CSF0136 - policy on school attendance

Children, Schools
& Families

POLICY ON SCHOOL ATTENDANCE

Published by
Children, Schools & Families
CSF0136

Children, Schools & Families

DOCUMENT ID NUMBER:
CSF0136

AUTHORISING OFFICER:
JULIA FINDLEY

AUTHORISING OFFICER SIGNATURE:

AUTHOR OF PUBLICATION:
LESLEY HEWITT

PUBLICATION DATE:
JUNE 2009

ISSUE NO:
ISSUE No.5
PUBLISHED BY Hertfordshire Children, Schools and Families

CONTENTS

No.
Details

Page(s)

1.

Introduction
2

2.

Statement
of
Intent   2

3.

Responsibilities
-
Parents
and
Carers
3

4.

Responsibilities
-
Schools   3
–
5

5.
Responsibilities – Attendance and Pupil Support Service

5 – 7

6.

The
Use
of
Legal
Action
7
–
8

7.

Attendance
Registers
8
–
10

8.
Punctuality

10 – 11

9.
Authorising Absence and Approved Educational Activity
11 – 12

10.
Family Holidays And Extended Trips Overseas During Term Time 13

Appendices

1.
Policy for Attendance Improvement Officers (AIO) working with
Children whose Absence has been Authorised

14

2.
The Marking of Attendance Registers

15

Policy on School Attendance
Page 1 of 18

June 2009
CSF0136
Issue No.5

1.
Introduction

1.1
Hertfordshire County Council is committed to achieving excellent levels of attendance
for individual children, individual schools and for Hertfordshire as a whole.
Underpinning this commitment is the belief that if children attend school regularly and
punctually they will be best able to take full advantage of the educational opportunities
available to them.

1.2
This Attendance Policy is intended to guide, assist and empower schools to meet their
responsibilities and to provide an agreed framework within which consistent practices
and procedures can be applied.

2.
Statement of Intent

2.1
Hertfordshire County Council expects the Children, Schools and Families Service and
all schools to work closely together in partnership with parents in order to achieve
excellent levels of school attendance and punctuality for all pupils.

3.
Responsibilities – Parents and Carers

3.1
Parents are responsible in law for ensuring that their children of compulsory school
age receive an efficient education suitable to their age, ability, aptitude and any special
educational needs that they may have. Most parents fulfil this responsibility by
registering their children at a school.

3.2
Parents whose children are registered at a school are responsible for ensuring that
their children attend and stay at school.

3.3 Parents
should:-

•  ensure that their children arrive at school on time, properly dressed and ready  to
learn

•  instil in their children an appreciation of the importance of attending school
regularly

•   impress upon their children the need to observe the school’s code of conduct.

•  take an active interest in their children’s school career, praising and encouraging
good work and behaviour and attending parents’ evenings and other relevant
meetings

•  work in partnership with their children’s school to resolve issues which may lead to
non-attendance

•  ensure that they are aware of the attendance policy of their children’s school

•  notify their child’s school if he/she is absent. This should be done as soon as
possible - preferably on the first day of absence. They should also provide an
explanation for the absence. This explanation should be confirmed - preferably in
writing - when the child returns to school

•  avoid arranging medical/dental appointments during school hours
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•  avoid booking holidays during term time

4.
Responsibilities - Schools

4.1
Schools are responsible for supporting the attendance of their pupils and for dealing
with problems that may lead to non-attendance.

4.2
Schools are required to call attendance registers at the start of the morning session
and once during the afternoon session and to record whether pupils are present,
absent or on an approved educational activity (see section 7).

4.3
For pupils of compulsory school age, schools are required to differentiate in the
registers between absence that is authorised and absence that is unauthorised (see
Section 7).

4.4 Schools
should:-

•  work actively to maximise attendance rates - both in relation to individual pupils
and for the pupil body as a whole - as one of their key tasks

•  support parents in ensuring the regular and punctual attendance of pupils and
promptly respond to any issue which may lead to non-attendance

•  be sensitive to the needs of individual parents and this should be reflected in the
way in which attendance issues are addressed. Schools should recognise that
some parents have difficulty understanding written communications. They should
also recognise the reluctance of some parents to come into school.

