Attendance Policy

PETHAM PRIMARY SCHOOL

Name of Policy	ATTENDANCE Policy
Committee Responsible	Full Governing Body
Consultation	Reviewed ~ January 2006
Approved by GB - Date	30 March 2006
Next Review Date	January 2008

Attendance Mission Statement

Petham Primary School seeks to ensure that all its pupils receive a full-time education which maximises opportunities for each pupil to realise his/her true potential.

Petham Primary School aims to

maximise the attendance of pupils at school;
provide support, advice and guidance on attendance and punctuality to parents and pupils;
actively discourage holidays taken in term-time:
gather and analyse attendance related data systematically;
promote effective partnerships with the Education Welfare Service and with other children’s services and agencies;

Parents’ Responsibilty

Parents and those with parental responsibilities are required to ensure that children of compulsory school age receive efficient full-time education.This means that they are responsible for ensuring that children attend and stay at school unless alternative arrangements for their education are made. They are also responsible for informing schools of any absence as soon as possible, ideally on the first day of absence. They should state the nature of the illness and when the child is expected to return to school. Telephone calls, letters, e-mails or personal contacts are acceptable.

Parents and Carers may request a copy of our Attendance Policy and this will be available from the school office. Guidance for parents on attendance and punctuality will be included in the School Prospectus.

Petham Primary School will ensure parents are:

Reminded of their statutory responsibilities with respect to their children’s attendance
Aware of our school’s requirements as regards to notification of absence.

Registration

Pupils are marked present or absent on an attendance register at the beginning of each morning and afternoon session. Absences are registered as ‘authorised’ or ‘unauthorised’.

Registers are kept accurately as they may be used in evidence in cases where parents are being prosecuted for school attendance offences.

Lateness

Lateness is discouraged. Registers are kept open until 9:30am, after which children will be deemed late. Where pupils miss registration and fail to provide an adequate explanation they will be marked as ‘unauthorised absence’ for that session.

Appendix

1. Attendance targets    The Governing Body is required by The Education (Schools Attendance Targets) Regulations 2005 to agree attendance targets with the Local Authority. These regulations require Petham Primary School to agree with KCC our attendance targets for all absence, not just unauthorised absence.

2. Categorising absence Parents can be prosecuted under the Education Act of 1993 for failing to ensure their child’s attendance at school with the following exceptions:
The pupil was absent with permission from an authorised person within the school
The pupil was ill or prevented from attending by unavoidable cause
The absence occured on a day exclusively set aside for religious observance by the religious group to which the family belongs.
There are also exceptions for children of travellers.

3. Illness, medical and dental appointments are considered ‘authorised’ providing that the school is satisfied that the illness or appointments are genuine.

4. Family bereavements   The school responds sensitively to requests for leave to attend funerals or associated events. Such absences are usually authorised. Where a pupil is absent for more than the agreed period, early contact will be made with the family.

5. Days of religious observance   An offence is not committed where the absence results from participation in a day set aside for religious observance by the religious body to which the parents belong.

6. Public performances   Leave of absence may be granted to participate in an approved public performances. If the pupil is then absent from the performance then this will constitute ‘unauthorised absence’.

7. Traveller children   Travellers are protected from prosecution if they show that the nature of their trade requires travel from place to place, and that the child has attended school as regularly as possible. Also where the child has attained the age of six years and has made at least 200 attendances during the previous twelve months.

8. Holiday absence    Although the school may authorise absence for up to two weeks for children to accompany parents on their annual holiday, family holidays during term time are actively discouraged by the school. They are not a right and will only be granted in exceptional circumstances.

9. Authorising requests for leave of absence   Legally, the Headteacher acting on behalf of the Governors has the discretionary power to authorise absence from school including that for exceptional or compasionate reasons. Any decisions to grant leave of absence during term-time will be based on criteria including:
If any leave of absence has already been approved in the academic year

The child’s previous attendance history
The age of the child/children
The child’s stage of education
The time of the academic year (SATs or Kent Test)
The nature of the trip (an exceptional experience or unique family occasion)
Whether the parents are restricted in terms of leave from their employer or by the seasonal nature of their employment.

10. Shopping during school hours will not normally be authorised.