Sherrier CE Primary School adopts the 5 Foundations of Effective Attendance Practice framework, this is modelled on the work of Professor Katherine Weare. The emphasis is on developing a school culture and climate which builds a sense of connectedness and belonging to ensure all children can attend school and thrive.  The approach ensures we prioritise building solid working relationships with children / parents prior to any escalation.  The staged approach we use ensures we identify triggers early that can lead to poor attendance issues such as mental health issues, lack of trust, communication and relationship breakdowns and the possible lack of networking opportunities both internal (in-school) and external (external agencies). 

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The Foundations framework has most recently been reviewed by the Department for Education.  The Foundations framework received an excellent report following the four-day review.   

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“The Foundations approach is an excellent example of best practice; there are very clear and detailed systems and procedures in place to manage absence and attendance consistently”.  (Michelle O’Dell DFE Attendance Advisor March 2022) 

 

At the beginning of each academic year and term we remind parents of our attendance expectations and raise awareness to how many sessions and lessons could be potentially be missed-see link below for parent letter and diagram of attendance expectations. See below for our Attendance Policy, The Five Foundations to Attendance Strategy, DFE 2022 Attendance Guidance and our Local Authority's Guidance.

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Sherrier CE Primary approach to supporting and improving school attendance

The Strategic Approach 

 

Aims of the strategy 

• Increase school Attendance and reduce Persistent Absence to meet set targets. 

• Ensure Attendance is well managed within the school, with the appropriate level of resources allocated. 

• Enable the school to make informed use of Attendance data to target interventions appropriately, focusing on the key demographic groups highlighted in the 2022 DFE paper. 

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Objectives

-create an ethos within the school in which good attendance is recognised as the norm and every child/young person aims for excellent attendance.

-make attendance and punctuality a priority.

-set focused targets to improve individual attendance and whole school attendance levels.

-embed the 5 Foundations of Effective Attendance Practice framework which defines agreed roles and responsibilities and promotes consistency in carrying out designated tasks with respect to promoting attendance and punctuality.

-record and monitor attendance and absenteeism and apply appropriate strategies to minimise absenteeism.

-develop a systematic approach to gathering and analysing relevant attendance data.

-provide support, advice and guidance to; parents, children and young people and develop mutual cooperation between home and the school in encouraging good attendance and in addressing identified attendance issues.

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Regular school attendance

Good attendance shows secondary schools that your child is reliable.

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Sherrier CE Primary School records details of all children’s attendance and absence from school. We do so at the beginning of morning and afternoon sessions. If your child is absent, you must inform the school immediately. The school will record the absence and the Local Authority will receive this information for each child. The Department of Education also receives annual attendance data for the school.

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Your responsibilities as a parent

By law, all children of compulsory school age must receive a suitable full-time education. For most parents, this means registering their child at a school. Although some parents choose to make other arrangements to provide a suitable, full-time education. Once your child is registered at Sherrier CE Primary School, the parent is legally responsible for making sure they attend on a regular basis.  If your child does not attend school on a regular basis, you could be subject to a fine or be prosecuted in court.

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How to prevent your child from missing school

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You can help prevent your child missing school by:

• making sure they understand the importance of good attendance and punctuality.

• taking an interest in their education, ask about schoolwork and encourage them to get involved in school activities.

• discussing any problems they may have at school and letting their teacher or principal know about anything serious.

• not letting children take time off school for minor ailments, particularly those which would not prevent you from going to work.

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To avoid disrupting your child’s education, you should arrange appointments and outings:

• after school hours.

• at weekends.

• during school holidays.

• You should not expect Sherrier CE Primary School to agree to your child going on holiday during term time.

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Sherrier's Procedures for Absence

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Illness

If your child is not well enough to attend school, please let us know as soon as possible on the first day by telephone (01455 552791) or e-mail (office@sherrier.embracemat.org). The school office has an answer phone attendance message service should the phone line be busy please leave us a message along with your child's name and class. The school may ask about your child’s illness, as serious contagious diseases such as chicken pox, Strep A might have implications for other children, their families and our staff. We ask that you let us know each day the child is not attending school or a date they may be able to return. Should we not hear from you and your child is absence we will call you before 9.30am to ascertain the reason to their absence, this is called a 'First Day Absence Call'. This is a polite safeguarding phone call to ensure all our Sherrier children are safe. 

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Medical Appointments

We would expect medical and dental appointments to take place outside school hours, but if children do need to be taken out of school to attend such appointments please ensure you inform the School Office in advance and supply a copy of the appointment letter, NHS e mail or text message or their prescription as proof. All children leaving school during the school day must be signed out at the School Office when they leave and then signed in when they return. Please enter via New Street gate only during school hours. 

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Lateness

It is very important that your child is punctual in arriving at school. Our school gates are open from 8.40am and close at 8.55am to begin our registration. Before registration (8.40-8.55am) children engage in a range of activities to practise key skills of times table, number recall, spellings and regular read to an adult. If your child is late they will be missing out on a lot of retrieval and rehearsal exercises to help them to remember what they have been learning. If for any reason they are late, please sign them in at the School Office via New Street gate only. Registration closes at 9.05am. If your child comes to school after this time but before their first lesson at 9.30am, they will be coded as 'Late' on their individual attendance register. Should your child arrive to school after 9.30am when their first lesson has begun, their absence will be recorded as unauthorised unless we have a valid reason whereby the coding will change to reflect this. 

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Other Absences including Leave of Absence requests 

If, exceptionally, you know that your child is going to be absent from school for any period of time (even if it is only part of a day) please seek the Headteacher’s authorisation in advance by completing the Leave of Absence Request Form available from the School Office and the link above. The Government and the school wish to discourage pupils from missing lessons and as such holiday requests during term time will not be authorised unless in exceptional circumstances. These are at the discretion of the Headteacher. If you request leave, you will be notified of the outcome via a letter. Please note you could be prosecuted and subject to a penalty notice/fine if you take unauthorised leave. 

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Support on school attendance 

A child’s school attendance can be affected if there are problems with: 

• Bullying. 

• Housing or care arrangements. 

• Transport to and from school. 

• Work and money. 

 

If your child starts missing school, you might not know there is a problem.  We value children's education and love it when our children are learning. If you have a concern about attendance or would like to discuss personal circumstances that prevent your child coming in to school please contact the school via our office e mail office@sherrier.embracemat.org or call us on 01455 552791 to speak to our Attendance Lead Mrs Kellie Kirby. 

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