•  produce school attendance policies which are consistently applied and clearly
communicated to all parents, pupils and staff.

A school attendance policy should:-

•  ensure that legal requirements are met
•  give a high priority to attendance and punctuality
•  name the SMT member with overall responsibility for attendance
•  identify clear channels of communication with parents
•  ensure that up-to-date attendance data is available
•  identify what is considered as authorised/unauthorised absence
•  make provision for first-day of absence contact
•  contain clear procedures to identify and follow up all absence
•  prioritise the importance of early intervention
•  identify a range of strategies to deal with absenteeism (e.g. PSPs)
•  be alert to critical times ( e.g. secondary transfer )
•  be sensitive to individual pupils’ needs
•  promote the setting of targets for individual pupils, form groups etc.
•  establish systems for rewarding good/improved attendance
•  establish procedures for re-integrating long-term absentees
•  provide for regular meetings between the school and its allocated Attendance
Improvement Officer
•  establish clear lines of communication with outside agencies
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•  ensure that all staff adopt a consistent approach in dealing with absence and
lateness
•  provide for effective primary-secondary liaison
•  inform and involve governors
•  ensure that good practice is identified and disseminated
•  explain how attendance information will be shared with parents (newsletters etc)
•  be reviewed at regular intervals
•  make clear to parents that it is the school - not the parent - which authorises an
absence.
•  make clear to parents what is, and is not, acceptable as reasons for absence
•  state how lateness, both before and after closure of registers, is recorded and
monitored
•  make clear that leave for holidays during term time is granted only in exceptional
circumstances
•  address attendance from a whole school perspective. The link between attendance
and achievement should be actively promoted
•  encourage all staff - including ancillary and administrative staff - to see attendance
as part of their responsibility
•  actively address all issues - such as bullying – which may lead to non-attendance
•  explain that their allocated Attendance Improvement Officer (AIO) will be notified
of any pupil of compulsory school age who fails to attend school regularly

5.
Responsibilities – Attendance and Pupil Support Service

5.1
The Attendance and Pupil Support Service fulfils the statutory duty of the County
Council in enforcing regular school attendance. In doing so it enables schools and
parents to meet their respective responsibilities.

5.2
Each maintained school in Hertfordshire will be allocated an Attendance Improvement
Officer who will work in close partnership with the school.

5.4
In working closely with schools the Attendance Improvement Officer will offer the
following services:-

Consultation Visits

Consultation visits by the AIO will be allocated according to need. Need will be
identified using the school annual DCSF Absence data. The purpose of the
consultation visit will be to:-

•  identify pupils who are experiencing attendance difficulties. This will include the
regular examination of attendance registers

•  agree on focused, time-limited action which needs to be taken by the school and/or
the AIO. (Before accepting a referral the AIO will expect school staff to have first
undertaken some preliminary work themselves, eg action by the class teacher or
year head, contact with parents, etc)

•  feed back and exchange information in relation to work which has been undertaken
by the AIO and/or the school

•  identify areas of concern and of good practice in relation to attendance matters

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•  advise the school on strategies for improving attendance

Casework

AIOs may undertake pre-referral work prior to a case being accepted. This may
include the following:

•  telephoning or writing to the parents about their child’s absences or lateness
•  attending a meeting with parents arranged by the school to emphasise the need for
good attendance and the possibility that, if there is no improvement, the AIO will
become formally involved.

Once a referral has been agreed, the AIO will undertake casework with pupils and
their parents. This can include:

•  arranging meetings between the school, parents and pupils
•  making home visits to assess the situation and determine what action needs to be
taken
•  offering specific support to parents and individual pupils, either at school or
elsewhere
•  facilitating case conferences and other meetings
•  enabling the pupil and parents to access appropriate support from other services
and agencies through the use of Integrated Practice/Common Assessment process

The AIO may also arrange for the pupil to receive specialist support such as
counselling or group work.

