Statement of Intent

SV Media Academy (SV) recognises that punctual and regular school attendance is an essential precondition of educational and social inclusion and a prerequisite to effective learning. It notes that for a significant number of children poor school attendance is a direct cause of their social exclusion and under-achievement. SV is therefore committed to improving levels of attendance and punctuality.

We aim to do this by:

Responsibilities

Parents and SV teachers and support staff share the responsibility for ensuring that attendance rates at SV are maximised and that rates of unauthorised absenteeism are kept to a minimum.

SV are responsible for:

It is a legal requirement that SV:

Parents/Carers

Parents can do a great deal and are responsible in law for ensuring and supporting the regular and punctual attendance of their children. Parents should:

Pupils:

 Pupils should ensure that they attend school regularly and on time;

Registration

School doors open at 9 am until 9:30am. This time is sufficient for all pupils to come into their classroom by 9:30am.

The attendance register must be completed by the class teacher by 10am and by 1.20pm. (Attendance code / and \\ for pupils who are present).

All attendance records are documented using the schools software, which is supported by the Local Authority. Attendance registers are legal documents and these must be kept secure and preserved for a period of three years after the date they were last used.

Lateness

Any pupil who comes into school after 9.30am will be marked as late in the attendance record. Records are kept of those pupils who are late, this is documented on the electronic register for each pupil (Attendance code L). Any child who arrives for school later than 10am will be marked as having an unauthorised absence and can be refused entry if it is deemed disruptive to other learners. (Attendance code U).

Children who have attended a dentist or doctor’s appointment and subsequently come to school later than 9.30am will have the absence recorded as a medical absence (Attendance code M).

Children who are persistently late miss a significant amount of learning, often the most important aspect, as the beginning of the day is where the teacher explains  the learning and what each child is expected to achieve.

Where there have been persistent incidents of lateness parents/carers will receive a letter advising them of the concerns and the school will provide opportunities for parents/carers to seek support and advice to address these issues.

EWO Referrals

SV will first undertake a number of steps to address a pupil’s non-attendance. These would include:

Referrals may be made when:

Evaluation and Review

This policy will be evaluated at the end of each term by the senior Management team and formally reviewed in September 2021

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Attendance Procedures

Any child who is absent from school at the morning or afternoon registration period must have their absence recorded as being authorised or unauthorised. Only the headteacher or a member of staff acting on their behalf can authorise absence. If there is no known reason for the absence at registration, then the absence must be recorded in the first instance as unauthorised.

Registration

Morning registration will take place at the start of school at 9am. The registers will remain open for 30 minutes. The afternoon registration will be at 12.45pm. The registers will close at 1pm.

Lateness

Any pupil arriving between 9.30-10am will be marked as late. Any pupil arriving after that will be marked as Late After Registration unless there is an acceptable explanation i.e. school transport was delayed where they will be marked as ‘late’. In cases for example, where the absence at registration was for attending an early morning medical appointment, the appropriate authorised absence code will be entered when proof of appointment is supplied. If a student has 3 late marks a letter is sent home.

Pupils arriving after the registration period has ended but before the end of the first school lesson period will be treated for statistical purposes as present, but will be coded as “U” Late after registration.

First Day Absence

Parents are expected to call the school to explain absence. If no call is received by 10.15am, the school will telephone the parents. The receptionist will fill in a call sheet and a letter will also be sent asking for a written reason from the parents to explain absences. A copy of the letter is filed in the students file.

Third Day Absence

If the student has 3 unauthorised absences a letter is to be sent home to the parents to find out if there are any concerns or issues as to why the student has not been attending. First of all they will be marked in the register as “ not yet had a reason for absence” (N) and then after 3 days their mark will change to unauthorised if no contact has been made from/ with the parents after the letter has been sent out.

Continuing Absence

Part- time students

On a weekly basis SV will email copies of absence/lateness letters sent to parents to the school, and we will ask the school to arrange a meeting with the parents to discuss any issues i.e. lateness, illness or absences. We continue throughout this time to send letters to parents.

Full- time students

We send letters home to parents and continue to monitor continuous patterns. After sending 3 letters we refer it on to our Attendance Advisory Service Officer Caroline Donaghy at Greenwich council.

Ten Day’s Absence

Any pupil who is absent without an explanation for 10 consecutive days will be notified to the Local Authority, by submitting a referral to the Children’s Services Attendance. SV will include details of the action that they have taken.

Frequent Absence

It is the responsibility of SVs attendance administrator to be aware of and bring attention to any emerging attendance concerns.

In cases where a pupil begins to develop a pattern of absences, the school will try to resolve the problem with the parent/s. If this is unsuccessful the school will refer to the referral schools’ Health Advisor if the problem appears to be a medical one. In other cases the school will seek advice from the Attendance Advisory Officer.

A Welcome Back

It is important that on return from an absence that all pupils are made to feel welcome. This should include ensuring that the pupil is helped to catch up on missed work and brought up to date with any information that has been passed to the other pupils.

Promoting Attendance

SV will use opportunities as they arise to remind parents/carers that it is their responsibility to ensure that their children receive their education.

Holidays in Term Time

Holidays during term time are discouraged. Parents will be reminded of the effect that absence can have on a pupil’s potential achievement. SV will consider authorising absences only in very exceptional circumstances. Parents must apply in advance for permission.

The registration system

SV will use a computerised system for keeping the school attendance records. The following national codes will be used to record attendance information:

This policy is adapted from guidelines provided by the Department for Education. This policy was last revised March 2023