Attendance

Policy

Academy Attendance Leadership Team

  Corynne Peace                                 Jac Jenkins                                    Eileen Tolcher

    Headteacher                       Senior Leader: Attendance                   Attendance Officer   

Attendance Policy

Policy details

Date created - September 2023

Date reviewed - First Version

Next review date - July 2024

Contents

Policy details        1

1. Policy Statement and Purpose        2

2. The Importance of School Attendance        2

3. Legislation and Guidance        3

4. Roles and Responsibilities        4

5. Reporting Absence        6

Reporting and Requesting Planned Absences        6

6. Recording Absence        7

Lateness and punctuality        7

Persistent lateness        8

Recording Attendance at off site provision / dual registered pupils        8

7. Authorised and Unauthorised Absences        9

Fines and Sanctions        10

8. Promoting and Supporting Attendance        10

9. Attendance Monitoring        12

Analysing attendance        12

Using data to improve attendance        13

Identifying and supporting Persistent and Severely Absent Pupils        13

Reintegration after significant absences        13

Identifying and supporting Children Missing in Education        14

10. Links with other Policies        14

Appendix 1 - Coding        15

Present Codes        15

Absence Codes        16

Appendix 2 - Reporting        18

Appendix 3 - Recognition and Rewards        19

Appendix 4 - Thresholds and Interventions        20

Appendix 5 - Responsibilities        21

Parental responsibilities        21

Appendix 6 - Definitions        22

Appendix 7 - Templates Letters and Texts        23

1. Policy Statement and Purpose

Co-op Academy Portland 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. Moments matter; attendance counts!

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.

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.

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.  

Attendance and Punctuality - Lost Learning Hours

3. Legislation and Guidance

This policy meets the requirements of 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

AGC (Academy Governing Council)

The AGC is responsible for:

• Promoting the importance of school attendance across the academy
• Making sure school leaders fulfil expectations and statutory duties
• Regularly reviewing and challenging attendance data
• Monitoring attendance figures for the whole school
• Making sure staff receive adequate training on attendance
• Holding the headteacher to account for the implementation of this policy

The Headteacher - Corynne Peace

The Headteacher will offer a clear vision for attendance, underpinned by high expectations and core values, which are communicated to and understood by staff, pupils and families. The HT 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. The HT will actively promote great attendance at all levels of the organisation to build up a culture of great attendance.

To do this, the HT will be responsible for:

• Implementation of this policy at the school
• Monitoring school-level absence data and reporting it to governors
• Supporting staff with monitoring the attendance of individual pupils
• Monitoring the impact of any implemented attendance strategies
• Issuing fixed-penalty notices, where necessary

Senior Leader: Attendance - Jac Jenkins

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

• Offering a clear vision for attendance improvement
• Evaluating and monitoring expectations and processes
• Having an oversight of data analysis
• Devising specific strategies to address areas of poor attendance identified through data
• Building relationships with parents/carers to discuss and tackle attendance issues
• Creating intervention reintegration plans in partnership with pupils and their parents/carers
• Delivering targeted intervention and support to pupils and families

Attendance Officer - Eileen Tolcher

The school attendance officer is responsible for:

• Ensuring absence procedures are followed in line with this policy
• Entering codes accurately and keeping the attendance register in line with legislation
• 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 the designated senior leader responsible for attendance and the headteacher
• Working with education welfare officers 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

Class Teachers

Class teachers are responsible for:

• Recording attendance on a daily basis, using the correct codes
• Recording all attendance, accurately, on the Management Information System (ARBOR)
• 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 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. School office staff work closely with the wider attendance team and safeguarding team.

Parents/Carers

Parents/Carers are expected to:

• Make sure their child attends every day, on time at 08:40
• Call the school to report their child’s absence before 08:30 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 1 emergency contact number for their child
• Ensure that, where possible, appointments for their child are made outside of the school day. If this is really not possible, late afternoon is the best time of the school day, as children will have attended the majority of their lessons and school activity.