Attendance Improvement Officers will usually work with children whose absences have
not been authorised. However, AIOs may work with children whose absences have
been authorised (see appendix 1)

In-service training for school staff

Attendance Improvement Officers will offer, or assist with, INSET sessions on a range
of subjects related to the attendance or welfare of pupils, including:-

•  the promotion of regular school attendance
•  approaches to dealing with bullying
•  working effectively with the AIO

6.
The Use of Legal Action

6.1
If a parent fails to register a child of compulsory school age at a school (and he/she
does not intend to educate the child otherwise than at school). The LA will serve a
School Attendance Order under Sections 437 - 439 of the Education Act 1996.

6.2
If a pupil who is registered at a school, fails to attend that school regularly without a
legitimate reason and attempts by the Attendance Improvement Officer and the school
fail to secure that pupil’s return to regular attendance, the County Council will take
legal action. A complaint may be laid against the parents in the Magistrates’ Court
under Section 444 of the Education Act 1996, or an Education Supervision Order
relating to the pupil under Section 36 of the Children Act 1989 will be applied for. Any
exceptional mitigating circumstances relating to the pupil’s absence will be taken into
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account, when considering legal action. (‘Exceptional mitigating circumstances’ will be
determined by the Head of Attendance and Pupil Support). If ‘exceptional mitigating
circumstances’ are not deemed to exist then cases which remain open for more than
24 weeks will be referred for legal action. Legal action will, however, be taken earlier
when appropriate.

6.3
If, after legal action has been taken, the child still fails to attend school regularly the
AIO will keep the case open and will, if appropriate, take further legal action at a
subsequent date.

6.4
In cases where parents wilfully withhold a pupil from school, or persistently refuse to
co-operate with efforts aimed at affecting a return to satisfactory school attendance,
the Attendance and Pupil Support Team will promptly begin legal proceedings on the
grounds that no other course of action is available.

6.5
The Head of Attendance and Pupil Support will give approval before legal proceedings
are commenced.

6.6
The Attendance and Pupil Support Team will consider applying for an Education
Supervision Order when a parent finds it difficult to exercise an effective influence over
a child who has developed a pattern of poor attendance. Education Supervision
Orders will not usually be applied for in relation to pupils in Years 10 or 11.

6.7   Before an application is made for an Education Supervision Order:

•  other possible means of dealing with the pupil’s poor attendance will be explored
•  the attitudes of the parent and pupil towards the poor attendance, and their wishes
as to how it should be dealt with, will be noted
•  the AIO will be of the view that the Order will have a significant effect on the pupil’s
attendance at school

6.8   Penalty Notices for Parents of Truants:
Subsection (1) of section 23 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 adds two new
sections (444A and 444B) to section 444 of the Education Act 1996. These new
sections introduce penalty notices as an alternative to prosecution and enable parents
to discharge potential liability for conviction for that offence by paying a penalty.

A penalty notice is a suitable intervention in circumstances of parentally condoned truancy,
where the parent is judged capable of securing their child’s regular attendance but is not
willing to take responsibility for doing so. For example it could be used where a parent has
failed to engage in any supportive measures. It will be particularly useful as a sanction at an
early stage before attendance problems become entrenched and where the Local
Authority considers that a prosecution would not be appropriate as a first action.

Further information on penalty notices is available from the Attendance & Pupil
Support Service.

7.
Attendance Registers

7.1
Attendance registers are legal documents that may be required as evidence in court
cases.

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7.2
Registers must be taken at the beginning of each morning and once during the
afternoon session. If the register is called at the end of the afternoon session schools
should ensure that adequate arrangements are in place to ensure that pupils do not
leave school between registrations. They should ensure that pupils can be accounted
for in an emergency and that a pupil removed from the school at lunchtime will not go
unnoticed.

7.3
Registers must record whether each pupil is present, absent or engaged in an
approved educational activity. In the case of a pupil of compulsory school age who is
absent the register must also indicate whether the absence has been authorised by
the school.

