School and our day to day process for managing attendance: 

• The school day begins at 8:40am and finishes at 3:15pm for Early Years and Key Stage 1 (Year 1 and Year 2) and 3:20 pm for Key Stage 2 (Year 3, 4, 5 and 6). 
• Morning registration takes place between 8:40am and 8:50am 
• If a child arrives after 8:50am but before 9:00am when the register formally closes, they will receive an L code 
• School asks Parents/Carers of late children to sign children into school on the electronic sign in, with a reason why they are late. Parents/Carers will need to bring their children to the school office as all other school doors/gates will be locked. Staff will record how many minutes late the pupil is and the reason they are late on Arbor. Parents/Carers who consistently bring their children to school late will be called in to a meeting with the Headteacher. 
• If a child arrives after 9:00am and a suitable reason has been given, a U code – unauthorised absence – will be used 
• If a child arrives after 9:00am and the reason for absence has not yet been established, an N code will be used until school can establish the reason for the child’s absence. Once the reason for the absence has been ascertained, the correct absence code should be entered but no more than 5 school days after the session 
• If a child arrives after 9:00am but before the end of the session a U code – unauthorised – will be used 
• When no reason for absence is established or the school is not satisfied that the reason given is one that would be recorded using one of the codes statistically classified as authorised, then an O code will be used 
• Afternoon registration takes place from 12:55pm until 1:05pm 
• If a child arrives after 1:05pm but before 1:25pm when the register formally closes, they will receive an L code. The same process and codes for the morning session will apply to the afternoon session. 
• Notifications by Parents/Carers of pupil absences are recorded on Arbor to track attendance. 
• Our Admin team are responsible for first day calling and recording information received if parents have not contacted the school 
• If no contact and/or explanation for absence form Parents/Carers has been received on the second day, the School Attendance Champion will begin the process to establish contact 
• School will ask the Police to make a Welfare Call or make a referral to Social Care if Parents/Carers continually fail to answer phone calls or give reasons for absence for children with poor attendance 
• Staff use Arbor to record attendance and the school uses the Department for Education absence and attendance codes as outlined in Working together to improve school attendance 
• Pupils may be marked as unable to attend due to exceptional circumstances e.g. serious disruption to travel caused by the weather or an emergency school closure. 
• The Headteacher or appropriate senior leader has responsibility for considering all leave of absence for exceptional circumstances including holidays, and will only authorise such requests in exceptional circumstances as stated in Working together to improve school attendance  
• Poor attendance is monitored and if necessary, Parents/Carers will be asked to an informal meeting with the School Attendance Champion to address the problems 
• Pupils who go below 93% attendance will be contacted by the School Attendance Champion notifying them of this and asking to work together to improve the attendance 
• Persistent Absence – With effect from 1st September 2015, a pupil will be deemed to be a ‘persistent absentee’ where their attendance falls below 90%. Missing this amount of school has a significant, detrimental impact on a child’s learning. Parents/Carers will be asked to attend a meeting with the Headteacher/School Attendance Champion to identify how we can work together to improve their child’s attendance 
• The Headteacher/School Attendance Champion will liaise with the Early Help Service if a Family Outreach Worker is involved with the family. 
• Promotion of regular school attendance will take place on a daily basis 
• Parents/Carers will be asked to provide medical evidence for children with poor attendance due to illness. 

Regular analysis of attendance and absence data will take place to identify pupils or cohorts that require support with their attendance and put effective strategies in place. Please see the chart below on effective school attendance improvement and management 

Pupils: 

• All pupils should be aware of the importance of regular school attendance. If a pupil is having difficulties which might be preventing them from attending school regularly, they should speak to their class teacher, Headteacher or the School Attendance Champion  
• Pupils are expected to attend school regularly and to be on time for registration and ready to learn.  

Parents and Carers: 

• If a pupil is prevented from attending school because of sickness (both physical or mental health related) it is the responsibility of the parent to contact the school on the first day of their child’s absence. An I code will be given in this instance. If contact is not made with the school, an unauthorised mark – Code N – will be given until sufficient written or verbal confirmation of the absence is received. 
• Pupils arriving late should be brought to the school office. Parents/Carers will then sign the late register on the electronic sign in, giving reasons for lateness. These records are monitored weekly and Parents/Carers of pupils who are regularly late are invited to school to discuss support measures with the School Attendance Champion. 
• Wherever possible, Parents/Carers should avoid making medical/dental appointments for their children during school hours. The school will request that proof of appointments be shown to the staff in the School Office. If proof is not provided, a U code – unauthorised absence – will be used 
• If a Parent/Carer wishes to request a leave of absence they should complete a Leave of Absence During Term Time Request Form and return it to the school office. This form can be obtained from the school office. This form must be fully completed and clear. 
• Parents/Carers do not have the right to take children out of school for a holiday during term time. A Parent/Carer wishing to apply for a leave of absence for exceptional circumstances will need to apply using the Leave of Absence During Term Time Request Form. This form is available from the office. Requests should be applied for 6 school weeks before the absence is required. Parents/Carers will receive a written response within a few days.  
• It is an expectation that Parents/Carers will work with school and/or other local partners to resolve attendance issues 
• As absence is so often a symptom of wider issues a family is facing, schools, trusts and local authorities should always work together with other local partners to understand the barriers to attendance and provide support. Where that is not successful, or is not engaged with, the law protects pupils’ right to an education and provides a range of legal interventions to formalise attendance improvement efforts, and where all other avenues have been exhausted, enforce it through prosecuting parents. Attendance legal intervention can only be used for pupils of compulsory school age and decisions should be made on an individual case by case basis 

The law on school attendance and the right to full-time education 

Under the 1996 Education Act, Parents and Carers are responsible for ensuring their children attend school regularly and punctually. Failure to do so could result in legal intervention taking place  

The law entitles every child of compulsory school age to an efficient, full-time education suitable to their age, aptitude, and any special educational need they may have. It is the legal responsibility of every parent to make sure their child receives that education either by attendance at a school or by education otherwise than at a school.   

Where Parents/Carers decide to have their child registered at school, they have an additional legal duty to ensure their child attends that school regularly. This means their child must attend every day that the school is open, except in a small number of allowable circumstances such as being too ill to attend or being given permission for an absence in advance from the school.   

This is essential for pupils to get the most out of their school experience, including their attainment, wellbeing, and wider life chances. The pupils with the highest attainment at the end of key stage 2 have higher rates of attendance over the key stage compared to those with the lowest attainment. At key stage 2, pupils not meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths had an overall absence rate of 4.7%, compared to 3.5% among those meeting the expected standard. Moreover, the overall absence rate of pupils not meeting the expected standard was higher than among those meeting the higher standard (4.7% compared to 2.7%).   

For the most vulnerable pupils, regular attendance is also an important protective factor and the best opportunity for needs to be identified and support provided. Research has shown associations between regular absence from school and a number of extrafamilial harms, including crime (the proportion of children that had been cautioned or sentenced for any offence that had ever been persistently absent was 81% and for serious violence offence was 85%)  

The school admission register, sometimes known as the ‘the school roll’, must be kept in accordance with the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024. Regulation 8 sets out the contents of the admission register   

All schools can grant a leave of absence when a pupil needs to be absent from school with permission. All schools are expected to restrict leaves of absence to the specific circumstances set out in regulation 11 of the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 and schools maintained by a local authority and special schools not maintained by a local authority must do so.