In all our endeavours, we continually strive to:

• encourage full attendance and punctuality;
• record and monitor attendance and absenteeism, applying appropriate strategies for minimizing persistent absence and employing a consistent approach across school;
• ensure maximum attendance for all pupils, actively promoting one hundred per cent attendance;
• prioritise early identification of barriers to full attendance and address these barriers as swiftly as possible;
• celebrate achievement, acknowledging and rewarding a successful record of attendance;
• give a high priority to conveying to parents and pupils the importance of regular and punctual attendance;
• recognise, respect and build upon the vital role of families, establishing strong home-school links and communication systems that can be utilised whenever there is a concern about attendance;

If there are problems which affect a pupil’s attendance school will investigate, identify and strive in partnership with parents and pupils to resolve those problems as quickly and efficiently as possible.  We adopt a sharply focussed approach aimed at returning the pupil to full attendance.

Statutory Duty of Schools

The Education Act 1996 requires parents or guardians to ensure their children receive efficient, full-time education, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise. Schools are responsible for recording pupil attendance twice a day; once at the start of the morning session and once during the afternoon session. An entry must be made in the attendance register for all pupils of compulsory school age who are on the school’s admission roll.

• We place high priority on attendance and punctuality by making the register an event in its own right.  This time is used as an opportunity for teaching staff to communicate with each child individually, sometimes calling the register in a different language.  Registration begins at 9.00am and the register is closed at 9.30am.
• A comprehensive reward system is established to encourage sustained good attendance and punctuality:

• certificate and pen for 100% termly attendance;
• certificate and medal for 100% yearly attendance (1 - 3yrs);
• individual trophies / awards for further full attendance, as appropriate;
• weekly class attendance and punctuality announced in Collective Worship and on Facebook Page;
• termly reward for class with highest overall attendance;
• coverage in school newsletters and local press, as appropriate;

• We recognise the importance of early intervention and ask parents for written / verbal explanations of pupil absence, following these up with a parental interview, as necessary.
• St Hilda’s CE Primary School works with the Local Authority School Attendance Service to regularly monitor and review absences.  All staff complete the electronic register using the approved system of categorisation of absence.  Any concerns about individual pupils are reported directly to the Headteacher or Admin Team who decide the appropriate action and monitor outcomes.
• If a child is well enough to be in school, then they are expected to participate in the usual curricular activities scheduled for the day e.g. outdoor playtimes and lunchtimes, Forest School Curriculum, educational trips and visits and PE activities including swimming. In exceptional circumstances, usually with a written recommendation from a qualified medical practitioner e.g. GP, a child is encouraged to attend school but be exempt from certain physical activities e.g. whilst the child is recovering from a fracture / non-contagious infection or where prolonged absence from school is regarded as detrimental to the individual learner.

The school records any absence as unauthorised in the following circumstances, where:

• parents have made no contact to explain any absence by close of register at 9.30am;
• the reason given by parents is deemed unreasonable e.g. wedding, airport visit, shopping, family party;
• a full session (morning or afternoon) is taken for attendance at a routine medical appointment;

A regular pattern of unauthorised absences will be reported to the Local Authority Attendance Service and may result in a Fixed Penalty Notice Fine being issued by the Local Authority.

• Being organised and timely is a life skill; establishing good habits at an early age is effective parenting.  Pupils should be ready to come through the gate and enter school at 8.50am for a prompt start to the school day.  The gates are locked at 9.00am, meaning children arriving after this time must make their way into school via the main entrance. This arrival will be recorded as late.
• Frequency of late arrivals is closely monitored by the school and may be recorded as unauthorised absence.
  A child who attends school every day but is persistently late may not achieve full attendance.