7.4
Registers should open and close at regular, set times. They should not be kept open
for longer than 30 minutes.

7.5
When calling the register the appropriate mark and/or symbol should be placed
against each pupil’s name - gaps should not be left so that entries can be made later.
In marking registers, schools must use the national set of symbols as required by the
DCSF (see Appendix 2.)

7.6
When the reason for a pupil’s absence cannot be established at the beginning of a
session, the absence should be recorded as unauthorised and any subsequent
correction to the register made as soon as practicable after the reason for the absence
has been established.

7.7
Entries in manual registers should be written in red or black ink and any correction
made in such a manner that the original entry and the correction are both clearly
distinguishable (tippex should not be used).

7.8
In order to reduce the possibility of post registration truancy secondary schools are
encouraged to take class registers in each lesson and/or carry out regular spot
checks.

7.9
Schools are required to notify their AIO of any pupil of compulsory school age who
fails to attend school regularly, or who has been absent for a continuous period of
more than 10 school days, without a legitimate reason. In Hertfordshire this is
achieved through the regular consultation visits of the AIO. Primary schools who do
not have regular consultation visits should notify their attached AIO.

7.10  A pupil’s name may not be deleted from the attendance register unless it has also
been deleted from the admissions register.

7.11  A pupil of compulsory school age shall have his/her name deleted from the admissions
register when:

•   the pupil is registered at the school in accordance with the requirements of a
School Attendance Order and another school is substituted by the LA for that
named in the Order or the Order is revoked

•  the pupil has been registered at another school. (Schools can register Traveller
children even if they are on the roll of another school. The school the child
normally attends is the base school; the other registration is temporary)

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•  the school has received written notification from the parent that they are educating
the pupil themselves. (Elective Home Education)

•  the pupil has ceased to attend the school and no longer lives within a reasonable
distance of the school

•  in the case of a pupil granted leave of absence exceeding 10 days for the purpose
of a holiday, the pupil has failed to attend the school within the 10 school days
immediately following the last day of absence which was granted and the school is
not satisfied that the pupil is unable to attend the school by reason of sickness or
any unavoidable cause

•  the pupil is certified by the School Medical Officer as unlikely to be in a fit state of
health to attend school before ceasing to be of compulsory school age

•  the pupil has been continuously absent from school for a period of not less than 20
school days and both the school and the AIO have failed, after reasonable enquiry,
to locate him/her. In such cases the school should ensure that form EWN1 is sent
to the Attendance and Pupil Support Team in the local area office in order that
efforts can be made to trace the pupil. This may involve contacting other relevant
agencies and Authorities that may be able to provide further information (see 7.12).

•  the pupil has died

•  the pupil will cease to be of compulsory school age before the school next meets
and intends to cease to attend. (All registered pupils are required to remain at
school until the leaving date - last Friday in June. “At school” includes for these
purposes approved educational activities undertaken off site, including work
experience).

•  the pupil has been permanently excluded and the exclusion has been upheld

•  the pupil has been admitted to the school to receive nursery education and has not
on completing such education transferred to a reception class at the school

•  the pupil attends a special school and the LA gives consent for his/her name to be
removed

7.12  If a school is told that a pupil is leaving to attend another school, staff at the school of
departure should establish the pupil’s new address, the name and address of the new
school and the date the pupil will start there. Confirmation should then be sought from
the receiving school. When this information has been obtained, the school should
complete form EWN1 and return it to the local Attendance and Pupil Support Team
office. Whenever a pupil leaves a school a Common Transfer File (CTF) must be
completed. If a school is concerned about any aspect of a transfer or if a pupil has
“disappeared” the matter should be drawn without delay to the attention of the Children
Missing Education Officer. E mail [email address]

7.13  When a pupil’s name is removed from the admissions register the school should notify
the Children, Schools & Families Pupil Support Team.

7.14  If the allocated AIO is concerned that a school’s registers have not been kept in
accordance with the requirements of the relevant regulations he/she will:
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•  notify the headteacher of the concern and suggest that the matter is addressed

•  if no appropriate action is taken by the school, and the AIO remains concerned, the
Attendance and Pupil Support Team Manager will address the concern with the
Headteacher

•  if the matter still remains unresolved, the Team Manager will write to the
Headteacher formally noting the concern. A copy of this letter will be sent to the
Head of Attendance and Pupil Support

7.15  When a pupil is jointly registered at an Education Support Centre and at a mainstream
school the name of that pupil should not be removed from the register of either the
school or the Centre without the consent of headteacher.

