Student Attendance and Punctuality Policy

Updated September 2011

Student Attendance and Punctuality Policy

1.0 Policy links to Academy mission, aims and values

1.1 In order to achieve the best for each child we are fully committed to developing with them our core values of learning, community and leadership. This policy specifically relates to student attendance and punctuality which are fundamental to

Empowering students to become independent and responsible learners
Encouraging high standards of leadership, behaviour and attainment
Instilling respect among students for themselves and others

1.2 We place very high value on all aspects of student attendance and punctuality and therefore locate all aspects of policy and practice related to promoting and sustaining positive attitudes to attendance and punctuality at the heart of student well-being. Accountability is placed with the Assistant Principal responsible for student support.

1.3 The implementation of our Attendance policy aims means that we in parents what actions the Academy will take in respect of any absence from academy and who will be involved.

1..4 The development and implementation of this Attendance Policy is intended to ensure that all teaching and support staff employed by the Academy are carrying out appropriate measures that will safeguard students and promote their welfare. Ensuring that students are where they are supposed to be and that they are in the care of responsible adults supplies the knowledge that raises awareness of any needs or risks or signs of disaffection.

1.5 Having an Attendance Policy and system in place enables us to be clear with parents/carers about the importance of regular attendance and good punctuality. It also enables us to challenge students and parents/carers who may condone absence from the academy for trivial reasons. The reasons our parents/carers give for absence are systematically explored and the effect on their child's achievement recorded. In this way we are building an evidence base that improves our knowledge and understanding about which individual and groups of students are vulnerable and enable us to take positive swift interventionist action.

2.0 Statutory Framework

Paddington Academy is committed to ensuring that all pupils registered with us will have access to high quality full-time education.

The Government's goal of "raising educational standards for all young people" requires that pupils attend the academy as a pre-requisite to engaging with the curriculum and learning.

It is Westminster Local Authority's responsibility in law to enforce the regular attendance of registered pupils of statutory academy age.
The Education Welfare Service (EWS) must serve attendance orders on parents and may institute proceedings against parents of a child who is in breach of a academy attendance order or who are failing to secure the regular attendance of their child at academy, having first considered whether to a apply for an Educational Supervision Order with respect to the child (Sections 437, 443 and 444 of the Education Act 1996)

Paddington Academy fulfils its legal duty to maintain Admissions and Attendance Registers and to record student attendance or absence from school.

The Academy also has a duty to have effective systems in place to track and manage pupil attendance by developing clear whole academy policies and procedures and by engaging with parents/carers, other agencies and the wider community.

Parents/carers have a duty to ensure that their child/ children receive a full-time education and that students registered at an academy attend regularly and punctually

Details of legislative powers and responsibilities are contained in guidance for pastoral staff.

3.0 Purposes and intentions of the Attendance Policy

3.1 Promoting attendance and avoiding absence from the academy

The purposes underpinning our attendance policy are to:

Encourage 100% attendance and punctuality.
Ensure all those associated with the academy understand our expectations in relation to attendance and punctuality.
Produce regular information about class and individual attendance and punctuality which will enable us to monitor trends and patterns so that appropriate measures can be taken to improve attendance and punctuality and thus academic performance.

Absence from school, whether authorised (valid reason) or unauthorised (no valid reason) affects an individual's ability to have positive peer and adult relationships and develop social skills. The habits of regular and punctual attendance are important in their own right: they enable individuals to participate in social organisations and shared arrangements, to take on commitments, and to contribute at work as well as at school. These habits do not develop spontaneously: they need to be requested, encouraged, shaped and rewarded.

Truancy is another way of describing unauthorised absence from school. Truants are more likely to do badly at school. The outcomes for them are far worse than for students who attend regularly. Truants are also more likely to be involved in anti-social or criminal behaviour, and it is harder for them to find and keep work.

For these reasons Paddington Academy is committed to making explicit the need for regular attendance and punctuality and will take swift action to prevent long-term truancy developing.

3.2 Expectations for Students

Irregular attendance means that students will miss out on aspects of the educational experience on offer at the Academy.

Students need to understand that if they are absent or late they will not get access to their entitlement of learning for success.
They also need to understand that the development of their social skills and key learning skills and their ability to achieve academically will be severely compromised.
Students need to recognise and reflect on the many different reasons why some students fail to attend academy regularly.
They have a part to play in identifying and supporting positive attendance among the student community. Absence from school can be a symptom of a student's vulnerability and show that they are unable to deal with whatever is worrying them.
Students need to understand that someone's poor attendance may be the result of parental influence, peer pressure or bullying, boredom at school, unidentified learning needs, illness, family problems, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, or poor relationships with staff.

