School Attendance

Is your child an Attendance HERO?

Here Everyday Ready On time at 8.40/ 8.45am?

EVERY DAY COUNTS!

Children need to attend regularly to take full advantage of the educational opportunities available to them. Research shows that attendance and punctuality are important factors in school success. 

Attendance

*** IMPORTANT Attendance Changes from 1st September 2024 ***

The new guidance is implemented to support the best school attendance for every child in Halton and applies to all schools in England.

The expectations on parents are:

• That you will consistently ensure that your child attends school regularly and that you notify the school as soon as possible when your child has to be unexpectedly absent.( All absences will be unauthorised unless there is medical proof of an illness)

• That you only request leave of absence in exceptional circumstances and that you communicate this to the Headteacher.

• That where possible you book medical appointments around the school day but when this cannot be avoided and your child has an appointment in school time you communicate this to the school in advance (and if your child attends the appointment in uniform, they can return to school afterwards)

• That you collaborate with your child’s school and the Local Authority to help with the understanding of any barriers to your child attending school regularly and engage with support offered.

The new guidance is implemented to support the best school attendance for every child in Halton and applies to all schools in England.

Registration

• Parents should ensure pupils are in school for morning registration

• 8.40am- Reception

• 8.45am- Years 1-6

Nursery

Nursery (15 hours) starts at 8.30 am, finishing at 11.30am and then restarting at 12.15pm and finishing at 3.15 pm. Children in Nursery who attend 30 hours will start at 9.00am and finish at 3.00pm. 

The school gates open at 8.00 am for breakfast clubs and to all children from 8.45 am to allow a smooth transition from home to school, each day.

Lates

A pupil arriving after that time (but before the close of register at 9.10 am will be marked late (Code L - Late arrival before the register has closed). Pupils

arriving after the close of register (9.10am) will be marked U (arrived in

school after registration closed).

Afternoon Registration

A pupil arriving after 1.15pm will be marked as late for afternoon registration, 12.30pm for Nursery children.

Persistent Absence

Children whose attendance figure falls below 90% are regarded as having persistent absence, as classed by the Department for Education. In order to support in improving attendance, we take a proactive approach and will communicate concerns about poor attendance to parents and carers. Our policy states that we use an escalating approach which includes letters, meetings in school and / or a referral to the Attendance Team at Halton Borough Council.

Parental Responsibilities Relating to School Attendance

As a parent, it’s your responsibility to make sure your child is at school, unless you’re home education or they have long-term health problem.

Please:

• As a parent, it’s your responsibility to make sure your child is at school, unless  you’re home educating or they have a long-term health problem.

• Contact school on each day of absence to provide a reason for non-attendance before 9.15am 

• Work with the school and any other agency to resolve any difficulties which may affect regular school attendance 

  Categorisation of Authorised and Unauthorised Absence 

   

  The parent/guardian must provide an explanation for any period of absence from school, and it is the responsibility of the Headteacher to decide whether the absence will be authorised. 

  School will usually authorise absences where a pupil: 

  • Is unable to attend school due to illness. This will be coded ‘I’. However, school reserves the right to require medical evidence before authorising an absence for illness if there are on-going concerns about a child’s attendance. 

  • Where a pupil’s absence is above 3 occasions, school may request medical evidence to support the absence - please see below for School Protocol and the graduated approach. 

School Holiday Dates

The School Governing Body, under the guidance of the Local Authority, decide school holiday dates for our school. These are published for parents/carers at the start of every school year and in the summer term prior to the new school year. They are displayed on our school website and a paper copy can also be obtained from the school office.

https://www.oakfieldwidnes.co.uk/page/school-academic-calendar/122637

School Holiday Absence

From the 1st September 2013 the law has changed and there is no longer any entitlement to take your child on holiday during term time. A holiday request form must be completed by a parent/carer and the Head teacher may grant leave under exceptional circumstances ( please see policy). If a holiday request has been non-authourised a penalty notice may be issued. 

Roles and Responsibilities of Governors, Headteacher and Other School Staff

The Governors will ensure that:

• school holiday dates for each academic year are agreed by the start of the summer term in the previous school year;

• a full consultation takes place if the main school session times are to be changed;

• any changes to the start or end of the school day are implemented at the start of a new school year;

• attendance targets are set each year;

• weekly levels of lesson time, excluding collective worship, registration and breaks meet recommended levels.

The Headteacher will ensure that:

• pupils are registered accurately and efficiently;

• parents/carers are contacted when reasons for absence are unknown or unauthorised;

• pupil attendance and punctuality are monitored regularly;

• a reward system for attendance and punctuality is implemented;

• school attendance statistics are reported to the Educational Welfare Officer and Governing Body;

• parents/carers are written to when attendance and/or punctuality is poor;

• where there are cases of persistent poor attendance and/or punctuality rates, these are referred to the Educational Welfare Officer;

• parent/carers receive an attendance report with the Summer end of year reports.

Teaching staff will ensure that:

• they register children accurately and efficiently;

• they inform the headteacher of any children who are persistently late, have low attendance levels or have unexplained absence;

• they encourage children to attend school regularly and inform the headteacher if they become aware of a problem that may lead to absences.

Parents/carers will be expected to:

• ensure that their child(ren) attends school regularly;

• ensure that their child(ren) arrives at school on time and is picked up promptly at the end of the school day;

• inform school on the first day of non-attendance;

• avoid taking family holidays during term time;

• inform the school in advance of any planned absence.

Arrangements for monitoring and evaluation

The Governing Body will receive an annual attendance report from the headteacher including:

• the rate of attendance for the school, including rates for specific groups of pupils (e.g. SEN);

• comparison of attendance compared with the agreed target and previous year’s rates;

• additional background information relevant to the attendance rate in school.

The headteacher and the Governing Body will evaluate the data and decide what, if any, further action is required.