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Attendance

Walkley Primary School - Attendance Ethos

Attend More, Enjoy More, Achieve More!

 

Walkley Primary promotes a whole school culture that values attendance. We understand that excellent attendance helps to improve outcomes for a child. We provide a supportive, calm orderly and productive environment for children to attend, learn and develop within. We promote our Attendance ethos within school and ask that all parents work with us to uphold these values. The school Attendance policy can be found here

 

Why is attendance Important?

Every child has a right to education, every parent has a responsibility to support this and every school has a duty to promote and encourage this. Excellent attendance at school helps a child to meet their full potential.

 

Below are just some of the reasons why it is so important for children to attend school:  

  • To learn,
  • To have fun,
  • To make new friends and learn social skills,
  • To experience new things in life,
  • To develop skills - problem solving, time keeping, 
  • To build confidence and self-esteem,
  • To get into daily routines that set a pattern for life,
  • To receive support from school.

 

Attendance Rewards

Success in improved attendance and punctuality will be talked about in classes and across school. All staff will recognise the patterns in improvement across the school and acknowledge them.

 

We will celebrate achievements in attendance in our weekly Friday assembly with parents.

 

We have carefully reviewed our awards to ensure that they are fair and represent the effort that families are making to ensure excellent attendance.

 

The awards are given following close monitoring of the register (attendance and punctuality) by the Inclusion Manager and Senior Leadership Team. We look for patterns in improved attendance. This could involve improved punctuality for one child within a class. It could be improved attendance for identified pupils within a class. This method is more precise than a simple award for highest attendance. It offers the opportunity for any class to win each week. 

 

In Key Stage one, we award a class with two soft toys. Tocky the time Ted and Rainbow the Register Rabbit. 

 

These soft toys wear the Walkley uniform with pride and represent the school ethos in excellence in attendance and punctuality. In Key Stage two we award a special attendance trophy.

 

Each week one class in Key stage one will have the opportunity to win the soft toys in their classroom for the week. They join the class to celebrate the success of the pupils. In key stage two the chosen class will be awarded the trophy which will then be placed in a prominent place to celebrate their success.

 

The awards will be referred to throughout the week by the class teachers, demonstrating their importance and praising their class.

 

 

Every Lesson Matters

In line with “Working together to improve attendance guidance 2022” We believe that every lesson is an opportunity to learn and develop. Each lesson has its own learning goals and provides a chance to learn something new and gain a new experience. Many lessons follow ongoing schemes of work and missing one can mean a child may miss out on crucial learning.

 

When we think about attendance in school we no longer refer to percentages. We talk and think about actual lessons missed. Minutes of learning missed. Lessons can be missed due to issues with punctuality or they can be missed to be absence from school. If a child is missing lots of lessons we want to work with families improve this and to overcome any barriers to this.

 

The Legal Requirement

Click here to see the sheet which outlines the DFE Working Together to Improve Attendance 2024 Legal Requirements

Click here to see the changes to Education Penalty Notice

 

Walkley Primary School is required by law, to record and monitor the attendance of every child on roll and to show who is absent or late. Figures for attendance and for authorised absence and unauthorised absence are monitored by Sheffield City Council.  We have authority to authorise and unauthorise absences and to consider actions where attendance is below expected standards.  Under DFE 2024 guidelines we must consider fines for ongoing absence (10 session in 10 weeks) and any term time leave.  .

 

Parental Role in Attendance

Parents play a vital role in their child’s attendance at school. Where parents decide to have their child registered at school, they have a legal responsibility to ensure that their child attends. This means their child must attend school every day that the school is open unless there is a specific reason for absence which the school has been informed of.  

 

Parents have a responsibility to

  • Encourage and promote the school value of attendance.
  • Ensure your child arrives at school on time.
  • Inform school of the reasons for a child’s absence.
  • Call every day of any absence. If you leave a voicemail message you will then receive a follow up call from the school.  School can then choose to authorise this absence or not. 
  • Inform school of Term Time leave (Term Time Leave form prior to leave).

 

How You Can Help and Support At Home

  • Establishing a good routine. This can involve getting ready the night before and morning and preparing your child for the school day ahead.
  • Talk to your child about school and encourage the important of school. Remind your child they can learn, see friends and have fun in school.
  • Ensure your child attends everyday from the first day they start school. They may start in the nursery or reception and attendance is as important in these classes as in any other. From the day they start school you should get your child into a routine of excellent school attendance.
  • Arrange dental and medical appointments outside school hours. Most dentists and GPs in Sheffield are signed up to the Sheffield Attendance Charter wherein they have a duty to offer appointments outside of school hours where possible. If your child does have an appointment in school hours they should return to school once the appointment is completed. This means they can still receive one of their attendance marks (am or pm).  
  • Inform school at the earliest point if you are considering leaving school e.g.: moving schools, home schooling leaving the Uk etc.
  • Contact school with any issues that you feel will affect your child’s attendance. For example; if your child has an issue in school (related to learning, friendship  or emotional concern) please contact the school at the earliest opportunity to discuss this.  Please note:  An issue with learning or friendship will not be accepted as an authorised reason for a child’s absence, Most issues can be easily addressed and your child should not be absent whilst they are resolved. We expect that you will bring your child to school to work through the issues with school.  Keeping your child absent from school leads to further complications. The teacher and learning and Inclusion and safeguarding team in place to help support and attend to any concerns as they arise.