3.3 Expectations for Staff

All staff are legally required to uphold the arrangements for attendance and punctuality. We are committed to gaining an understanding of the factors that influence patterns of attendance among our students. In order to build an evidence base to in our practice we are

Building on our systems and routines for registration in every lesson
Maintaining and consolidating our successful systems for monitoring, tracking and reporting attendance and punctuality
Rewarding good attendance and reducing poor attendance
Establishing a whole attendance profile that enables staff to target resources more effectively.
Embedding an ethos to show incoming staff, parents and students that we care about attendance and will be proactive in maintaining high levels of attendance and achievement.
Investigating the attendance records of individuals and groups of students that will make it easier to allow links to be made between attendance and attainment
Making it easier to access data so that staff can measure attendance and spot changes and act on any deterioration.
Sharing data with students and parents/carers so that they can see and understand trends of attendance among individuals and groups and be proactive in any plans for improvement.
Communicating the legal framework to parents/carers.

3.4 Expectations for parents/carers

Outstanding schools have excellent levels of attendance. We are committed to establishing partnerships with our parents/carers that best support our shared ambition to address the unique needs, talents and potential of their students. All parents of students registered at the Academy

Undertake to uphold the Home-Academy Partnership to ensure regular attendance
Agree to provide a written explanation for all absences
Need to understand that if their child fails to attend regularly and is absent without authorisation legal action may be taken against them

4.0 Implementation

The academy has devised clear systems and structures with leadership and management accountabilities to ensure that this policy is implemented in full and that the academy goes beyond its legal requirements in promoting positive attendance. Responsibility for maintaining all statutory records will lie with the Academy's Admissions and Attendance Officer.

The Admissions Register contains details of the student from the date they were first admitted to the school. This must include details of their parents/carers.
The Attendance Register, shows whether a student is present, engaged in an approved off-site activity, or is absent. In addition, where a student of compulsory academy age is absent, the register must also show whether the absence was authorised by the academy or remains unauthorised or whether the student was unable to attend due to one of the exceptional circumstances named in the code.

Our strategies for implementation through Heads of Year are as follows

With students

A system of rewards for individuals and groups of students with high attendance is in place across each year group and within each tutor group from Y7 to Y13
Teaching and learning about the merits of good attendance and the consequences of poor attendance takes place in the pastoral curriculum from Y7 to Y11
All students receive feedback and percentage scores about their attendance record which is part of the assessment and reporting system
A robust system for challenging and reducing poor punctuality.

With carers/parents

Parents receive details about the expectations the Academy has of them in the Home-Academy Partnership and are regularly reminded about all aspects of the attendance procedures

Parents/carers are encouraged to avoid any absence from the academy and they are made aware that they should not arrange holidays or routine medical check-ups during term time.

Parents are made aware though the home-parent partnership of the issues that impact on attendance such as the result of parental influence, peer pressure or bullying, boredom at school, unidentified learning needs, illness, family problems, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, or poor relationships with staff.

Parents are informed that there are systems in place to try to identify these factors and that swift action will be taken to intervene if any student is found to be vulnerable.

With staff

At Paddington Academy we place the highest value on attendance and punctuality and believe that it is an entitlement for all students to achieve the optimum attendance of 100%.

To support this aspiration we have established systems and structures that guarantee consistent approaches to positively supporting student attendance and punctuality at the start of and throughout every day. Details of these structures and systems can be found in the staff handbook

5.0 Roles and Responsibilities

The Role of the Governors

The Governing Body of Paddington Academy is actively engaged in promoting good attendance by supporting and encouraging students and teachers in their work. They will achieve this by appointing an Attendance Link Governor who will support the academy by:

Being available if required to monitor and evaluate attendance trends in the school.

Being available to attend Fast Track Panel meetings and meet with parents where appropriate.

The Role of the Academy Leadership Team

The academy has a designated member of the Leadership Team to adopt specific responsibility for attendance matters. Over time she will develop an overall view of attendance matters in the academy by:

Leading and supporting the implementation of an attendance policy and framework for the school, within which specified responsibilities are delegated to identified members of staff.

Monitoring and evaluating the work of staff to ensure that specific responsibilities described within the attendance policy are carried out consistently.

