SV ACADEMY - ATTENDANCE POLICY AND PROCEDURES

KS3, KS4 and Post-16 | Academic Year 2026/27

Status: This policy replaces the previous March 2024 Attendance Policy and procedures and is updated for the current statutory attendance framework in force in September 2026.

1. Statement of Intent

SV Academy recognises that regular and punctual attendance is fundamental to safeguarding, educational progress, personal development, wellbeing and successful destinations. Good attendance is everyone's responsibility and is supported by a calm, safe, inclusive and engaging school environment.

SV Academy will work in partnership with pupils, students, parents and carers, referring schools, commissioning local authorities and other professionals to identify barriers to attendance early and put proportionate support in place. Attendance concerns will be approached as a potential indicator of wider need or safeguarding risk, not simply as a disciplinary matter.

This policy applies to pupils of compulsory school age and, where relevant, to Post-16 students. Different legal duties apply once a young person is over compulsory school age, but SV Academy continues to expect regular attendance and engagement in all timetabled learning.

2. Aims

Promote a whole-school culture in which high attendance and punctuality are valued.
Set clear attendance expectations for pupils, students, parents, carers and staff.
Accurately record attendance and absence using the current national attendance codes where they apply.
Follow up unexplained and unexpected absence promptly and treat attendance as a safeguarding priority.
Identify emerging patterns of absence or lateness early and provide support before they become entrenched.
Reduce persistent and severe absence through targeted, individualised support.
Work effectively with referring schools, local authorities, social care, health services and other partners.
Ensure attendance arrangements are fair, inclusive and consistent with the Equality Act 2010 and SEND duties.
Maintain reliable attendance evidence for Post-16 funding and programme monitoring where applicable.

3. Statutory and Regulatory Framework

This policy has been updated with regard to the Department for Education statutory guidance Working together to improve school attendance, updated July 2026, the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024, the Education Act 1996, the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026, Children Missing Education statutory guidance and relevant 16 to 19 funding rules.

SV Academy is an independent school. The statutory attendance guidance applies to independent schools, including requirements concerning admission and attendance registers. The school will also meet any attendance reporting arrangements agreed with commissioning or referring bodies.

4. Key Attendance Principles

Every registered pupil should attend all sessions for the full duration of those sessions unless a lawful or properly authorised reason applies.
Attendance improvement should begin with listening to and understanding barriers, then providing or facilitating support.
Absence and lateness will be monitored at individual, cohort and whole-school level.
Support will intensify as absence becomes more persistent or severe.
Safeguarding concerns will be escalated immediately; the school will not wait for an attendance threshold before acting.
Reward or recognition for attendance, where used, will be applied sensitively and without discriminating against pupils whose absence relates to disability, medical need or other protected circumstances.

5. Roles and Responsibilities

5.1 Directors / Proprietor

Ensure that SV Academy meets its statutory attendance and registration duties.
Ensure attendance is given appropriate strategic priority and resources.
Receive assurance that attendance systems, safeguarding follow-up and data monitoring are effective.
Review attendance trends and challenge leaders where improvement is required.

5.2 Senior Attendance Champion

Senior Attendance Champion: Will Conn, Headteacher. Contact: head@streetvibes.org | 0203 031 8240.

The Senior Attendance Champion provides strategic leadership for attendance, ensures systems are consistently applied, oversees support for pupils at risk of persistent or severe absence and liaises with external agencies where required.

5.3 Attendance Officer / Day-to-Day Contact

Attendance Officer: Mr Joshua Baptista. Day-to-day attendance contact: 0203 031 8240 | info@streetvibes.org.

The Attendance Officer maintains attendance records, follows up absence and lateness, communicates with families and referring bodies, identifies emerging concerns and escalates cases to senior leaders and safeguarding staff.

5.4 Teaching and Support Staff

Take registers accurately and promptly at the required times.
Use only the appropriate attendance code and pass unexplained absences or concerns to the Attendance Officer.
Promote punctuality and attendance positively.
Report welfare, safeguarding or missing-child concerns immediately in line with safeguarding procedures.
Support pupils returning after absence to re-engage with learning.

