Attendance Matters

All schools have a duty to secure the regular attendance of their students through

• regular monitoring of non-attendance
• early identification of causes for concern
• swift communication with pupils, parents or carers about the problem
• finding a resolution to problems and securing return to regular attendance

 

Attendance

The Compass Primary Academy recognise that attending school daily and on time has a positive impact on learning and progress and the best chances for our children to succeed. We must therefore ensure that attendance and punctuality are the highest in order to prepare our children for their future adult life. 

It is a parents and carers responsibility to ensure that their child attends school regularly and arrives on time every day. Therefore, we constantly monitor and review the attendance and punctuality of all of our children.

Our school day starts at 8:50am and the expectation we have for all children attending The Compass Primary Academy is 97% attendance and to arrive to school on time.

We promote and encourage excellent attendance and punctuality by working collaboratively with parents and carers and by acting early to address patterns of absence. The Wellbeing Team will invite parents and carers to attendance surgeries should they be concerned about a child's attendance. They can offer support and guidance and if required, support through an Early Help Assessment.

There is clear evidence that any absences from school can and will have an impact on a child's attainment. At Compass Primary Academy, we have attendance and punctuality strategies in place to ensure that our children's attendance and punctuality are the best they can be.

 

Celebrating Attendance

Children who have achieved 97% attendance or above, along with no late marks, will receive a small prize at the end of each full term. This will be calculated accumulatively, taking their attendance and punctuality from the beginning of the academic year.

We also recognise that for some children, it may not be possible to achieve 97% attendance or above during the academic year due to adverse situations, such as ongoing medical appointments, operations or another unforeseen circumstance. To celebrate the efforts of those children, who strive to attend school when it is physically possible, they will be invited to attend a reward. If a child's attendance has significantly improved, they may also be invited to attend this event.

 

Reporting an Absence

Should your child be absent from school, it is a parents or carers responsibility to notify the school office by 9.15am. School needs to be notified on each day of your child's absence by calling 01536 532707.

 

Home visits

Parents and carers should be aware that home visits are completed by all Brooke Weston schools as a standard procedure when children are absent from school. Should the Wellbeing team have any safeguarding concerns for a particular child, home visits will be completed to these families in the first instance. All children will be visited on day 3 consecutive absence. Home visits allow school staff to see the child and discuss the absence with the parents or carers and offer support if it is required.

 

Punctuality 

Parents have a legal responsibility to ensure that their child is not late for school. This can be extremely disruptive to a child's daily routine, this also means that they miss a considerable amount of valuable learning time.

Minutes late per day	Equivalent of missing
5 Minutes	3.4 School days a year
10 Minutes	6.9 School days a year
15 Minutes	10.3 School days a year
20 Minutes	13.8 School days a year
30 Minutes	20.7 School days a year

Should your child arrive late, it is important that they enter the school via our Main Reception in order to be signed in. If your child is late due to attending an appointment, we ask medical evidence is provided to support this.

The Wellbeing Team regularly monitor children's punctuality and if a child is identified as being persistently late, parents and carers will be invited in to a Punctuality Surgery meeting to discuss this and a target will be set to reduce lateness.

 

Facts for parents and carers 

Parents and carers are legally obliged to ensure their child attends school regularly and may be fined or prosecuted if they fail to ensure regular attendance or take their child on holiday during term time. The Academy is not legally allowed to authorise holidays and absence is only permitted and authorised for genuine illness (medical evidence may be required) or days of religious observance. 

 

Leave during Term Time

Should parents or carers take their children out of school during term time, they are required to complete a Leave during term time form prior to the absence, notifying of the duration of leave and the reason for the absence. These forms can be collected from the Main Reception.

Brooke Weston Academies and the Local Authority are continuing to work together to reduce the amount of leave taken in term time by issuing Penalty Notices under Section 444(1) of the Education Act 1996 (amended regulation 2013)

Parents and carers need to be aware that as of Monday 25th April 2016, NCC changed their Code of Conduct, which meant a Penalty Notice could be issued for 5 days of absence (10 sessions).

Periods of leave taken during term time will not be authorised. Referrals will be made to the Education Inclusion Partnership Team (EIPT) for 5 days of absence, where more consideration will be given to issue a Penalty Notice.

For further advice and guidance about school attendance and absences please use the following links:

• https://www.gov.uk/school-attendance-absence/overview
•  Penalty Notices for Absences Code of Conduct - August 2016 (PDF format 276KB)
• Visit the Department for Education

The Public Health Agency have put together a useful guide on Inflection Control in schools. Please click here to view the guide.

Wellbeing Team

Safeguarding Officer is Mrs Fran Dunn                                                                                 

Email: fdunn@compassprimary.org

Education Welfare Assistant is Ms Dawn Gillett

Email: dgillett@compassprimary.org

Attendance Team

The Senior Leader with responsibility for Attendance is Mrs Jo Fallowell.

The Education Welfare Assistant responsible for Attendance is Ms Dawn Gillett.