Supporting staff in the development of clear guidelines for promoting outstanding attendance.
Supporting staff in the development of strategies to tackle specific truancy
Supporting staff in the development of clear guidelines for identifying students who have begun to develop a pattern of absence.
Working with the LA on specific strategies to reduce persistent absenteeism.
Providing regular information to Governors, parents, LA and the DFE, regarding training undertaken, monitoring and evaluation of the school attendance policy
Reporting to SLT attendance concerns and figures on a fortnightly basis

The Role of the Attendance Officer

Our Academy Attendance Officer provides a key role in promoting good attendance and punctuality and is the main link with the Educational Welfare Service, parents and staff strategies for improving attendance by:

Ensuring that if absence issues have not been resolved within 5 days absence matters and concerns are referred to the relevant Head of Year
Identifying patterns of poor punctuality and/or attendance in particular subjects or classes and provide information to the tutor and/or the relevant Head of Year
Making referrals to the Education Welfare Service as appropriate and informing Heads of Year of actions taken.
Meeting with Heads of Year, parents and students and agreeing on an attendance action plan.
Identifying tutor groups with zero lates each week to achieve Perfect Punctuality Push award

Discussing students causing concern at Student Support Panels
Providing feedback to SLT and Governors about effectiveness of the Academy policy and practice in promoting good attendance, and dealing with the absences of individual students.
Working with SLT in setting attendance targets

Referring students who have a long-term absence because of ill health, confirmed by their GP, or a consultant, to Education Welfare Service.
Preparing and publishing statistical data regarding attendance from registers.
Supporting Heads of Year in maintaining and submitting the LA Persistent Absence Workbook.

The Role of Heads of Year

Heads of Year have a very important role to play in the Academy's framework for promoting good attendance within their respective year group by:

Meeting with parents of students who are developing or have developed, a pattern of absences, and agreeing actions which may lead to the student beginning to attend more regularly.
Supporting and motivating tutors in their year team.
Agreeing attendance action plans with the child's parents and individual students where a pattern of absence is a cause for concern.
Providing the Academy Attendance Officer with regular updates on attendance issues in their year group.
Receiving and acting upon information from tutors and subject teachers about students in their year group within the school's strategy for identifying and addressing lateness, specific lesson and post-registration truancy.
Setting attendance targets, in consultation with SLT, Academy Attendance Officer and tutors, for the year as a whole, and for each tutor group.
Monitoring tutor group attendance records and maintaining a PA workbook for their year group.
Reporting any serious difficulties and problems which may affect an individual student's attendance to the tutor, attendance officer and SLT as appropriate.
Recognising and celebrating the good attendance of students in their year assemblies, tutor groups and through individual praise.

The Role of the Student Support Mentor

Student Support Mentors are ideally placed to gather information and assist the Heads of Year and academy Attendance Officer, they can offer support by:

Attending meetings organised with parents of students who are developing a pattern of poor attendance.
Encouraging and supporting the students to achieve the attendance targets set in the agreed action plans with parents and the Paddington Academy.
Following up on students who have a long-term absence, by ensuring they catch up with work.
Co-ordinating work for students excluded for a fixed term, or where the permanent exclusion process has not been completed.
Ensuring all tutor groups have their percentage attendance on tutor boards every Monday.
Collating information from subject teachers each day and report issues to the relevant tutor

The Role of Key Stage Administrators

Our administrative staff provide a great deal of valuable support for the attendance officer, student support mentors and teaching staff in promoting attendance by:

Sending text messages for attendance and punctuality
Passing information received from parents to the attendance officer, student support mentor, tutors, Heads of Year regularly and consistently.
Marking in lates to school
Sending out the daily absence to lesson sheet
Send a weekly lates and absence report to the Attendance Office with explanations
Taking action on the first day of absence to contact the parents/carers where no notification for absence has been received.
Ensuring absence notes are recorded. If absence notes have not been received within 3 days the matter should be referred to the appropriate tutor.
Making routine phone calls to parents and sending out standard letters to parents about their child's attendance
Up-dating the late spreadsheet that is kept on the Academy ‘X' drive
Ensuring that PA absentee document is up-dated each term

The Role of Tutors/Class teachers

Tutors and subject teachers are ideally placed because of their regular contact with students to assess whether the explanations received for a child's absence are reasonable, or if the child is at an early stage in developing a pattern of absence.

In our academy we recognise that building a good relationship with students is vital in promoting good attendance by:

Publicly praising those students who attend well, or make an effort to improve their attendance.
Using the academy registration system accurately and consistently
Actively promoting actions to meet attendance targets set for the tutor group, and for individual students.
Identifying students who are beginning to develop, or have developed a pattern of absence and discussing with the student support mentor or head of year.
Welcoming students back after they have been absent because of illness.
Providing a positive role model through their own attendance and punctuality.
Ensure absence notes are received from parents/carers for all absences and recorded by the Attendance officer. If absence notes have not been received within 5 days the matter should be referred to the Head of Year
Teach students about the value of attendance and punctuality as part of the PSHE programme.
Initiate counselling and build good relationships with their tutor group so that potential attendance or punctuality problems can be identified early.