5.5 Parents and Carers

Ensure children of compulsory school age attend regularly and punctually when registered at school.
Notify SV Academy as soon as possible, and normally before 9:00am, on every day of unexpected absence unless a different arrangement has been agreed.
Provide the reason for absence and an expected return date where known.
Keep contact and emergency-contact information up to date.
Avoid arranging holidays or leisure travel during term time.
Engage with meetings, plans and support intended to improve attendance.
Request any planned leave of absence in advance.

5.6 Pupils and Students

Attend every timetabled session and arrive on time.
Remain on site or at the agreed learning location unless permission to leave has been given.
Engage with attendance support and communicate barriers to a trusted member of staff.
For Post-16 students, take increasing responsibility for communicating absence and maintaining engagement with their study programme.

6. School Day, Registration and Punctuality

For the 2026/27 academic year, pupils are expected to be on site and ready for the morning session by 9:30am. The morning register is taken at 9:30am and closes at 10:00am. The afternoon register is taken at 1:15pm and closes at 1:45pm. Registration arrangements will be kept under review and any formal change will be communicated to pupils, parents and commissioners and reflected in this policy.

The attendance register must be taken at the start of each morning session and once during each afternoon session. Registers are legal records and must be completed accurately at the same designated time for all pupils in the relevant session.

A pupil present when the register begins is marked present using / for the morning session or \ for the afternoon session.
A pupil who arrives after registration begins but before the register closes is recorded as L (late before the register closes).
A pupil who arrives after the register has closed is recorded as U (late after registration closed), unless another absence code more accurately reflects the reason for the absence.
A pupil who arrives late will be admitted to school. Lateness will never, by itself, be used as a reason to refuse entry and thereby extend the pupil's absence.
Patterns of lateness will be monitored and addressed through communication, support and, where necessary, a formal attendance plan.

7. Unexpected Absence and First-Day Response

Parents and carers should contact SV Academy before 9:00am whenever a pupil or student will be absent unexpectedly. The school will seek to establish the reason for every unexplained or unexpected absence in a timely manner.

Where no explanation has been received, the Attendance Officer will make same-day contact with the parent or carer and, where relevant, the referring school or commissioning authority. Where reasonably possible, SV Academy will hold more than one emergency contact number for each pupil.

If the pupil cannot be located, the family cannot be contacted, or circumstances indicate a welfare risk, the concern will be escalated to the Designated Safeguarding Lead and appropriate safeguarding action will be taken. This may include contacting the referring school, local authority, social worker, other professionals, undertaking a risk-assessed welfare check, or contacting the police where appropriate.

8. Recording an Unexplained Absence

If the reason for absence has not been established by the time the register closes, code N must be used. The school will continue to make every effort to establish the reason and amend the register to the correct code as soon as it is known.

Code N must not remain on the register indefinitely. If the reason cannot be established within 5 school days after the session, the entry will be amended to code O (absent in other or unknown circumstances), in accordance with the 2024 registration regulations.

9. Authorised and Unauthorised Absence

Only the school can determine which attendance code correctly describes a pupil's absence. A parent reporting or requesting an absence does not automatically make the absence authorised.

Where leave of absence is requested, SV Academy will consider each request on its individual facts and circumstances. The school will normally restrict leave to the specific circumstances recognised in the current regulations and statutory guidance. A need or desire for a holiday or leisure activity during term time will not normally be regarded as an exceptional circumstance.

For pupils over compulsory school age, leave may be requested or agreed by the pupil or by a parent they normally live with, consistent with current guidance.

10. Illness, Medical Appointments, Mental Health and SEND

Code I is used where a pupil is unable to attend because of sickness; code M is used for an authorised medical or dental appointment.
Routine appointments should, where reasonably possible, be arranged outside school hours or so that the pupil misses the minimum education necessary.
SV Academy will not operate a blanket rule requiring medical evidence for every illness absence. Evidence may be requested where necessary to understand barriers, make reasonable adjustments or establish the correct code, and reasonable forms of evidence will be considered.
Where absence relates to mental or physical ill health, SEND or disability, the school will work with the pupil, family, commissioner and relevant professionals to identify appropriate support and reasonable adjustments.
Remote education will not normally be treated as a substitute for attendance. Where it is exceptionally used, it will be considered as part of a wider support or reintegration plan and recorded in accordance with current guidance.

