Why is good school attendance so important?

We want being in school to be fun and engaging for all young people and we want young people to be in school 100% of their school life.

Good attendance is a learned behaviour and our Federation recognises the importance of developing good patterns of attendance from the outset. A positive view of attendance is an integral part of our schools’ ethos and culture. In building a culture of good school attendance we aim to:

• Recognise the importance of good attendance and, alongside behaviour and safeguarding, make it a central part of the school’s vision, values, ethos, and day to day life.

• Recognise the interplay between attendance and wider school improvement efforts, building it into strategies on attainment, behaviour, bullying, special educational needs support, supporting pupils with medical conditions or disabilities, safeguarding, wellbeing, and support for disadvantaged students (including use of pupil premium).

• Ensure that the curriculum addresses attendance positively in the context of learning and progress, social relationships and routines.

What are the barriers to good school attendance?

Some pupils find it harder than others to attend school and therefore at all stages of improving attendance, our schools will work with young people and their parents/carers to remove any barriers to attendance by building strong and trusting relationships and working together to put the right support in place.

Securing good attendance cannot therefore be seen in isolation, and effective practices for improvement will involve close interaction with our schools’ efforts on curriculum, behaviour, bullying, special educational needs support, pastoral and mental health and wellbeing, and effective use of resources, including effective use of the pupil premium funding. It cannot solely be the preserve of a single member of staff, or organisation, it must be a concerted effort across all teaching and non-teaching staff in our schools, our Governors, the local authority and other local partners.

What happens when my child misses school?

The law entitles every child of compulsory school age to an efficient, full-time education suitable to their age, aptitude, and any special educational need they may have. It is the legal responsibility of every parent and carer to make sure their child receives that education either by attendance at a school or by education otherwise than at a school.

Across one school year:

• Less than 5 days absence = 97.3% attendance

• 14 days absence (approx.) = 92.6% attendance

• 20 days absence (approx.) = 89.4% attendance

• 30 days absence (approx.) = 84.2% attendance

If a child achieves 80% attendance this means that they have missed approximately 39 days of education over the academic year, averaging 1 day per week.

Who can help in terms of getting my young person to attend school?

As a Federation we track our attendance of all children daily, weekly, half termly and annually. We monitor patterns and any barriers to attendance or any additional support families may require in getting their child into school regularly. We have a team of colleagues in school who you can speak to about your young person’s attendance in order to seek support. These include in the first instance their class teacher, and our Pastoral Support team of Mrs Dawn Piper and Mrs Carolyn Shaw.  Mr Mark Girling, our Executive Headteacher, has overall responsibility for our strategic direction regarding school attendance and report to Mr Andrew Rowe, our Governor who oversees attendance.

What does the school expect of our families?

Adults have a primary role in ensuring the attendance of children. Good examples of attendance and timekeeping by colleagues and parents provide role models for pupils. Parents are expected to;

• Contact the school when their son or daughter is absent to explain the reason, otherwise the school will contact parents/carers on the first day of absence where a reason has not been provided.

• Ensure that the school has more than one emergency contact number for their child. This is good practice to give the school additional options to contact a responsible adult.

• Attend meetings with the school if their child is persistently or severely absent, to discuss attendance and engagement.

• To promote school positively and be clear about their high expectations for attendance.

What can families expect from the school?

We will provide an engaging and exciting curriculum that motivates and inspires children to attend school.

A balance of support and challenge to ensure each child attends school as much as possible.

We will work with the family and other agencies to consider other issues a child may be facing and remove as many barriers as possible to ensure they can attend school.

We will ensure we take into account the child’s voice and views around their attendance.

We will reward and celebrate good school attendance.

We will follow up on attendance daily and carry out home visits where required and where appropriate contact has not been made.

We expect all families to be familiar with our attendance policy which can be found below, as is information from Suffolk County Council regarding Penalty Notices.