%} which means your child has missed more school than most other students.

When students miss school they fall behind.  Just missing five days a year of school could decrease your child’s chances of achieving well, whether the absence is authorised or unauthorised.

Our purpose is to support every child in achieving the best outcome.  We know that students who are in school, every day, have a better chance at making progress and reaching their full potential.  

You could have a big impact on {Student’s Name}  attendance and we appreciate your support and help.

Yours sincerely

Example Text / Dojo Messages

1. falling below 95% / below average / declining

Dear xxxx. We are just letting you know that xxxx has missed x days of learning this year. This is more than the average for the school which is x. Please contact x if you would like to discuss your child's attendance. We know this could have a big impact.

2. Ascending attendance

Dear xxxx . xxxxx’s attendance has improved! This will have a big impact on their learning. Thank you for ensuring x is in school as much as possible. We appreciate your support.

First Concerns letter

Dear Parent/Carer

RE: Your Child’s Attendance Matters to Us

This year,  xxxxx has missed over 11 days of learning. Our aim is for all students to have 100% attendance. This would mean missing no days of school. Our minimum expectation of 96% means that we would expect children to miss no more than two days per term (or 6 in a year).  

We know that when students miss school they fall behind.  Just missing five days a year of school could decrease your child’s chances of achieving well by 10% – whether the absence is authorised or unauthorised. Pupils who attend school regularly on average also feel better connected, develop superior social skills and have higher self-esteem and confidence. Not being in school means your child is missing out on the essentials they need to be successful.

Our purpose is to support every child to achieve their very best.  In order to do this, we would like you to ensure xxxxx attends school on every day possible so that they can achieve better attendance this year and therefore maximise their chances of success. An extra 6 days of school could make all the difference.

If you need any support regarding your child’s attendance please contact the school to speak to a member of the pastoral team. We are here to help and want to see xxxxx in school, every day.

Thank you for supporting xxxx’s progress by ensuring they are in school, every day and on time.  You could have a big impact on their attendance.

Yours sincerely

Mrs E. Day

Head of School

Medical Evidence letter

Date

Dear Parent

I am writing to you regarding ******* attendance which is currently **%.  All children with attendance around 90% or 20 unauthorised absences are referred to our Educational Welfare Officer and are monitored accordingly.

As ****** attendance is below 90% we have been advised by the Educational Welfare Service that at any further absences should be recorded as unauthorised unless medical evidence is provided.  This can be in the form of a Doctors letter, hospital letter or an appointment card.

Regular attendance is of such importance that persistent absence from school can lead to penalty notices, fines and court cases.  We will continue to monitor ******* attendance and hope to see an improvement.

If you would like to discuss this matter further or would like advice on maintaining regular attendance, please do not hesitate to contact the school.

Yours sincerely

Mrs E Day

Head of School

Invite to and Attendance Clinic letter

Attendance clinics

Dear Parent,

As you are aware, the school carefully monitors attendance of all pupils.  Good attendance is linked to good performance in the classroom and it is essential that these good habits are established from Primary School.

Through our monitoring procedures, we have identified that *********  attendance is currently ******% which is a concern.  Therefore, we have made an appointment with Miss Hudson on (Date) ******* for you to discuss this current level of attendance and try to identify ways in which this can be improved.  If there are little improvements, then this could lead to a formal referral to the Education Welfare Service.

Your appointment time is ....... and will be held at Coop Academy Clarice Cliff.  If you are unable to make this time, please could you contact the school as soon as possible.  Any missed appointments will be followed up by the Education Welfare Officer.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs E Day

Deputy Head Teacher/Attendance Lead

Attendance clinic letter - did not attend

Dear …………………..                                                                                         

It is disappointing that you failed to attend the school attendance clinic held on ………………... The purpose of the attendance clinic was a positive measure to discuss the issues impacting upon attendance and to offer support where appropriate.  It is really important that parents and school work together to promote good attendance.

As an Academy we take attendance very seriously and follow the procedures outlined in the school attendance policy

As …………….. has more than …… unauthorised attendance marks within the last ……… weeks, an application for a Penalty Notice Warning Letter has been requested and …………… attendance will be monitored by Educational Welfare for signs of improvement.  We would really like to see an improvement in ……………..  attendance as this will have a positive long term impact.

If you wish to discuss this further then please contact the school office and we will be happy to arrange a further attendance clinic.

We look forward to working together to improve ……………… attendance.

Yours sincerely

Mrs E Day

Head of School

Invitation to Panel Letter

Dear Parent/carer of ______________________________________________________________

RE: Attendance Panel Meeting

I am writing because the academy has ongoing concerns about ____________________________ attendance and punctuality. The average number of missed days of school for a student at Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff  is xxx.    Your child has missed more days than most students.

I would like to invite you to an Attendance Panel Hearing to discuss this matter in full. The meeting will be held at Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff  on ___________________________________, at _____________. A Parenting Contract may be offered at the meeting; this is a plan that is agreed between you and Co-op Academy xxxx  and includes actions and targets to improve  ____________________________ attendance. If you wish, you may bring a friend or other representative along to the meeting.

Staff are working at Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff to support you to improve______________________’s attendance, but it is important that you understand that we are required to consider legal proceedings where a parent/carer fails to ensure the regular school attendance of their child/children. However, this is only considered when all plans to improve matters have failed. My initial role will be to try and support you in ensuring ____________________________ attendance and punctuality improves.

We need to remind you of your legal responsibility to ensure your child attends school regularly, under Section 444 of the 1996 Education Act. Failure to ensure regular school attendance can result in a fine of up to £2,500 and/or 3 months in prison.

Please don’t ignore this letter. If for any reason this appointment is not convenient, please contact the academy on 01782 881480

Yours Sincerely

Mrs E. Day

Head of School

Appendix 8 - Attendance Principles

The attendance principles, found in full here, are principles that all academies should adhere to in their approach to attendance. Each academy should be able to evidence clearly, how they believe each principle is demonstrated in their setting; implemented with rigour; and have an accurate understanding of how successfully they feel each is embedded.

Great school attendance relies on rigour, tenacity and repeated and clear routines, systematically applied. It also relies on a brilliant knowledge of the context and situation of the community being served, great relationships and a culture of truly high expectations for all. Importantly, the fundamental of great attendance is having a school where children feel welcomed, supported, included and want to attend. We want to support, empathise and understand the challenges our pupils face - but we want to challenge poor attendance and ensure we are not tolerating anything but the highest possible.

The 23 Attendance Principles are:

1. All hands on deck - Everyone has a responsibility for attendance
2. Senior attendance champion - A dedicated senior leader who champions and promotes attendance
3. Data driven - Granular data collection and analysis to get to the root cause of attendance issues
4. Calendars, Timetables and Extra Curricular - Thought given to ‘selling the day’ to our pupils
5. Pastoral AND attendance - All teams should work together in a coordinated approach
6. People talk to people - Interactions are our interventions. Limit answerphones for absence reports
7. Daily, weekly, termly routines - Organisation and consistency around routines
8. Root cause of absence - We need to know the specific reasons for absence in our schools
9. Numbers not percentages - Report on lessons missed, subjects missed and number of days
10. Close registers - Arriving more than half an hour after the start of the day results in a U code
11. Explicit on what is not authorised - Clear verbal and written communication for unauthorised
12. Intervene early - Trends not just thresholds - Don’t wait for a student to become PA - act early
13. Safeguarding - Attendance and safeguarding are inextricably linked - robust processes
14. Clear communication (empathise but don’t tolerate) - High expectations, high support, low threat
15. Welcome strategy - From the day of admissions to returning from absence - staff welcome pupils
16. EBSA - At least one member of staff needs to be trained in emotional school avoidance
17. Scripts and scaffolds - Don’t leave language and interaction to chance
18. Regular whole staff training - Role of attendance team; addressing root cause of absence
19. Building Belonging - Training, thought and strategy for how to help our students feel the belong
20. Filling gaps in learning - Staff need to be clear on how to fill gaps for students with absence
21. Pupil and parent panels - For key groups to understand issues, challenges and assets
22. Reintegration plan - For all pupils who experience an absence of 5 days or more
23. PD package - Excellent personal development curriculum is key  to support strong attendance

Appendix 9 Attendance Zones