11. Part-Time or Reduced Timetables

A temporary reduced timetable for a pupil of compulsory school age will only be used in exceptional circumstances, for a defined and time-limited period, as part of a plan to support the pupil to return to full-time education. It must not be used simply as an attendance-management tool.

The arrangement will be agreed with the parent or carer and, where relevant, the referring school, local authority and other professionals. It will include clear review dates, safeguarding arrangements and a planned route back to full-time attendance. Code C2 will be used only where its statutory criteria are met.

For pupils above compulsory school age who are not required by their timetable to attend a particular session, code X may be used where appropriate.

12. Persistent and Severe Absence

The DfE describes persistent absence as missing 10% or more of possible school sessions. Severe absence refers to pupils missing 50% or more of school. SV Academy will also intervene earlier where patterns indicate that a pupil is at risk of reaching either threshold.

For pupils at risk of persistent or severe absence, SV Academy will meet with the pupil and family, listen to and understand the barriers, agree actions, review progress and coordinate support with the relevant referring school, local authority and partner services. Support may include pastoral intervention, mentoring, SEND review, health support, early help, careers or alternative provision planning, transport liaison or other individualised measures.

Severe absence will be treated as a high safeguarding and welfare priority. Where appropriate, the DSL will consider whether children's social care or other statutory safeguarding involvement is required.

13. Referring Schools, Commissioners and Off-Site Placements

SV Academy provides both full-time and part-time alternative provision and may educate pupils who remain registered at another school. Attendance responsibilities must therefore be clear at the point of placement.

For pupils placed by another school or local authority, SV Academy will report attendance, absence and lateness to the referring or commissioning body in the agreed format. Unexplained absence or a safeguarding concern will be shared promptly on the same day rather than waiting for a weekly report.

Where a pupil is dual registered or attending another approved educational activity, the appropriate national attendance code will be used by the school responsible for the relevant statutory register. SV Academy will provide accurate session information so that the referring school or local authority can meet its own registration and safeguarding duties.

14. Post-16 Attendance and Engagement

SV Academy applies high attendance expectations to its Post-16 provision. Where a learner is a registered pupil at the school, their attendance is recorded in the attendance register in accordance with the pupil registration regulations, including the use of code X when a non-compulsory-school-age pupil is not required by the timetable to attend.

For 16 to 19 funded provision, SV Academy will also maintain evidence that students are undertaking their specified study programmes. Session registers should identify the student, date, time, duration, tutor and attendance or absence, and management will undertake proportionate checks to support accurate funding and participation records.

Where Post-16 attendance falls below programme expectations, the school will use a staged support process. Any decision to withdraw a learner from a programme will take account of safeguarding, SEND and equality duties, funding rules, individual circumstances and evidence of efforts to re-engage the student.

15. Attendance Support and Escalation

Early identification: monitor patterns of absence, punctuality and missed lessons.
Listen and understand: speak with the pupil or student and parent or carer to identify the barriers.
Facilitate support: remove school-based barriers and help access wider support.
Agree and review an attendance plan: set clear actions, responsibilities and review dates.
Formalise support where needed: work with the relevant local authority, commissioner and partner agencies where voluntary support is not effective or not engaged with.
Safeguarding or statutory escalation: where concerns are serious or absence remains severe, consider safeguarding referrals or other lawful interventions through the appropriate authority.

16. Legal Intervention and Independent-School Status

Parents of children of compulsory school age have a legal responsibility to ensure that their child receives suitable full-time education and, where the child is registered at school, attends regularly unless an allowable reason applies.

SV Academy is an independent school. The DfE National Framework for Penalty Notices applies to state-funded schools and expressly excludes independent schools from using penalty notices for school absence. SV Academy will therefore not represent that it can itself issue a penalty notice under that framework.

Where unauthorised absence by a compulsory-school-age pupil remains serious despite support, SV Academy will work with the pupil's home or commissioning local authority, referring school and other relevant agencies regarding any appropriate statutory attendance, children missing education or safeguarding action.

17. Children Missing Education and Prolonged Absence

Absence may be a warning sign of safeguarding risk, neglect, exploitation, family difficulty or a child missing education. SV Academy will follow up prolonged or unexplained absence promptly and will not wait for an arbitrary number of days before taking safeguarding action where there is cause for concern.

