READY RESPECTFUL RESPONSIBLE REFLECTIVE RESILIENT
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE
Good attendance is crucial for all children if they are to make the progress we expect. As a minimum, we expect all our children to attain 96% attendance across the whole year. A 5% absence represents 2 weeks of missed learning. There is no ‘allowance’ for holidays during term time and Headteachers are no longer permitted to authorise holiday, except in specific exceptional circumstances.
All absence from school must be authorised – you must let the school know if your child is going to be away from school for any reason. Parents/carers should telephone or email the Office if their child is ill before 9.30am. We use a ‘first day response’ system – when a child is absent and we have had no contact from parents, we will attempt to contact you (please ensure we have up to date contact details). If we are unable to contact the family, the following steps will be taken in subsequent days of unexplained absence:
Third Day Absence – If a child has been absent and without any notice two members of school staff (usually including the HT) will go to the house to find out why the child is absent and why school is unable to get through. If there is no response, a letter will be put through the door asking the parents to contact school that day.
Continuing Absence – If there has still been no contact from the parent, a further letter is sent requesting that parents contact the school as a matter of urgency before the issue is passed on to the local authority.
Ten Day Absence – Any pupil who is absent without an explanation for 10 consecutive days will be referred to Oxfordshire County Council, Attendance and Engagement Team. This is a legal requirement. The school will include details of the action they have taken.
Please see the table below which sets out the actions that the school will take with regard to different percentages of attendance for each child:
Attendance % | Steps taken by school |
100% | Pupils with 100% attendance in any given short-term will receive a certificate of achievement. |
96-100% | Attendance is good and is at or above the pre-pandemic national average – pupil’s attendance will continue to be monitored at least short-termly. |
92-96% | Individuals will be identified and flagged for a follow-up check at next monitoring cycle. If attendance remains between 92-96% across two monitoring cycles, a letter will be generated and shared with parents. Subsequent improvements will be recognised by a follow up letter acknowledging this. Parents/carers of pupils whose attendance remains between 92-96%, with no improvements, across three monitoring cycles will receive a second letter and be invited to discuss their child’s attendance with the head teacher. |
90-92% | If attendance is between 90 and 92% at one monitoring cycle, a letter will be generated and shared with parents/carers alerting them to the fact that their child is in danger, if attendance does not improve, of becoming a ‘persistent absentee’. Subsequent improvements will be recognised by a follow up letter acknowledging this. Parents/carers of pupils whose attendance remains between 90-92%, with no improvements, across two monitoring cycles will receive a second letter and be invited to discuss their child’s attendance with the head teacher. |
>90%
| A child is categorised as a ‘persistent absentee’. Their names are shared with the Attendance Team at Oxfordshire County Council. If a child has attendance below 90% at one monitoring cycle, a letter will be generated and shared with parents/carers and they will be asked to meet with the head teacher to discuss their child’s attendance. Subsequent improvements will be recognised by a follow up letter acknowledging this. |
>90% with no improvement over 2 monitoring cycles | If a child’s attendance remains below 90% for two monitoring cycles, with no significant improvements, the school will ask the parents/carers for a further meeting to create an action plan which may include: allocation of additional support through use of circle time, individual incentive programmes and participation in group activities around raising attendance. The school may additionally suggest an Early Help Assessment (EHA) is carried out. This could lead to a Team Around a Family (TAF) being established, which could lead to involvement from the Locality Community Support Service and other external agencies, all with the aim of supporting the family in order to improve the child’s attendance. If families do not wish to engage with an EHA, or if attendance remains below 90% despite support, the school may seek the involvement of the Attendance and Engagement Officer (AEO) from the Local Authority (see below for further details). |
<50% | If a child’s attendance falls below 50% this is categorised as ‘severe absence’. The school will immediately contact the family to urgently discuss the child’s attendance and seek support from the Learner Engagement Team at Oxfordshire County Council and the Attendance and Engagement Officer (AEO). An Attendance Action Plan will be put in place to improve attendance. Attendance will be monitored daily. The school will initiate an Early Help Assessment, alongside the Locality Community Support Service and Learner Engagement Team, plus any other external agencies who are identified as necessary in meeting the child’s needs and improving their attendance. |
48 Hour Rule – Please note that our policy in respect of vomiting and/or diarrhoea follows the NHS recommendation that children should be kept away from school, pre-school or a child minder for 48 hours since the last episode. Please don’t bring sick children into the classrooms and school office unless absolutely unavoidable.
We are supported in maintaining and monitoring good attendance by the local authority’s Attendance and Engagement Team.
Please read our attendance policy for full details. This can be found in the ‘Policies and Key Documents’ section of the ‘Key Information’ tab above.