Pupils

Pupils are expected to:

•  Attend school every day on time
• Attend every lesson on time
• Support their parents in making sure they get to school on time

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 on 0151 652 5124  before 8:30am.

Parents/carers are required to phone school 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, 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.

Where communication is not made with the Academy about the reason for pupil absence this will be deemed as ‘unauthorised absence’. At Portland we action a ‘Three Channel Contact’ approach to ascertain reasons from parents for absence. ‘Three Channel Contact’ is based on the following timescales:

1. If a pupil is absent without communication, you will receive a phone call, after morning registration and before 10:00am, requesting an explanation for your child’s absence.
2. If you do not answer the call, you will receive a further text message reiterating the urgent request for a reason by 11:00am.
3. Failure to make contact will result in a home visit - even if it is the first day of absence.

If no answer is received during the first day home visit, the attendance team will carry out continuous daily home visits to make contact with the family. Home visits 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 continuous home visits and phone calls, the attendance team is still unable to get a reason for absence within 5 days, we will request the Police carry out a ‘welfare check’ at home. For extended periods of absence without reason, we may also contact the Child Missing Education Team at the Local Authority and/or siblings’ schools to support with enquiries about the whereabouts of your 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 local 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 safeguarding concerns, 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 recorded as authorised as long as the pupil’s parent/carer notifies the school in advance of the appointment by:

• Coming into the school office to speak to a member of the team
• Sending an email to port-office@coopacademies.co.uk

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 daily registration session at the start of every day, during which pupils receive their morning registration mark. Any pupils arriving late (after 8:50am) will be given a late mark, and details and reason for lateness recorded. an ‘L’ code is added to the register. The class teacher will record this on the system when they arrive. Afternoon attendance is recorded during afternoon registration.

The attendance register marks whether every pupils is:

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

Each day, pupils can access the building from 8:30am. Doors close at 8:50am. Registration closes at 9:10am 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 9:10am 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:

• After 8:50am, but before 9:10am, will enter through the school office, and 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, they will need to enter through the front entrance. Parents must:

• Speak to the school office to ensure that an accurate record of the lateness is recorded; or
• parents will be contacted by the academy 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 Attendance Officer will monitor late arrivals and follow this up through:

• Letters Home

• Punctuality Panels  

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 Teacher
• 2 lates in a week – Phone call home by Attendance Officer
• 3+ lates in a week – Phone call home to arrange meeting with Senior Leader: Attendance

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

If a pupil is persistently late to school and has two parent meetings across a half term, they are to be referred to the Attendance Officer. A home/school agreement will be prepared and signed to inform the Academy that parents will support punctuality and be at the forefront of any improvement. The Class Teacher and Attendance Officer will work with pupils and families regarding punctuality and attendance.

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.

Recording Attendance at off site provision / dual registered pupils

Attendance at alternative provisions is monitored daily using Arbor. The Attendance Officer will make initial contact with parents where pupils are absent - 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 - The Attendance 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 Portland. 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.
• Attendance 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.
• Attendance Officer to request regular attendance certificates for pupils attending  dual-registration provisions/schools.

Reporting to parents/carers

Pupil attendance is available ‘live’ in the Arbor App. Teachers will also share attendance with pupils and parents regularly, including at parents’ evenings. Any conversations between parents and the attendance team, including absence reporting, are bookended with sharing the child’s attendance for the year.

Your child’s attendance and punctuality will be reported to you each half-term, through ‘Luminous Letters’ and at the end of the year on the school report.

We will send texts to celebrate attendance streaks, improvements and sustained excellence. If your child’s attendance falls, or is declining over time, we may also send a text to highlight this.

In circumstances where levels of punctuality and/or attendance are unacceptably low, you will receive a letter explaining this, and a copy of your child’s attendance certificate.

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. We are guided in authorising absence by the Public Health Exclusion table:

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.

Holidays during term time are not classed as exceptional circumstances, any holidays taken in term time will result in a Fixed Penalty Notice that carries a fine of (£60 per child), this will be issued by The Local Authority.