 

Punctuality

Learning starts from the moment the children enter the door at the school. When children arrive late it is unsettling for both the child, teacher and the class. The teacher has to stop the lesson and ensure the child is settled in, therefore the class can be disrupted. The latecomer misses the first part of the lesson and misses out on important learning. Children feel uncomfortable and less settled if they are late and this does not support their learning and emotional well- being.

 

Support for Issues with Punctuality

Walkley run a free Breakfast club and attending this club can help if your child is struggling with a morning routine. They offer a breakfast and play activities.  You can apply for a place via the school office. There is a waiting list but we can work within this for families in need or provision. Walkley Inclusion team can also make referrals with families to the Family Intervention Service to request support.

 

Response to Absence:

What you can expect if your child is absent

Follow up on your child’s absence can be expected for all classes in school including the nursery. We need to know where your child is everyday.

 

Parents should call every day of any absence. If you leave a voicemail message you will then receive a follow up call from the school.  The office will follow the three “W’s strategy and ask for the following information:

 

  • Why: The reasons for absence
  • What: What treatment or advice has been sought to address the issue.
  • When: The expected date of return to school. 

 

The information you provide will be recorded on SIMS to explain the absence and a code will be issued.  School will authorise each absence or not.  Where there is not sufficient evidence, or we do not agree that this warrants an absence then it is unauthorised.  Where there are attendance concerns or a pattern of absence, we will not authorise the absence unless sufficient evidence is provided.    

If you do not call or if we do not receive requested further information about the reasons for absence the absence will be automatically unauthorised.

 

In the case of unexplained absence the office will explore further options and advise the safeguarding and inclusion team. The Inclusion team will contact you and/or a home visit will be carried out to check that the child is “safe and well”.  Repeated unexplained absence with no contact is a safeguarding concern and the school can make a referral to the Sheffield Safeguarding Hub.

 

Term Time Leave

Click here for the Sheffield Local Authority Term Time Leave Policy.

 

Any child who is absent from school due to a holiday will miss out on important learning and school experiences. The Department for Education Working Together to Improve Attendance guidance 2024 is clear that Parents should not take their children on holidays during term time. In each school year there are a maximum of 190 statutory school days- this allows time for holidays to be arranged outside of term time.

 

If you are planning to take your child out of school during term time you must complete a term time leave form (from the school office) prior to the date of departure.  The form is not an application for leave to be authorised it is a document informing the school why the child is absent.

 

Under the 2024 legislation Headteacher’s are advised not to authorise term time leave unless under absolutely exceptional circumstances with evidence provided.

 

From September 2024 at Walkley term time leave will be unauthorised and in the majority of cases a fine will be issued per parent per child.

 

In line with DFE policy Walkley will monitor a family’s term time leave taken and if further leave is taken within three years a further increased fine will be issued. At the point of the third term time leave within three years the case will be taken for court action.

 

If school suspect that you are taking term time leave (by way of word of mouth or home visits we may challenge and ask for evidence that term time leave is not being taken. If you cannot provide evidence then a fine will be issued.

 

Attendance intervention and follow up support Support

We are aware that there can be barriers to attendance and punctuality. We listen to these and we expect to work with families to overcome them to improve attendance. These interventions can be informal or formal for example nudge letters, informal meetings formal Meetings, formal letters and formal attendance plan and fines. The Authority will advise on these and where concerns are significant the local authority link worker may request to be present.

 

For families where attendance is an ongoing concern a meeting with the Designated Safeguarding Lead/ Inclusion Manager; Mrs Homer will be arranged with parents. Within this meeting we discuss the barriers to attendance, expected actions and improvements to be made. Packages of support can be put together by teachers, the Inclusion team and SENDco.

 

At Walkley we are creative in our responses. All staff are trained in Trauma Informed Responses to children and our experienced Inclusion team can guide them and support in range of ways. We are informed by our training in solution focused work and also with our links to outside agencies such as Family Intervention Service and the Local Authority Attendance Support Team.

 

Support can include:

  • Offer to administer medication in school 
  • A medical care plan in place to support the child’s medical needs in school.
  • An Emotional Based school avoidance plan
  • A referral to Family Intervention Service for family support to help with routines (with agreement of parents).
  • Meet and greet for a child and parent at the door
  • Rewards for daily attendance (stickers etc)
  • Use of an attachment object to help support transition between home and school.
  • Use of Social Stories to help name and address concerns about transition.
  • Use of resources – visual timetables and now and next to support at home.

 

At Walkley we are creative in our responses and our experienced pastoral team can support in a range of ways. We are informed by our training in solution focused work and also with our links to outside agencies such as The Autism Team and Local Authority Attendance Support Team.

 

The Inclusion Team are:

 

Mr Clements                                  Mrs Homer                                  Mel Oxley

Learning Mentor                           Inclusion Manager                     Clerical Assistant 

                                                       

 

Teachers and the Inclusion Team can be contacted via the school office on 0114 234 0550 or email enquiries@walkley.sheffield.sch.uk for attention of the child's teacher and/or Inclusion Team. Staff are also on the school yard at the start and end of school to greet children and their families and attend to any queries.

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