Any removal from the admission register will only take place where a lawful ground in the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 applies and any required enquiries, notifications and joint working with the relevant local authority have been completed.

18. Attendance Data, Monitoring and Review

Monitor attendance and punctuality regularly at individual and cohort level.
Review pupils whose attendance is deteriorating before persistent absence is established.
Analyse half-termly, termly and full-year trends, including by SEND, disadvantage, placement type, year group and other relevant cohorts.
Review the impact of support and interventions rather than relying only on letters or thresholds.
Share appropriate information lawfully with referring schools, commissioners, local authorities and safeguarding partners.
Report key attendance themes to senior leaders and directors.

19. Electronic Registers and Record Retention

SV Academy will maintain its admission and attendance registers electronically. The attendance register will record each registered pupil's attendance or the appropriate reason for absence for every required session.

Attendance and admission register entries are legal records. Every entry must be preserved for 6 years from the date on which the data was entered. Where an entry is amended, the system must retain the original entry, the amended entry, the reason for the amendment, the date of amendment and the identity of the person making it.

20. Current National Attendance Codes

The following codes apply from August 2024 and replace several older codes. Staff should use the code that most accurately reflects the primary reason for the pupil's absence and consult current DfE guidance where there is uncertainty.

CodeMeaning/ | Present - morning session
\ | Present - afternoon session
B | Attending another place for an approved educational activity
C | Absent with leave for other circumstances
C1 | Absent with leave for a regulated performance
C2 | Compulsory-school-age pupil absent under an agreed temporary reduced timetable
D | Attending another school at which the pupil is registered
E | Authorised absence because the pupil is suspended or permanently excluded and no alternative provision is made
G | Absent without leave for the purpose of a holiday
I | Unable to attend because of sickness
J1 | Absent with leave for an employment or education interview
K | Attending education provision arranged by the local authority
L | Late arrival before the register closes
M | Absent with leave for a medical or dental appointment
N | Reason for absence not yet established
O | Absent in other or unknown circumstances
P | Attending an approved sporting activity
Q | Unable to attend because the local authority has not made required access arrangements
R | Religious observance
S | Absent with leave to study for a public examination
T | Mobile child travelling with a parent in the course of the parent's trade or business
U | Arrived after the register closed
V | Attending an educational visit or trip
W | Attending work experience
X | Non-compulsory-school-age pupil not required by timetable to attend
Y1 | Unable to attend because normally provided transport is unavailable
Y2 | Unable to attend because of widespread disruption to travel
Y3 | Unable to attend because part of the school premises is closed
Y4 | Unable to attend because the whole school is unexpectedly closed
Y5 | Unable to attend because the pupil is in criminal justice detention
Y6 | Unable to attend because attendance would be contrary to or prohibited by public-health law or guidance
Y7 | Unable to attend because of another unavoidable cause
Z | Name entered on the admission register in advance of the pupil's start date
# | Planned whole-school closure - no session takes place

21. Codes No Longer to Be Used

Older attendance codes F, H and J, and the former generic Y code, are no longer valid for current attendance recording. The current codes above must be used. Existing historic records should not be retrospectively rewritten solely because a code has since become inactive.

22. Promoting Attendance and Reintegration

Make pupils returning from absence feel welcome and supported.
Help pupils catch up with missed learning and rebuild routines.
Use mentoring, pastoral support and trusted-adult relationships to address barriers.
Celebrate improved or sustained attendance sensitively, with care not to penalise pupils for unavoidable absence.
Communicate attendance expectations regularly through induction, parent information, meetings, website information and direct contact.

23. Training

Staff with attendance responsibilities will receive appropriate training on the school's procedures, current attendance codes, safeguarding implications of absence, use of the electronic register, data quality and escalation routes. Attendance will form part of induction for relevant new staff.

24. Monitoring and Review

The Senior Attendance Champion and Senior Leadership Team will monitor implementation of this policy and review its effectiveness at least annually. The policy will be updated earlier where legislation, statutory guidance, funding requirements, safeguarding practice or SV Academy's operational arrangements change.

The policy will be published on the SV Academy website and made available to pupils, students, parents, carers, staff, referring schools and commissioners.

25. Key References

Policy reviewed and revised: September 2026
Next scheduled review: September 2027, or sooner if required.