Exceptional circumstances is a very specific term, and can be defined as an incident or circumstance that is, rare, sudden, unforeseen, and has significant impact on the child, and is likely to be temporary. Examples of circumstances that may be exceptional, include:

• Bereavement of a family member who shares the family home
• Marriage of a family member who shares the family home
• Obligatory religious observance
• Attendance at an Embassy or consulate to renew travel documentation

Examples of circumstances that may not be exceptional, include:

• A family holiday
• Visiting a relative who is unwell
• Celebratory trips or visits, such as the wedding of a distant relative or friend, a birthday, or work-related travel
• Anything event or occurrence which is ongoing over time, or is recurring or likely to happen on a number of occasions during the child's education

These lists are not exhaustive, and inclusion as an example does not imply that Headteachers cannot exercise their legal discretion in these instances.

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 requested from the school office, or at the end of this document. The headteacher may require evidence to support any request for leave of absence including travel 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 £60, per pupil within 21 days or £120 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:

• The number of unauthorised absences occurring within a rolling academic year
• One-off instances of irregular attendance, such as holidays taken in term time without permission
• If an excluded pupil is found in a public place during school hours without a justifiable reason

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

If a pupil fails to return from a leave of absence and contact with the parents has not been made or received, school may take the pupil off the school’s role in compliance with the Education (Student Registration) (England) Regulations 2006. This means that the child will lose their school place.

The school considers each application for term-time absence individually whilst taking into

account circumstances and relevant context behind the request. A leave of absence is granted entirely at the Headteacher’s discretion.

8. Promoting and Supporting Attendance

Ethos of Excellent Attendance

Co-op Academy Portland recognises that irregular attendance is detrimental to children’s academic, social and wider success. We pride ourselves on making a concerted, collective and whole-school effort to ensure that every interaction is an attendance intervention.

At whole-school level we implement the following approaches to promote excellent attendance:

1. ‘A Heat Mapped School Calendar’ - we use sectional and demographic data to hot-spot previous patterns of attendance. In response to this information, we coordinate specific events, activities and incentives to target improved attendance on previously poor days and weeks.

2. ‘Every Interaction is an Attendance Intervention’ - our staff team knows every child by name and takes an intentional interest in each pupil, creating a sense of belonging, promoting attendance.

3. ‘Warm Welcome from Day 0’ - we believe in the correlation between positive early parental interactions and future attendance. Every day is an open day: families of prospective pupils are welcomed, supported with applying and have a personalised transition led by a senior leader.

4. ‘Every Teacher is a Teacher of Attendance’ - our staff receive high quality training in how to promote positive patterns of attendance. They apply this to support the pupils in their care.

5. ‘The Doctor vs The Locum’ - our children revel in the routine of being taught by consistent and known adults. We prioritise strong staff attendance and cover absence internally to create certainty, promoting positive patterns of attendance.

6. ’Family Wide Recognition Rewards’ - we appreciate that excellent attendance often relies on the co-operation of every member of a family. We provide meaningful rewards that celebrate the efforts of the whole household.

Codified Attendance Routines

Research suggests that poor school attendance is a learned behaviour. Our processes are communicated, robust and reviewed to develop positive patterns of attendance from the outset. We ensure that these routines are rigorously followed and codified so that all staff feel confident in following them.

At macro-level, the following routines are deliberately designed to support attendance improvements:

1. ‘Absence Prevention Planning’ - half-termly, our attendance team meet and apply thematic analysis to the attendance of children who are persistent absentees or at risk. Actions are established in response to this analysis.

2. ‘Early Bird Calling’ - our attendance team carries out ten targeted ‘Early Bird’ phone calls each morning between 8:05-8:15am. These check-ins support the family by ensuring that everything is on place to support a full day of school attendance.

3. ‘Trajectory Twisting Contact’ - if a pupil is due to return after an absence, a call will be made to check-in that the pupil is feeling better and emphasise the value of attending tomorrow. This is based on our rationale that if a pupil misses more than one day a fortnight they become a persistent absentee.

Targeted Intervention

Co-op Academy Portland appreciates that barriers to school attendance are varied, complex and specific. We are sensitive to poor attendance being an indication of difficulties in a child’s life, at home and/or in school. Parents should share, with school, any difficulties or changes in circumstances that may affect their child’s attendance and or behaviour, for example, bereavement, divorce/separation, incidents of domestic abuse. This will help the school identify any additional support that may be required.

We recognise 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.

The Academy implements a range of targeted and innovative interventions to support improved attendance. Our actions are guided by systematic, thematic and responsive data analysis that enable us to select the best support for each pupil. We regularly review and rotate interventions to address complex and changing barriers.

At micro-level, interventions are assigned to support pupils on a case by case basis, they include:

1. ‘Irresistible Universal Offer’ - our ‘Enrichment for All’; ‘Portland Play’ and ‘Hangout Haven’ offer pulls pupils through the Portland gate. Further involving children in these initiatives can create a sense of belonging, stabilising attendance levels.

2. ‘Universal Uniform Support’ - we recognise that the cost of school uniform can be a barrier to regular attendance. Our attendance officer can provide ‘FUSS’ school uniforms for families in need, ensuring that every child has all they need to look, feel and be part of Team Portland.

3. ‘Portland Patrol Walking Bus’ - our staffed walking bus routes support families by transporting children with poor attendance patterns into school. The ‘Laird Street Liner’ and ‘Connaught Carriage’ cover a 1 mile radius with children referred for a minimum period of a half-term.

4. ‘Health & Hand Sanitising Sessions’ - analysis places ‘physical health’ as our primary attendance need. To address this, groups of pupils with high absence may be coached in effective hand washing and infection control, reducing health absences.

5. ‘Miriam Medical Partnership’ - timely triage increases the chances of a child getting better, faster. We work with our partners at Miriam Medical Centre to facilitate same day appointments for Portland Pupils. This supports attendance by reducing the likelihood of multi-day absence.

6. ‘Peer Mentoring Groups’ - groups of pupils with negatively trending trajectories are selected for supportive peer mentoring groups. These sessions are incentivised through activities such as sticker booking and provide staff with an effective platform to coach positive attendance patterns.

7. ‘Parental Engagement Programme’ - we provide focused workshops, community events and gate conversations that promote attendance and address any of our families’ underlying support needs including special educational, physical and mental health needs.

Where parents fail or refuse to engage with the support offered and further unauthorised

absence occurs, Co-op Academy Portland will consider the use of legal sanctions.

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.

Rewarding Attendance

Recognising strong attendance is key and celebrating excellent attendance is important. Our approach is carefully designed and sensitive to children occasionally being absent for reasons beyond their control. We appreciate that attendance improvement is not linear and how success looks can vary from family to family. The following approaches enable us to reward short-burst streaks, medium-term trends and high standards over an extended period.

Lolly Lottery

During Celebration Assembly, every Friday, all children who have been punctual and attended every day that week, are entered into a ‘Lolly Lottery’ Draw to acknowledge good attendance and punctuality. One child in each class will be drawn out and be awarded a prize.

Class Attendance Wheel

Every Friday, the top three attending classes will be announced in Celebration Assembly. The best attending class will get to spin the wheel. Prizes, to be enjoyed by the class, include ‘Priority Lunch Pass’, ‘Toast with Toppings’, ‘Pyjama Days’, ‘Extra Break Time’, ‘Swap your Teacher’ and ‘Soak Mr Jenkins’.

Heat Mapped Attendance Weeks

In focus weeks of the half-term, the academy will hold 5-day streak weeks. All children with 100% attendance in a streak week will receive a reward. Examples include ‘Tolchers’ Ice Cream Parlour’; ‘Portland Pizza Parties’ and tickets to watch staff sport competitions.

Family-Wide Vouchers

At regular intervals, during hot-spotted attendance weeks, families who have secured 100% attendance for their children across the week will be entered into a draw for a local supermarket or takeaway voucher for the whole family to enjoy together.

Attendance Certificates

At the end of each half term, those children who have achieved 100% attendance will receive a celebratory certificate from The Attendance Officer. This prestigious certificate is presented by the headteacher in Celebration Assembly.

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.

Legal Intervention

The law requires parents to ensure that their child attends school regularly. The academy has a primary responsibility in dealing with the issue of attendance, in partnership with parents and pupils. The majority of attendance issues will be dealt with by the academy, however, on occasions, attendance concerns may need to be passed on to the Local Authority.

Schools have to regularly inform the Local Authority of any pupils who are regularly absent from school, have irregular attendance, or have missed 10 school days or more without the school's permission. Schools also have a safeguarding duty, under section 175 Education Act 2002, to investigate any unexplained absences.

If a pupil is missing school without good reason and support options have been exhausted without improvement/engagement, schools can refer to the Local Authority for legal intervention. This is likely to result in the pupil case file being referred for consideration in the Magistrates Court.

Local Authorities and schools can use various legal powers if a child is missing school without a good reason and when other methods of support and challenge have not worked. This action can include:

• a Parenting Order
• an Education Supervision Order
• a School Attendance Order
• a fine (sometimes known as a ‘penalty notice’)

9. Attendance Monitoring

The school will monitor attendance and absence data daily, 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. Data is also rigorously compared against fellow Co-op Academies Trust schools. We use this data to benchmark against similar profile academies and look for more entrenched demographic or cohort patterns within the Merseyside region. Our multi-level analysis of data is pivotal in ensuring excellent attendance for individuals, cohorts and the whole school.

Using data to improve attendance

The school will provide regular attendance reports to class teachers and senior 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. At Portland, we also consider ‘Recurrent Absentees’, pupils who miss 4% or more of school. This focus on ‘Recurrent Absentees’ before they become ‘Persistent’ or ‘Severe’ allows us to intervene early with appropriate support and challenge. The academy will work with parents/carers, staff, agencies and pupils to prevent children from falling into any one of these categories.

The school will use attendance data to find patterns and trends of recurrent, 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 who are identified by data as falling below thresholds for recurrent (96%), persistent (90%) and severe (50%) attendance will receive intensive support from the attendance team including virtual and face-to-face meetings. During these meetings, strategies will be put in place to ensure that the child's attendance improves.

In order to prevent pupils from falling into recurrent, persistent or severe absence categories, the following levers of support are pulled:

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
• Internal Attendance Panels
• Referral to Early Help professionals
• Referral to the Local Authority

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
• Mentoring from the  pastoral team
• An attendance support plan agreed with pupils and Parents

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 Wirral Local Authority procedures.

School and college staff members must follow the Wirral Children’s Services LA protocols

Contact: cme@wirral.gov.uk 0151 666 3433

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 (flow chart of actions can be seen in the appendices), 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

Appendix 1 - Coding

The following codes are taken from the DfE (2024) Working together to improve school attendance:

Present Codes

Absence Codes

Appendix 2 - Reporting

We will report on Attendance 6x times per year through ‘Luminous Letters’ to parents, unless a family falls below the thresholds listed above and will require formal letters and targeted support/challenge.

Appendix 3 - Recognition and Rewards

Appendix 4 - Levers of Intervention

Appendix 5 - Responsibilities

All Pupils

Pupils who are recurrently absent (<96%)

Pupils who are persistently absent (<90%)

Pupils who are severely absent (<50%)

Cohorts of pupils with lower attendance than their peers

Appendix 6 - Definitions

Fine

Your local council can give each parent a fine of £60, which rises to £120 each if you do not pay within 21 days. If you do not pay the fine after 28 days you may be prosecuted for your child’s absence from school.

Prosecution

You could get a fine of up to £2,500, a community order or a jail sentence up to 3 months. The court also gives you a Parenting Order.

