Should your child be absent from school for any reason, we ask that you notify one of the school administrators before 8.50am.  If we have not been informed of an absence by a parent/carer by 9.30am then we will ring home to get confirmation.  Please note that any verbal messages from children are not acceptable. Unexplained absences will be categorised as unauthorised. 

Any child arriving after 9.00am will be marked late.  Any child arriving very late could be marked as absent for the morning session.

Only the Head teacher can authorise absence from school in term time and this authorisation will only be granted when the circumstances are exceptional.  Holidays should not be booked before authorisation has been sought. Forms requesting authorisation are available from the school administrators. 

If, for any reason, your child needs to leave school during the day, we need a note beforehand giving the reason and including the arrangements you have made to ensure that your child gets home safely.  Ideally parents/carers will collect pupils when they need to go home.

The Educational Welfare Officer will offer advice and support on any welfare problems that might have an effect on your child's schooling.  It is also her responsibility to investigate cases of persistent lateness or unexplained absences. 

It is also important to note that arriving at school on time is crucial.  Persistent lateness is also identified and support offered, either from the school, EWO or other professionals.  If children are regularly collected late from school, (after 3.15) they may be booked into After School Club and parents will be charged for this.

Attendance Policy

Introduction

Regular and punctual attendance is important. Children need to attend school regularly if they are to take full advantage of the education opportunities available to them by law. At Mount Pleasant Primary School we recognise our responsibilities in ensuring that child’s are in school and on time, therefore having access to full-time education.

Our policy applies to all children registered at this school and is available to parents/carers of children via the school website.

Children who are persistently late or absent will fall behind in their learning. Children who are absent from school frequently develop large gaps in their learning which impact negatively on their progress and their ability to be able to meet age related expectations. A child whose attendance drops to 90% each year will, over their time in primary school, have missed two full terms of learning.

Although this policy will focus on the detrimental effect that poor attendance has on academic outcomes, we believe that there are many other ways in which a child’s social, emotional, and physical development are also negatively affected.

Quite simply if your child misses school, they miss out!

Aims and objectives:

The aim of this policy is to recognise the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders involved in ensuring that children attend school regularly and to promote a collaborative approach to securing the best possible outcomes for every child. This includes parents/carers, teachers, school leaders, Head of School, governors and the Local Authority. This collaborative approach will ensure that child’s are encouraged and supported to develop good attendance habits. The procedures set out in this policy are designed to ensure that this happens.

This policy aims to:

• Improve childrens’ levels of attainment by ensuring high levels of attendance and punctuality.
• Achieve a minimum of 95% attendance for all children except in cases of serious or chronic health issues.
• Create an ethos in which good attendance and punctuality is recognised as the norm and is valued by school.
• Raise awareness of parents, carers and child’s of the importance of uninterrupted attendance at every stage of a child’s education.
• Work in partnership with child’s, parents, school staff and the Local Authority to promote good attendance habits and support removing barriers to this.
• Ensure that all staff promote the importance of good attendance.
• Ensure that procedures are in place to monitor attendance and act as soon as levels of attendance are a cause for concern.

Absence from school

A child is only allowed to miss school if:

• they are too ill to go in
• a parent has got advance permission from the school.

If a child is absent from school for over a week with a medical complaint we may ask for evidence that medical advice has been sought and can also offer further advice and guidance through the School Nurse.

If we have good cause to believe that the reason given for an absence is not genuine, we will challenge this and ask for evidence to support the reason given.

Roles and responsibilities

Parents and children

The attitudes of parents can have a significant impact on school attendance levels of children. The support of parents is vital in shaping the mind-set and behaviours of their children, particularly young children.

Parents have a legal requirement to ensure that each child of compulsory school age receives full-time education. If a parent registers a child at school, they have a legal duty to ensure they attend that school regularly. Positive support from parents will make a significant contribution towards ensuring a child meets their full educational potential.

School

School leaders should foster a culture within school which promote and prioritises attendance.

Schools should provide a broad, balanced, engaging and stimulating curriculum which meets the needs of all learners. When a child is engaged in and excited by their leaning they may be more likely to be motivated to attend school regularly.

EWO

The Education Welfare Officer should support the school in achieving good levels of attendance by working with families who are struggling to achieve this.

Holidays in term time

A parent has to ask for permission from the Head of School to take a child out of school during term time. This request is made by competing a ‘Request for Leave of Absence in Term Time in Exceptional Circumstances’ form, which is available from the school office.

The Head of School can only authorise any absence if an application has been made in advance by the parent/carer with who, the child is normally resident and if it is felt to be for an exceptional circumstance. An annual family holiday would not be deemed to be an exceptional circumstance.

If this request has not been authorised, details will be passed to Shropshire Council’s Education Access Service. The Council may, in the following circumstances, issue a formal Warning, serve a Fixed Penalty Notice or take court action in respect of non-school attendance for this and any future absence

• Parents have not sought permission from the head teacher before taking their child out of school for a holiday in term time.
• The head teacher has refused the request but the absence occurs anyway; or
• A child has not returned by the agreed date with no satisfactory explanation.

Attendance Management Procedures

On a daily basis absence and reasons for absence are monitored. Parents should always call the school office to report this before the start of the school day (8.50am). Reasons are updated onto SIMS and the Head of School is advised of all absences.

Admin staff will check the attendance level of each child who is absent and monitor using this traffic light system.

Attendance of 96% + is considered to be very good.

Attendance between 91% and 95% is beginning to become a concern and needs to improve.

This will be highlighted in the attendance book and the Head of School will contact parents to discuss the reasons for absence and any support that may be required.

Attendance below 90% is poor and is a serious cause for concern.

Attendance of this level will be persistent in nature and the school will have offered support. Meetings will be held to discuss attendance and set targets for improved attendance. At this stage the EWO may become involved to offer targeted support to improve attendance.

Parents will receive regular communication from us detailing their child’s attendance for the month/half term or term in line with the above traffic light system.

On a weekly basis the class with the highest attendance will be rewarded by receiving a certificate and school attendance mascot ‘Marcus All-in’.

Support for parents and carers

The school are committed to supporting parents and carers who are finding school attendance an issue. A school based Learning Mentor and Family Support worker are available for support and advice. We welcome parents to discuss any issues that they may be having, with the class teacher, Head of School, Learning Mentor or Family Support Worker. There may be practical advice and support that can be given or signposting to other agencies may be useful.

For more information on attendance visit the Department for Education website at https://www.gov.uk/school-attendance-absence