Subject Teachers Should

Implement all aspects of the academy's policy and procedures for attendance and punctuality
Lead by example by being punctual and by planning interesting and stimulating lessons which motivate all their students
Mark their class register within the first 10 minutes of every lesson.
Check absences against absentees and report any discrepancies to the Attendance Officer

The staff handbook contains guidance for all staff on

Details of legislative powers related to non-attendance
Information on the action (sanctions) that will be taken if poor attendance occurs.
What initial action the academy will take and at what stage a referral will be made to the Education Welfare Service.
How the Academy uses Penalty Notices and Fast Track Proceedings.

The Role of Parents

This academy believes that its students are able to achieve success when:

The academy and family work in partnership.
Parents take an active interest in their child's work.
Parents ensure that their child attends school regularly and do not allow time off from academy for trivial or unacceptable reasons.
Parents contact the academy on the first day of absence by 9am and provide the reason for absence and intended return date.
Parents provide a written note in the planner on the day of their child's return to school, including the dates of their absence.
Parents avoid taking their students on holiday during term time. If this is unavoidable a holiday request must be completed and authorised by the academy prior to the holiday.
Parents ensure that, so far as possible, any work that has been missed because of absence is completed, checking with the staff at academy if necessary.
Parents attend any necessary meetings and respond as quickly as possible to any letters and information about their child's attendance (or other matters).

The Role of Students

Paddington Academy believes that all students should attend regularly if they are to succeed and reach their full potential.

Students should:

Aim for 100% attendance, only being absent through genuine illness.
Arrive at the academy at 8.20 in time for period 1 at 8.30 and be punctual to every lesson.
Register at the Attendance Office if they arrive late
Bring a note from home explaining the reason for absence following every session of absence.
See individual teachers and catch up any work missed during the period of absence.

5.0 Monitoring and Evaluation

In order to meet our target of 100% attendance for all of our students, systems are in place so that the following data is gathered and analysed

Overall attendance figures for the Academy
Attendance by ethnic group/gender/faith group
Attendance by Key Stage/year
Attendance by subject/lesson/teaching group
Attendance by term/week/day

Reporting on attendance will be provided by the Attendance Officer to individual Heads of Year and the Assistant Principal for student support. Procedures for attendance will be reviewed by the Attendance Officer in consultation with Heads of Year half-termly and updated if required. The Assistant Principal will report on attendance figures to senior staff regularly and is responsible for any reporting of failure to meet an upward trend.

6.0.Links with other policy areas

This policy is central to all aspects of student well-being. It should be rigorously observed by all staff and in particular by Heads of Year and college administrators.

The policy links closely with guidance on

Inclusion
Special Needs
Child Protection
Anti-racism
Anti-Bullying

Further guidance is available for staff in their staff handbook in the section on teaching and learning and in the relevant sections of the Academy website

For parents/carers further information is published in the induction guidance and home - academy contract and in the relevant sections of the Academy website

For student guidance this is printed in the student planner.

Punctuality

Students' attendance to school and lessons is registered throughout the day by Lesson Monitor electronic registration system.
Training in Lesson Monitor will take place each September for staff who are unfamiliar with the system
Morning registration takes place in lesson 1. Afternoon registration takes place in lesson 3
It is vital that all teachers register students every lesson to enable absence and possible truancy to be identified.
Students are expected to arrive in the academy at 8.20am. Lesson 1 starts at 8.30am sharp.
Tutors should consistently challenge poor punctuality.
Students who arrive late will arrive to class with a late stamp in their planner

Students who are persistently late

Head of Year detention
KS3 morning detention
KS4 lunch time detention
More than 20 minutes late - 30 minutes after school

Flowchart: Alternate Process: Two or more lates in two weeks consecutively
• Head of Year call home
• No improvement
• Two hour detention with Head of Year
• Report card - Tutor

Flowchart: Alternate Process: Persistently late
• Parents called in for meeting with Assistant Principal and attendance officer
• Late contract issued & signed by student & parent

No improvement

Marked U after 8.50
Possible EWO referral

Flowchart: Alternate Process: Improvement
• Taken off late contract

Late twice or more in one week

One hour detention with SLT

Two lates or more in one week

Alarm call text message sent home at 7am for one week.
Detention set by Head of Year

7.0 Links with external partners/agencies where relevant

Paddington Academy is committed to positive professional working arrangements with Westminster Local Authority.

The Local Authority in Westminster exercise their statutory duties and discretions through the Education Welfare Service working with schools, students, young people, families and other agencies.

Through the use of attendance data, the EWS is responsible for auditing pupils who fall below target levels. The EWS will work with, accept referrals and take Legal action to enforce attendance on any pupil in a Westminster Academy, regardless of where they live.

THE EDUCATION WELFARE SERVICE (EWS) AIMS TO: