ATTENDANCE (PUPILS)

Our attendance policy was most recently updated in Autumn 2021  and can be viewed here.

ATTENDANCE

At Riverside School we expect all children on roll to attend every day, when the school is in session, as long as they are fit and healthy enough to do so.
We do all we can to encourage the children to attend, and to put in place appropriate procedures. We believe that the most important factor in promoting good attendance is development of positive attitudes towards school.

To this end we strive to make our school a happy, secure and caring environment for all children in our care. We will also make the best provision we can for those children who, for whatever reason, are prevented from coming to school.
Under the Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations l995 the governing body are responsible for making sure the school keeps an attendance register that records which pupils are present at the start of both the morning and the afternoon sessions of the school day. This register will also indicate whether an absence was authorised or unauthorised.

The aim of this policy is to minimise the amount of time lost to education including through leave taken in term-time.

Authorised Absence
● An absence is classified as authorised when a child has been away from school for a legitimate reason and the school has received notification from a parent or guardian. For example, if a child has been unwell and the parent writes a note or telephones the school to explain the absence.
● Only the school can make an absence authorised. Parents do not have this authority. Consequently, not all absences supported by parents will be classified as authorised. For example, if a parent takes a child out of school to go shopping during school hours, this will not mean it is an authorised absence.
● Any absence due to Covid-19 positive test results does not count against a child’s attendance record .(current at Nov 21)

Unauthorised Absence
● An absence is classified as unauthorised when a child is away from school without the permission of both the school and a parent.
● Therefore the absence is unauthorised if a child is away from school without good reason, even with the support of a parent.

Persistent Absence
The government currently classify persistent absence as below 90% attendance. Pupils whose attendance falls below this rate should be considered for referral to the Prevention Service who might either allocate a worker to help improve attendance, or in some circumstances issue a warning notice or instigate ‘fast-track’ prosecution. As we strive for all pupils to have attendance above 97%, we view all attendance certificates below 97% attendance and risk assess accordingly i.e. families may receive formal communication trying to resolve attendance difficulties in the 90-97% bracket on a case by case basis.

Punctuality
Riverside School marks pupils late who are not present at 9 am or 1.15pm when registers are taken. Lateness is coded as such on annual print-outs.

If a child is absent
When a child is absent unexpectedly, the class teacher will record the absence in the register accordingly.
We encourage all families to contact school on the first day of any absence. This is mentioned frequently in school newsletters etc. A note may be sent to the school prior to the day of absence. For example, if a child has a medical appointment.
According to our ‘first day of absence procedure,’ any children with missing marks on the register will have a parentmail message sent home, requiring urgent home-school contact. If incoming messages are not received, then school will attempt outgoing contact. If no interchange is possible, the pupil will be recorded as unauthorised.
Reasons for pupil absence will be accepted via personal dialogue, telephone, email and written note from parents. Pupils cannot relay their own reasons for absence. Any reasons for absence will be coded in registers according to school policy, with reference made to the Headteacher where appropriate. The school reserves the right to code differently to parental contact e.g. to mark as unauthorised if it is considered inappropriate leave has been taken.
If there is any doubt about the whereabouts of a child, the class teacher should take immediate action by notifying the school office. The school will then be in contact straight away with the parent or guardian, in order to check on the safety of the child.

Requests for leave of absence in term-time
At Riverside School we believe that children need to be in school for all sessions, so that they can make the most progress possible. However, we do understand that there are circumstances where a parent may legitimately request leave of absence.
If a parent/guardian wishes to withdraw their child from school then a leave request form needs to be completed by the parent/guardian. The request for withdrawal has then to be authorised by the Headteacher and a signed letter will be returned to the parent/guardian. Forms are available from the school foyer or the school website.
The law says that parents do not have the right to take their child out of school for leave during term-time and that this leave can only be taken for exceptional circumstances. Leave can NEVER be granted for the reason of taking a holiday.
This leave request form should be completed by the parent/carer and returned to the school as far in advance as possible and preferably at least 6 weeks before the first date of the period of leave being requested.
Parents/carers must obtain the schools permission before making any arrangements for leave in exceptional circumstances, otherwise the absence will be recorded as unauthorised. No parent/carer can demand leave of absence as of right.
The Education regulations state that applications for leave must be made in advance by a parent with whom the child lives and can only be authorised by the school in exceptional circumstances. Each application is considered individually by the school. The following are examples of the criteria for leave of absence, which may be considered as ‘exceptional’:
● Service personnel returning from active deployment
● Where inflexibility of the parents’ leave or working arrangement is part of the organisational or company policy. This would need to be evidenced by the production or confirmation from the organisation/company
● Where leave is recommended as part of a parents’ or child’s rehabilitation from medical or emotional problems. Evidence must be provided
● When a family needs to spend time together to support each other during or after a crisis
Please note: Head teachers would not be expected to class any term time holiday as exceptional
This is not an exhaustive list and Head teachers must consider the individual circumstances of each case when making a decision on this matter. Where a Head teacher feels that there may be exceptional circumstances which do not fit the criteria, they may refer to the local authority for advice. The decision of the Head teacher is final. Parents who take a child on leave in term time without the permission of the school risk being issued with a penalty notice fine for unauthorised absences. Taking a pupil on leave during term time interrupts teaching and learning and can disrupt educational progress. Before completing this application form parent/carers are asked to consider the effect on their child’s continuity of education

Long-term absence
When children have a medical need that means they will be away from school for over five days, the school, where appropriate, will do all it can to send learning materials home, so that they can keep up with their school work. If the absence is likely to continue for an extended period, or be a repetitive absence, the school will contact the appropriate NYCC support service so that arrangements can be made for the child to be given some tuition outside school.

Repeated unauthorised absences
The school will contact the parent or guardian of any child who has an unauthorised absence. If a child has a repeated number of unauthorised absences, the parents or guardians will be asked to visit the school and discuss the problem. If the situation does not improve, the school will then refer to the Early Help teams who will contact the parents or guardians to ensure that they understand the seriousness of the situation and put in place measures to make improvements in attendance.
The Governors, supported by the local authority, reserve the right to consider taking legal action against any parents or guardians who repeatedly fail to accept their responsibility for sending their children to school on a regular basis.

Repeated medical absences
If a child has repeated medical absences, the school may require evidence that this is being dealt with appropriately – doctor’s notes, appointment cards, prescription slips can all be acceptable proof.

Monitoring and review
It is the responsibility of the governors to monitor overall attendance. This is done through termly reports which contain comparative statistics against previous terms. The governing body also has the responsibility for this policy, and for seeing that it is carried out. The governors will therefore examine closely the information provided to them, and seek to ensure that our attendance figures are as high as they should be.
The school will keep accurate attendance records on file for a minimum period of three years.
This policy will be reviewed by the governing body every three years, or earlier if considered necessary.

Targets as of November 2021
● To continue to ensure overall attendance is maximised
● To ensure all groups of children track with high attendance
● Target ‘persistent absentees’ from annual statistics – communicate that child is now in attendance review; produce statistical updates for these children and write to parents termly; involve Early Help/NYCC where appropriate
● Continue to minimise leave requests
● Link other key staff into attendance issues – learning mentor, classroom TAs, EYFS Key Workers, etc
● Target Pupil Premium and SEND pupil groups to improve against the disproportionate impact of a very small minority of pupils across school impacting on these groups due to cohort size

Reviewed November 2021
To review November 2024

Passed by Governing Body November 2021