Education Supervision Order

If the council thinks you need support getting your child to go to school but you’re not co-operating, they can apply to a court for an Education Supervision Order.

A supervisor will be appointed to help you get your child into education. The local council can do this instead of prosecuting you, or as well.

Parenting Order

This means you have to go to parenting classes. You’ll also have to do what the court says to improve your child’s school attendance.

Appendix 7 - Templates Letters and Texts

Attendance Concern - R1

{Month, Day, Year}

Dear {Parent/Carer Name},

Notification of Attendance Concern

As part of our commitment to improving the attainment of our pupils we monitor pupil attendance on a regular basis.  During our regular monitoring of pupil attendance, we identify any pupil whose attendance causes concern.  We then issue a first Letter to register our concern with parents.  We are therefore writing to you due to <Name of pupil>’s current level of attendance:

The information below shows how attendance can affect your child’s future progression.

If you have any queries or would like to talk to anyone about attendance, please do not hesitate to contact myself on 0151 652 5124.

Yours cooperatively,

Mrs Tolcher

Attendance Officer

Attendance Concern - R2

{Month, Day, Year}

Dear {Parent/Carer Name},

Notification of Attendance Concern

Since I wrote to you on <date of 1st letter>, <name of pupil>’s attendance has failed to improve significantly, and is now <attendance percentage>%. This is greatly concerning as, so far this year, {Student Name} has missed more school than nearly all of their classmates.

{Student Name} has been absent for {#.#} days so far this year which is a percentage of  {##.##%} Missing so many days in such a short period means that they are currently a ‘Recurrent Absentee’. The average attendance of the students at Co-op Academy Portland in {Y#} is {##.##%} which means that your child has missed way more days than their friends.

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 continued support and help. If you would like to discuss this further please call me on 0151 652 5124.

Yours cooperatively,

Mrs Tolcher

Attendance Officer

Attendance Concern - R3

{Month, Day, Year}

Dear {Parent/Carer Name},

Notification of Attendance Concern

Since we wrote to you on <date of previous letter>, <name of pupil>’s attendance has failed to improve significantly, and is now <attendance percentage>%.  This is below what we expect and to put this into perspective XX% attendance is equivalent to missing XX days of school per year – your child will spend more time at home than at school this academic year!

Ongoing low attendance is a factor often linked to low levels of academic success.  It is important that low attendance is dealt with as early as possible to prevent poor habits of attendance forming with <name of pupil>.  Poor attendance habits now will make it increasingly difficult for you to ensure your child attends school regularly as they get older.

 We wish to help <name of pupil> to improve <his/her> attendance.  If you would like to discuss <name of pupil>’s attendance, please contact myself on 0151 652 5124 and I will be happy to talk with you and if required arrange a meeting.

We would appreciate your support to make sure <name of child>’s attendance improves.  The school will continue to monitor the situation and may refer your child’s absence to Wirral Council for consideration of a fixed penalty notice fine or legal action if unauthorised absence continues to occur.

Yours cooperatively,

Mrs Tolcher

Attendance Officer

Attendance Action - P1

{Month, Day, Year}

Dear {Parent/Carer Name},

Notification of Attendance Action

Name of Child:  <name of pupil>     DOB: <date of birth>   Attendance Percentage: <XX>%.

Over the past weeks, Mrs Tolcher has made numerous attempts to work with you to rapidly improve your child’s attendance. Unfortunately <name of pupil>’s attendance has not noticeably improved. Mrs Tolcher has referred this case to myself for further action.

Regular attendance at school is a major focus for the Department for Education and Wirral Council. In an effort to improve pupil’s school attendance, schools and the council work together to challenge parents who fail to ensure their children attend school regularly without any known justifiable cause.

<name of pupil>’s attendance this academic year is currently <XX>%. This is considerably below what our school, the government and Wirral Council considers to be a level of attendance recommended for children to achieve their educational potential. Please note that parents are advised to provide an explanation for their child’s absence. Absences through illness will no longer be authorised without medical evidence, for example a letter from your doctor, a copy of your child’s prescription or an appointment card.

I will be personally monitoring your child’s attendance for the next 3 weeks. Should there be any further unauthorised absences I will invite you to an Attendance Meeting. It is the Headteacher’s decision as to whether to accept any parental explanation for absence. Please be aware that pupils arriving to school after the official close of registers will be marked as ‘unauthorised absent’ unless there are legitimate reasons for your child’s late arrival.

Every day in school counts towards <name of pupil>’s future, and I thank you in advance for supporting Co-op Academy Portland in ensuring excellent school attendance.

If you are experiencing any difficulties, or do not understand aspects of this letter, please contact me on 0151 652 5124.

Yours cooperatively,

Mr Jenkins

Senior Leader: Behaviour and Attendance

Attendance Support Meeting - P2

{Month, Day, Year}

Dear {Parent/Carer Name},

Notification of Attendance Meeting

 Name of Child:  <name of pupil>    DOB: <date of birth>  Attendance Percentage: <XX>%.

You will recall that I wrote to you on <date of Enforcement Letter 1> regarding <name of pupil>’s poor attendance at school. I enclose a copy of <name of student>’s registration certificate, showing that since (date), <name of student> has had <number of unauthorised sessions> sessions of unauthorised absence. You will notice that further unauthorised absence has occurred.

Unfortunately, <name of pupils>’s attendance has failed to improve sufficiently. <name of student>’s current attendance is <attendance percentage>%. I am therefore inviting you to attend an Attendance Support Meeting. The meeting is scheduled to take place at Co-op Academy Portland on <date> at <time>. You will be asked to agree to a parenting contract to support <name of student>’s attendance at school. If you are unable to attend the meeting or require an interpreter, please contact me as soon as possible.

Absences through illness will no longer be authorised for your child without medical evidence, for example a letter from your doctor, a copy of your child’s prescription or an appointment card. It is your responsibility to ensure that you inform the school of any absences through illness and to provide the appropriate medical evidence.

I must remind you that it is a parent’s responsibility to ensure that their children receive an education. This is stated in Section 444 of the 1996 Education Act:

"If a child of compulsory school age who is a registered pupil at a school fails to attend regularly at the school, their parent is guilty of an offence".

Should you be prosecuted for failure to ensure <name of student>’s regular attendance at school, you may be sentenced to a fine of up to £2,500 and/or a 3-month custodial sentence.

If you are experiencing any difficulties, or do not understand aspects of this letter please contact me on 0151 652 5124.

Yours cooperatively,

Mr Jenkins

Senior Leader: Behaviour and Attendance

Failure to Attend Meeting - P3

{Month, Day, Year}

Dear {Parent/Carer Name},

Non-Attendance of Attendance Meeting

Name of Child:  <name of pupil>    DOB: <date of birth> Attendance Percentage: <XX>%.

I am sorry you were unable to attend the Attendance Support Meeting today. However, the importance of this meeting cannot be stressed enough as <name of pupil>’s school attendance continues to be irregular with many unauthorised absences. I enclose a copy of <his/her> registration certificate, which shows that <name of pupil> has attended <attendances made> out of a possible <sessions available> sessions at school; <unauthorised sessions> of which are classed as unauthorised absence.

 The decision has therefore been taken to continue to monitor your child’s attendance until <date of review>.  At that point your child’s attendance will be reviewed, and if they are still causing a concern, a decision will be made as to what further action will be taken.

The school may continue to unauthorise future absences unless medical evidence is provided.  Medical evidence may include appointment cards, copies of prescriptions, letters from specialists etc.

I continue to be available to you to offer support regarding <name of pupil>’s school attendance, therefore please do not hesitate to contact me to discuss the situation further.

Finally, I must remind you that the Education Act 1996 states that it is the responsibility of the parent/carer to ensure that their child regularly attends the school at which they are on roll.  A failure to do this could result in legal action being taken by Wirral Council.