7.16  Registers should be made available for inspection by Attendance Improvement
Officers when requested.

7.17  Registers should be kept in a secure place for a period of not less than 3 years.

7.18  When computerised registration systems are used a print-out of the register should be
made not less than once a month. A print-out of the register relating to a particular
school year should be bound in a single volume and retained for a period of not less
than 3 years.

8.
Punctuality

8.1
Schools should take steps to actively encourage excellent levels of punctuality.
Lateness should be monitored and followed up.

8.2
School policies and brochures should clearly state the time at which each school
session begins and finishes, including the time at which registers open and close. In
recognition of local circumstances (for example, a special school at which most pupils
arrive by taxi or public transport) registers may be kept open for a reasonable period
(DCSF guidance state no longer than 30 minutes ).

8.3
When a pupil arrives late and the register is still open he/she should be marked as
‘late’ but counted as present for that session.

8.4
When a pupil arrives after the register has closed and provides a satisfactory
explanation, he/she should be marked as ‘authorised absent’ for that session.

8.5
When a pupil arrives after the register has closed and fails to provide a satisfactory
explanation, he/she should be marked as ‘unauthorised absent’ for that session.

8.6
When a pupil arrives late having missed registration, his/her presence on site should
be noted in a book in the school office for purposes of emergency evacuation, etc.

9.
Authorising Absence and Approved Educational Activity

9.1
Only the school can authorise an absence. The fact that a parent has provided a note
or other explanation (telephone call or personal contact) in relation to a particular
absence does not, of itself, oblige the school to accept it if the school does not accept
the explanation offered as a valid reason for absence. If, after further investigation
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doubt remains about the explanation offered - or when no explanation is forthcoming
at all - the absence should be treated as unauthorised.

9.2
Schools should communicate to parents their policies with regard to the notification
and categorisation of absence. Some parents, such as those whose first language is
not English or who do not read or write may experience difficulty in providing notes. In
such cases schools should seek to make alternative arrangements.

9.3
Schools are encouraged to keep all absence notes for at least a term and when a
pupil’s absence is a cause for concern to retain the notes until there is no longer a
concern.

9.4
Absence should be authorised if:

•  the pupil is absent with leave (defined as ‘leave granted by any person authorised
to do so by the governing body or proprietor of the school’)

•  the pupil is ill or prevented from attending by any unavoidable cause

•  the absence occurs on a day exclusively set aside for religious observance by the
religious body to which the pupil’s parent belongs

•  the school at which the child is a registered pupil is not within walking distance of
the child’s home; and no suitable arrangements have been made by the LA for any
of the following:

i) the child’s transport to and from school

ii) boarding accommodation for the child at or near the school

iii) enabling the child to become a registered pupil at a school nearer

to his/her home

•  the pupil is the child of Traveller parents who temporarily leave the area giving
reasonable indication of their intention to return

•  there is a family bereavement
•  a Year 11 pupil is granted study leave (this should not normally exceed 10 school
days)

•  leave of absence is granted by the school for a family holiday of no more than 10
school days (or in ‘exceptional circumstances’ for more than 10 school days).
Parents should be reminded that they cannot expect, as of right, that the school will
agree to a family holiday during term time

9.5
Absence should be unauthorised if no explanation is forthcoming from the parents or if
the school is dissatisfied with the explanation.

9.6
Pupils who are engaged in off-site educational activities should be recorded as
approved educational activity. For statistical purposes such pupils are counted as
present even though they are physically absent. A pupil should be recorded as
approved educational activity if he/she is on:

•  an approved work experience placement
•  a field trip or educational visit
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•  an approved sporting activity
•  a link course
•  the pupil is attending an interview with a prospective employer
•  or for a place at university, college, or a place at another school
•  receiving special tuition at another school (or at an ESC)

(Note: If a pupil is attending an ESC under dual registration procedures the base
school should always confirm that he/she is actually attending the ESC before marking
him/her as ‘approved educational activity’.  Also it should only mark the pupil as
‘approved educational activity’ on those days when he/she is due to attend the ESC;
on days when he/she is not due to attend the ESC he/she (unless attending the base
school) should be marked as ‘authorised absent’).

