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attendance policy reviewed september 2011 next review september 2013 introduction at round diamond school we want the whole school community ­ governors staff parents and pupils to be committed to high standards of attendance and punctuality good attendance helps the children in this school community to maximise their learning this policy will support us all to achieve high levels of attendance and punctuality target setting this school sets targets in accordance with statutory instrument 2005 no 58 ­ the education school attendance targets england regulations 2005 the annual target is the total absences expected in the school year expressed as a percentage of the total possible attendance by pupils at the school each year we aim to have a maximum of 5 or less absence in this way attendance will be at least equal to national expectations the headteacher and governors are responsible for submitting attendance targets annually to the l.a expectations the responsibility for good attendance is shared between school parents and pupils all these groups need to understand the expectations which the policy makes of them the expectations for school will include · · · the provision of a safe learning environment the maintenance of records of attendance according to government legislation and guidance on a daily basis the following up of all instances of poor attendance and punctuality the expectations for parents will include · · · · parents are expected to ensure that their child attends school regularly punctually properly dressed and equipped and in a fit condition to learn parents will inform school on the first day of absence of the reason for their child s absence from school parents will maintain regular communication with school staff where necessary parents will ensure that school are informed of any changes of contact details page 1 of 6

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the expectations for pupils may include · · · all pupils are expected to attend school and all of their lessons regularly and punctually pupils must remember to hand any note giving reasons for absence to the relevant person pupils are expected to be ready to learn doors open breakfast club opens at 8.00 am school doors open at 8.50 am in all the classes pupils may enter the building at that time pupils should not arrive at school before 8.45 am school officially starts at 8.55 am registration registers are called at 8.55 am in all classes and again at 12.30 pm in foundation stage classes 1.00 pm in key stage 1 classes 1.15 pm in years 3 and 4 and 1.30 pm in years 5 and 6 registers close 15 minutes after these times registers are marked consistently by staff any pupil arriving after closure of the register will be marked absent for the whole of the session from september 2006 registers will be marked in accordance with dfes guidance see attached appendix 1 lateness any pupil arriving after 9.00 am should report to the school office a late book is kept recording the time the child arrives at school along with a reason for their lateness however children arriving after 9.10am will be formally classed as late on their attendance following up lateness parents whose children are regularly late for school will be contacted by a member of school staff who will work with the parents to bring about an improvement in punctuality strategies such as individual star charts may be used to improve punctuality if late arrivals are due to circumstances outside the pupil s control e.g delayed bus the late mark will be authorised absences notification must be provided for all absences from school notification can only be provided by the parent or carer parents should telephone the school office on the first day of absence and write a letter to the class teacher once the child has returned to school absences are authorised by the headteacher or attendance co-ordinator within the school school may decide not to authorise absence even when a reason is provided the school will usually authorise absence for illness funeral religious occasion moving house music or dance exams the school will not authorise absence for shopping birthdays looking after brothers sisters or unwell parents or any holidays in term time leaving and returning to school during school day when pupils leave or return to or from school during the school day office staff must be notified a record of children leaving and returning to school is kept in the office so that in the event of a fire registers are accurate/supported attendance policy page 2 of 6

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term time holidays round diamond school strongly discourages parents from taking family holidays during term time and no holidays will be authorised it is a local authority policy that states that parents do not have the right to take their child out of school for such a holiday forms requesting authorisation for absence in term-time are available from the entrance foyer and our web-site following up absences if a pupil is absent from school for more than 1 day and we do not receive a message explaining the absence then the secretary attendance co-ordinator or class teacher will telephone the home the headteacher monitors attendance records on a weekly basis the school will send out letters to parents of pupils who have had attendance below 90 in a term and the headteacher will contact parents at anytime if attendance drops below 80 the government have set a pa figure of 85 this year this is to try to reduce the risk of persistent absenteeism prolonged or regular absence is addressed initially through a letter followed by a meeting with the headteacher and involvement of the attendance improvement officer if the absence persists the school secretary is responsible for recording absences and completing/sending off paperwork in relation to any pupil exclusion pupils who are in hospital or recovering from an operation/illness resulting in long term absence will be supported by work being sent home during their absence and individually ­ tailored reintegration on their return e.g slightly shorter day/late start pupils who have shorter term sickness absence of a week or more will be offered the chance to catch up on work missed if a pupil is absent due to a holiday the school will not provide school work the class teacher will send a letter home inviting parents to come in to see the teacher and discuss the work missed and how best school and parents can support the learner in catching up for some pupils the school secretary will make a telephone call home on the first day of absence pupils who are targeted for first day response are those for whom the school has concerns about poor attendance rewards/promoting good attendance good attendance is rewarded to pupils individually through certificates presented in assembly at the end of each term parents are reminded through newsletters about the importance of good attendance and termly statistics for attendance along with our target are also published each term in the newsletter the ethos at round diamond school ensures that pupils feel valued welcomed and also that they want to come to school because the learning is interesting attendance policy page 3 of 6