Yours cooperatively,

Mr Jenkins

Senior Leader: Behaviour and Attendance

Attendance Enforcement Letter - P4

{Month, Day, Year}

Dear {Parent/Carer Name},

Attendance Enforcement Letter

Name of Child:<name of pupil>  DOB: <date of birth> Attendance Percentage: <XX>%.

Despite previous attempts to improve <name of pupil>’s poor attendance at Co-op Academy Portland, I remain concerned at the level of unauthorised absence. I enclose a copy of <name of pupil>’s registration certificate, showing that since (date), <name of pupil> has had <unauthorised sessions> sessions of unauthorised absence. You will be aware from previous contact from me that you are legally responsible for the regular attendance of your child at school.

Following a thorough assessment of this case, the decision has been made to refer your child’s poor attendance to Wirral Council. Wirral Council will now be conducting a criminal investigation and considering whether or not to instigate legal proceedings against you for an offence under Section 444 of the 1996 Education Act:

“If a child of compulsory school age who is a registered pupil at a school fails to attend regularly at the school, their parent is guilty of an offence”

The Local Authority will be in contact with you shortly, in the meantime, I would urge you to ensure your child attends school regularly.

If you are experiencing any difficulties, would like to rearrange the appointment or you do not understand aspects of this letter, please contact me on 0151 652 5124.

Yours cooperatively,

Mr Jenkins

Senior Leader: Behaviour and Attendance

Appendix 8 - LA Vulnerable Children Panel

Wirral Authority’s Vulnerable Children’s Panel (VCP)

The Vulnerable Children’s Panel (VCP) started during national lockdown (Spring 2020) to help schools and services come together to tackle attendance issues of some of our most vulnerable children, and to find ways of working together to ensure that we could at least establish that they were safe, even if not attending.

The panel has now become a permanent aspect of our work, as the multi-agency working has proved to be so helpful.

From November 2021, the work of the VCP will prioritise an especially vulnerable group: children and young people experiencing domestic abuse in their homes or known to have experienced domestic abuse in the past. These children have been identified as having a higher rate of absence than any other vulnerable group. However, we want to ensure there are appropriate routes to follow up on serious attendance issues for all children that schools are concerned about.

Chair:

Di Hollis (Head of Service: Schools and Communities)

Membership:

·           Family Matters

·           Wirral Attendance Service

·           Children’s Social Care

·           0 – 19 Health Team

·           Early Years

·           Community Matters

·           Wirral Ways To Recovery

·           Youth and Play

·           Contextual Safeguarding

·           Hive

·           Schools are also welcome to join the meeting to present their individual cases.

Cycle of Meetings:

Weekly (Thursday p.m.)

Purpose:

To discuss and review individual children who are considered vulnerable and who are not attending school regularly. Typically, these are the children within families who are not open to Authority or partner services, and where all school-level strategies have been exhausted.

Attendees at the meeting will look at how best children and young people can be supported, including how they can be supported back to school.

Referrals:

Schools should work with their Locality Attendance Officer (LAO) to review their cases in the usual way. When a case has exhausted all school level strategies and further advice and support is needed, schools should complete the VCP Referral Form and forward to their designated LAO (copying-in schoolattendance@wirral.gov.uk). The LAO will then forward for inclusion at the next VCP meeting and, if appropriate, schools will be invited to join discussions at panel.

It is important that schools inform parents in advance that they are referring their child to the VCP in order to seek any other support that may be available to the child / family to improve attendance at school. Reference should be made to the VCP in correspondence and communications with parents, so that they are aware that school will seek advice from the VCP should attendance concerns be ongoing.  

N.B. Children who are already open to Children’s Social Care should not be referred to panel. Discussion should be held with the child’s social worker to ensure that multi-agency strategies to improve attendance are incorporated within the CIN/CP/CLA Plan and are part of the discussion at regular core group meetings.

Referral to Vulnerable Children’s Panel (VCP)

Parent 1

Parent 2

 Please send to schoolattendance@wirral.gov.uk