Co-op Academy Woodlands is committed to providing a full education to all pupils that embraces the concept of equal opportunities for all. We provide a welcoming and caring environment where every pupil feels safe and valued. Regular attendance and excellent punctuality are essential in ensuring pupils make sustained academic progress and social development.

The academy works in partnership with pupils and their parents or carers to promote the importance of regular and punctual attendance. Regular and punctual attendance is vital in ensuring that all children have full access to the curriculum, as valuable learning time is lost when pupils are absent or late.

The purpose of this policy is to ensure excellent attendance for all, that maximises pupil potential. As an academy, we recognise that regular attendance has a positive impact on the motivation and attainment of pupils. As such, this policy serves to give clear guidance to all stakeholders on their roles and responsibilities; provide advice and information on statutory duties of parents/carers and the Academy, and demonstrate how the Academy will work in partnership with families, the local authority and other organisations to support the best possible attendance of all pupils.

Throughout this policy we will demonstrate our commitment to:

Setting high expectations for the attendance and punctuality of all pupils
Promoting good attendance and the benefits of good attendance
Reducing absence, including persistent and severe absence
Ensuring every pupil has access to the full-time education to which they are entitled
Acting early to address patterns of absence
Building strong relationships with families to ensure pupils have the right support to attend school

Co-op Academies Trust believes there are fundamental principles behind great school attendance. These have been laid out here in our Attendance Principles - and underpin the spirit and content of this policy. In our whole school approach to raising and maintaining excellent attendance, we aim to work with pupils and families to listen, understand, empathise, and support families - whilst continuing to challenge poor attendance and maintain the highest of expectations of all of our pupils.

The Importance of School Attendance

Regular attendance at school is vital to support pupils to achieve and help them get the best possible start in life. Good attendance is central to pupils’ academic achievement and personal development.

Research shows that going to school is directly linked to improved exam performance which should in turn lead to further learning opportunities and better job prospects.

As well as this, going to school helps to develop:

friendships
social skills
team values
life skills
cultural awareness
career pathways

We know that 90% of persistent non-attenders do not achieve expected levels of development at KS1 and KS2 and do not gain five or more good GCSEs. Around one-third achieve no GCSEs at all. At KS2, 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. At KS4, pupils not achieving grade 9 to 4 in English and maths had an overall absence rate of 8.8%, compared to 5.2% for those achieving grade 4. The overall absence rate of pupils not achieving grade 9 to 4 was twice as high as those achieving 9 to 5 (8.8% compared to 3.7%).

Young people who regularly miss school without good reason are also more likely to become isolated from their friends, underachieve in examinations, and/or become involved in anti-social behaviour. In addition, Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024, makes clear the fact that Children Missing Education are at significant risk of being victims of harm, exploitation, or radicalisation, and becoming NEET (not in education, employment, or training) later in life. For the most vulnerable pupils, research has shown associations between regular absence from school and 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%). Regular attendance is therefore one of the most important protective factors and the best opportunity for needs to be identified and support provided.

Attendance and Punctuality - Lost Learning Hours

Attendance	Impact	Hours Lost per year	Minutes Late Each Day	Impact per year
100%	0 Days Lost	0 Hours Lost	5 minutes	3.5 Days Lost
95%	9 Days Lost	45 Hours Lost	10 minutes	7 Days Lost
90%	19 Days Lost	95 Hours Lost	15 minutes	10.5 Days Lost
85%	28 Days Lost	140 Hours Lost	20 minutes	14 Days Lost
80%	38 Days Lost	190 Hours Lost	25 minutes	17.5 Days Lost
70%	46 Days Lost	230 Hours Lost	30 minutes	21 Days Lost

Legislation and Guidance

This policy meets the requirements of the statutory guidance: Working Together to Improve School Attendance from the Department for Education (DfE), and refers to the DfE’s statutory guidance on School Attendance Parental Responsibility Measures. These documents are drawn from the following legislation setting out the legal powers and duties that govern school attendance:

- Part 6 of The Education Act 1996

- Part 3 of The Education Act 2002

- Part 7 of The Education and Inspections Act 2006

- The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 (2010, 2011, 2013, 2016 amendments)

- The Education (Penalty Notices) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013

It also refers to:

School census guidance

Keeping Children Safe in Education, 2024

Mental health issues affecting a pupil's attendance: guidance for schools

Roles and Responsibilities

Trust Board

The Trust Board is responsible for:

Setting Trust-wide policy, ensuring that this meets statutory requirements and is adopted by all of the Trust’s academies
Setting high expectations of trust leaders in relation to student attendance
Regularly reviewing and challenging Trust-wide attendance data and holding Trust leaders to account around the application of the Trust policy

Trust Senior Leadership Team (SLT)

The Trust's central SLT is responsible for:

Promoting the importance of student attendance across the Trust
Making sure school leaders fulfil expectations and statutory duties
Holding school leaders to account for the application of this policy and the impact of this on attendance data
Reviewing and challenging attendance data on a regular basis

The Headteacher and Academy Senior Leadership Team

The Headteacher and SLT will offer a clear vision for attendance, underpinned by high expectations, the Co-op Ways of Being and our core values, which are communicated to and understood by staff, pupils and families. SLT will make sure staff, pupils and families understand that absence from school is a potential safeguarding risk and understand their role in keeping children safe in education. SLT will actively promote great attendance at all levels of the organisation to build up a culture of great attendance.