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working with the attendance improvement officer aio round diamond school works in partnership with the allocated aio to improve attendance for individuals and the whole school the headteacher meets the aio usually once each term to inspect register discuss and monitor individual pupils the school and aio work together to improve attendance but when attendance does not improve sufficiently a formal referral will be made to children schools and families now children s services this may lead to home visits and sometimes prosecution the maximum fine for parents who do not ensure that their child attends school regularly is £2,500 £1,000 for a first offence per parent per child publication of information parents pupils staff and governors are informed of whole school attendance issues and statistics on a regular basis through newsletters round diamond school shares information on individual pupils attendance at least annually with parents and at any other necessary times with parents pupils and staff new parents are informed of our ethos and policy for attendance and punctuality through the school prospectus for parents whom english is not their first language we will provide translation of our newsletter and policies through the local authority ethnic minority service the attendance co-ordinator is responsible for ensuring that termly attendance data is provided to dfes attendance policy page 4 of 6

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appendix 1 hertfordshire county council education department the marking of attendance registers the education pupils attendance records regulations 1991 and the education pupil registration regulations 1995 stipulate that schools should maintain an attendance register for each class containing the names of all pupils in the class this should be marked during the time set apart for registration at the beginning of each morning and afternoon session schools must distinguish in the attendance register between authorised and unauthorised absences of pupils of compulsory school age the school will use the following symbols when marking registers registers will be marked in red and black pens only daily attendance figures will be recorded and complete accurate personal details for each pupils will be written in the front of registers tippex must not be used present the presence of a pupil who has arrived at school on time should be marked by a black oblique stroke the presence of a pupil who has arrived at school late but while the register remains open should be marked by the symbol `l in black with a red circle · · unauthorised absence the absence of a pupil from registration and subsequently from school should be marked by a red circle this absence can be subsequently authorised if the school receives a satisfactory explanation the absence of a pupil from registration and the subsequent arrival of that pupil without a satisfactory explanation should be marked with a u code u · ibefgh authorised absence the authorised absence of a pupil should be marked by a red circle containing a supplementary symbol recording the reason for the absence the following symbols should be used sickness or other unavoidable cause including arrival with a satisfactory explanation after the registers have closed receiving part-time temporary education at an off-site unit or other than at the school where registered excluded for a fixed term family holiday to country of origin or extended holiday which is agreed family holiday not agreed annual family holiday for which leave has been granted mprv medical/dental approved sporting activity day of religious observance in the religious body to which the parents belong educational visit non-compulsory school aged pupils who are absent registers are legal documents they will be retained for 7 years the information contained in a register could be used as court evidence attendance policy page 5 of 6

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appendix 2 round diamond school whitehorse lane great ashby way stevenage sg1 6nh tel 01438 219410 fax 01438 219411 headteacher mrs d godbold b.ed dip ed deputy head mrs h anderson b.ed hons npqh dear parent/carer has been/was absent from school for the last 5 days this means that has missed a significant amount of learning i do not want to fall behind as i am sure you don t either so i am offering you the opportunity to pop into school and collect some work for to help him/her catch up i will also discuss other ways you can help catch up at home i hope is feeling better best regards yours sincerely class teacher attendance policy page 6 of 6

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