The key features of approved educational activity are that they are:

i) educational and directly linked to the school’s programme
ii) approved by the school
iii) supervised by the school or someone authorised by the school

(Study leave is not an approved educational activity.)

Schools should ensure that in the event of a fire drill or other emergency evacuation
they are able to carry out an immediate headcount as to the number of pupils
physically present on-site.

10.
Family Holidays and Extended Trips Overseas During Term Time*

10.1 Schools
should:

•  regularly communicate to parents their policies regarding term-time holidays
•  actively discourage parents from arranging term-time holidays
•  remind parents that they cannot expect leave of absence for the purpose of a
holiday to be
•  granted as of right ( schools do have a discretionary power to grant up to 10 school
days in any school year)
•  grant more than 10 days only in ‘exceptional circumstances’

* Guidance on family holidays and extended trips overseas during term-time is
available from the Attendance & Pupil Support Service.

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Appendix 1

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Policy for Attendance Improvement Officers working with children whose absence has
been authorised

•  if the AIO becomes concerned (through checking the attendance register) that a pupil has
accumulated significant amounts of authorised absence this will be discussed with the
relevant member of school staff

•  if it is agreed that there is a concern about the pupil’s attendance the school should share
this concern with the parents

•  if concerns about the pupil’s attendance remain, the AIO will consider accepting the
referral in accordance with the Attendance and Pupil Support Service referral procedures

•  if the AIO, after making contact with the parents, is of the opinion that the absence is in
fact unjustified he/she will advise the school to discontinue authorising the absence
•  AIO will give priority to those cases when the absence has been unauthorised

(Note: if a pupil’s absence has been authorised by the school the LA cannot cite that
absence as evidence of non attendance under Section 444 of the Education Act 1996.)
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Appendix 2

ATTENDANCE CODES, DESCRIPTIONS AND MEANINGS

CODE DESCRIPTION
MEANING

/
Present (AM)
Present
\
Present (PM)
Present
B
Educated off site (NOT Dual registration)
Approved Education Activity
C
Other Authorised Circumstances (not covered by
Authorised absence
another appropriate code/description)
D
Dual registration (i.e. pupil attending other
Approved Education Activity
establishment)
E
Excluded (no alternative provision made)
Authorised absence
F
Extended family holiday (agreed)
Authorised absence
G
Family holiday (NOT agreed or days in excess of
Unauthorised absence
agreement)
H
Family holiday (agreed)
Authorised absence
I
Illness (NOT medical or dental etc. appointments)
Authorised absence
J
Interview
Approved Education Activity
L
Late (before registers closed)
Present
M
Medical/Dental appointments
Authorised absence
N
No reason yet provided for absence
Unauthorised absence
O
Unauthorised absence (not covered by any other
Unauthorised absence
code/description)
P
Approved sporting activity
Approved Education Activity
R
Religious observance
Authorised absence
S
Study leave
Authorised absence
T
Traveller absence
Authorised absence
U
Late (after registers closed)
Unauthorised absence
V
Educational visit or trip
Approved Education Activity
W
Work experience
Approved Education Activity
X
School closed to pupils
Not counted in possible attendances
Y
Enforced closure
Not counted in possible attendances
Z
Do not use
Not counted in possible attendances
I
Non- compulsory school age absence
Not counted in possible attendances
#
School closed to pupils & staff
Not counted in possible attendances
*
Pupil not on roll
Not counted in possible attendances
-
All should attend/No mark recorded
Not counted in possible attendances

Further information on the correct use of these symbols can be found at :
www.dcsf.gov.uk/schoolattendance/otherinitiatives/absence.cfm from which a Word document
entitled Guidance for Absence Codes can be downloaded.
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