Why Attendance Matters, Our Vision for Attendance 

At St Francis CofE Primary School, we believe that excellent attendance is fundamental to every child’s success, we believe every day in school matters. We strive to create an environment where all children feel welcomed, valued and a deep sense of belonging, supported by staff who know them well. We aim to work in partnership with families to remove barriers to attendance, intervening early and offering tailored support if necessary. Our clear and consistent expectations help every child and their family understand the importance of attending school every day. We celebrate regular attendance as a shared achievement, recognising the effort of pupils and families alike. Guided by the 5 Foundations of Effective Attendance Practice, we are dedicated to ensuring that every child is present, engaged, and ready to learn because every day of learning is important.

Our Expectations

We expect all our pupils to attend school every day, on time. We have high expectations for all pupils' attendance and communicate these clearly to pupils and families.

School Hours:

• School gates open: 8.35pm
• Registration: 8.45am
• School day ends: 3.15pm

Types of Absence

Every half-day absence from school, by law, has to be classified as either authorised or unauthorised. This is why information about the cause of absence is always asked for.

Authorised Absences

These are mornings or afternoons away from school for a valid reason such as illness, emergency medical or dental appointments (routine appointments should always be made out of school hours).

Unauthorised Absences

An absence is classified as unauthorised if the reason was not recognised as acceptable. The Department for Education (DfE) and Local Education Authorities provide information for schools as to what is acceptable and what is not.

Leave of Absence

There may be exceptional circumstances where you need to request a leave of absence for your child. The request should be submitted in writing in advance of the leave of absence, via the school office. You will receive a response in writing.

Procedure for Reporting your Child's Absence

Contact the office by 9.00am either via phone or using MCAS

By Phone:

• Select option 1 to 'report your child's absence' and leave a message for our Home School Link Worker
• The message must include the full name and class of the pupil, the reason for absence (if the reason is illness, parents should include details of the illness) and the expected date of return. 

Via MCAS:

• From the dashboard, tap the Attendance option
• On the Attendance screen, tap on the Report an Absence button
• Complete the required information

If the pupil is to be off school for more than one day then the parent/carer must report the absence on each subsequent day.

If school does not receive a notification on the morning of day one, we will be in contact with you via phone to establish why your child has not turned up to school. If school has not received a response, then we will carry out a home visit.

Working Together & Celebrating Attendance

We believe that working together with parents is the best way to achieve positive attendance outcomes for our children and remove any barriers which may exist.  

You can support your child to have excellent attendance by following these 5 fundamental principals:

• Ensure your child arrives on time for school every day and is ready to learn. Arriving after registration is recorded as an unauthorised absence. Pupils must be in school by 8.45am.
• Do not take holidays during term time.
• If your child appears to be only slightly ill, send them to school. We have staff who will contact you if their condition deteriorates.
• Book any medical appointments outside of school hours. If this is unavoidable, please book for as late in the afternoon as possible and inform the school of appointments in advance. We expect your child to be in before and after the appointment takes place.
• Supply a copy of the appointment card or hospital letter if your child has an appointment during school hours.

If your child becomes reluctant to go to school or you need help, please contact the school immediately. We are more likely to be able to work together to solve any problems if we act early.

Celebrating Attendance

Badges are given out half-termly in recognition of good or better attendance, with certificates being awarded for significant improvement. 

Our Approach to Attendance  

The Strategic Approach

We adopt the 5 Foundations of Effective Attendance Practice framework, this is modelled on the work of Professor Katherine Weare. The emphasis is on developing a school culture and climate which builds a sense of connectedness and belonging to ensure all children can attend school and thrive.  The approach ensures we prioritise building solid working relationships with children and parents prior to any escalation. 

The staged approach we use ensures we identify triggers early that can lead to poor attendance issues such as; mental health issues, lack of trust, communication and lack of support networks both in and out of school and from external professionals. 

Aims of the strategy

• Increase school Attendance and reduce Persistent Absence to meet set targets.
• Ensure Attendance is well managed within the school, with the appropriate level of resources allocated.
• Enable the school to make informed use of Attendance data to target interventions appropriately, focusing on the key demographic groups highlighted in the 2022 DFE paper. 

Objectives 

• Create an ethos within the school in which good attendance is recognised as the norm and every child aims for excellent attendance.
• Make attendance and punctuality a priority.
• Set focused targets to improve individual attendance and whole school attendance levels.
• Embed the 5 Foundations of Effective Attendance Practice framework which defines agreed roles and responsibilities and promotes consistency in carrying out designated tasks with respect to promoting attendance and punctuality.
• Record and monitor attendance and absenteeism and apply appropriate strategies to minimise absenteeism.
• Develop a systematic approach to gathering and analysing relevant attendance data provide support, advice and guidance to; parents, children and young people and develop mutual cooperation between home and the school in encouraging good attendance and in addressing identified attendance issues.
• Demonstrate through the use of rewards that the school recognises good attendance and punctuality are achievements in themselves.

The approach to improving attendance is built on solid policies, systems and processes; this ensures sustainable and continuous improvement drives practice. Succession planning is built around an effective systems leadership model - rather than that of an individual Attendance Leader. The Attendance Policy drives school practice, it is deeply embedded in daily practise and ensures the school sets, and maintains, high expectations to improve the culture of attendance.

Data information and analysis direct resources proactively towards key demographic groups and identified individuals.  The expert use of data analysis informs decision making at all levels. A rigorous and effective attendance cycle ensures the Attendance Leader not only captures key information but also further understands the ‘deeper roots’ that creates barriers regarding attendance to school.

DFE: Working Together To Improve Attendance 2022.

From September 2022 the DFE: Working Together To Improve Attendance paper will replace all previous guidance on school attendance except for statutory guidance for parental responsibility measures.  The Secretary of State has committed to it becoming statutory when parliamentary time allows (this will be no sooner than September 2023). 

The table below identifies how the 5 Foundations of Effective Attendance Practice will underpin the DFE 2022 paper in meeting the summary of expectations.