To do this, the Headteacher and all of the senior leadership team will be responsible for:

Implementation of this policy at the school
Monitoring attendance figures for the whole school and reporting these to the Trust’s SLT
Making sure staff receive adequate training on attendance so they understand:

The importance of good attendance
That absence is almost always a symptom of wider issues
The school’s legal requirements for keeping registers
The school’s strategies for tracking, following up on and improving attendance

Making sure dedicated training is provided to staff with a specific attendance function in their role, including in interpreting and analysing attendance data
Using detailed and granular data analysis to lead on all universal strategies and interventions
Supporting staff with monitoring the attendance of individual pupils
Monitoring the impact of any implemented attendance strategies
Issuing fixed-penalty notices, where necessary
Working with the parents of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)
Communicating with Local Authority when a pupil with an (EHC) plan has falling attendance
Communicating the school’s high expectations for attendance and punctuality regularly to pupils

Senior Attendance Champion - (Adele Clark - adele.clark@coopacademies.co.uk)

The senior attendance champion is the strategic lead for attendance and is responsible for leading attendance across the school including:

Leading, championing and improving attendance across the school
Setting a clear vision for improving and maintaining good attendance
Evaluating and monitoring expectations and processes
Having a strong grasp of absence data and oversight of absence data analysis
Regularly monitoring and evaluating progress in attendance
Establishing and maintaining effective systems for tackling absence robustly QAing
Liaising with pupils, parents/carers and external agencies, where needed
Building productive relationships with parents to discuss and tackle attendance issues
Creating intervention or reintegration plans in partnership with pupils and parents/carers
Delivering targeted intervention and support to pupils and families

Attendance Officer - (Vicky Wilson - vicky.wilson@coopacademies.co.uk & Lynda Anderson - Lynda.anderson@coopacademies.co.uk

The school attendance officer is responsible for:

Ensuring absence procedures are followed in line with this policy and the Trust Principles
Entering codes accurately and keeping the attendance register in line with legislation
Keeping records of reasons for absence for detailed analysis
Monitoring and analysing attendance data (see section 7)
Benchmarking attendance data to identify areas of focus for improvement
Providing regular attendance reports to school staff and reporting concerns about attendance SLT
Working with education welfare officers/attendance support to tackle persistent absence
Working as part of the safeguarding team to report and follow up on concerns
Advising the Headteacher when to issue fixed-penalty notices

Class Teachers

Class teachers are responsible for:

Recording attendance on a daily basis, using the present mark or the N code only
Recording all attendance, accurately, on ARBOR (MIS)
Recording registers in a timely manner
Giving attendance a high profile and emphasising the importance of school attendance
Making pupils feel welcome and supporting them after an absence or when late to school
Helping pupils catch up on missed subject content after absences

School Office Staff

School office staff may be responsible for taking calls from parents/carers and pupils about absence on a day-to-day basis and recording it accurately. They will also transfer calls from parents/carers and pupils to the correct pastoral staff, attendance officers or SLT in order to provide them with more detailed support on attendance. They will input late codes (L or U) accurately and ensure that late students and students leaving during the day are accounted for. Office staff work closely with the attendance and safeguarding team.

Parents/carers

Parents/carers are expected to:

Make sure their child attends every on-time
Call the school to report their child’s absence, before 8.45am, on the day of the absence and each subsequent day of absence, and advise when they are expected to return
Provide the school with more than one emergency contact number for their child
Ensure that, where possible, appointments for their child are made outside of the school day and to bring their child to school before or after appointments where possible.
Keep to any attendance contracts that are made and accept support when it is offered
Inform the right people, as early as possible, if there are any challenges around attendance.

Pupils

Pupils are expected to:

Attend school every day on time
Let school staff know if there are any difficulties at school or home to allow the school to support

Reporting Absence

Parents/Carers will be expected to provide an acceptable reason for every absence and will be able to report an absence on the day by contacting:

The Attendance Team before 8.45am on 0113 2407382 to explain the reason for absence. If you have to leave a voicemail please be prepared to answer if we return your call for further information.

Parents/carers are requested to make contact on each day of absence even where pupils are absent for consecutive days, unless otherwise agreed with one of the Attendance Officers.

If absence reasons are medical, evidence will need to be provided such as a stamped medical card, appointment text message, hospital letter or prescription in order for the absence to be authorised. We will mark absence for physical or mental illness as authorised unless we have a concern about the authenticity of the illness. If the school is not satisfied about the authenticity of the illness, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised and parents will be notified of this in advance or at the time.

For a full list of authorised and unauthorised reasons for absence please see section 7. If your child has or has had historical low attendance you will be informed in writing that illnesses will not be authorised at all without medical evidence.

Where communication is not made with the Academy about the reason for pupil absence this will be deemed as ‘unauthorised absence’. The parent/carer will receive contact from the Academy to ascertain reasons for absence. Calls will be made from the beginning of the school day and will be completed by 11 am on the same day. Follow-up will be based on the following timescales:

If a pupil is absent without communication, the attendance team will attempt to contact parents. You will receive a phone call from a member of the attendance team. If the attendance team is unable to contact you, you will likely receive a home visit - even if it is the first day of absence in order to check that both you and your child are ok
When a pupil is absent for two or more days without the school being provided with a reason, a member of the attendance team will conduct a home visit. Home visits from the attendance team are supportive and intended to establish if any actions need to be put in place in order to support a child’s return to school.
If, after home visits and phone calls, the attendance team is still unable to get a reason for absence within 5 days, the attendance team will request a Police Welfare check to carry out a ‘safe and well’ home visit. We may also contact childrens’ social services.
For extended periods of absence without reason, we may also contact the Child Missing Education Team at the Council and/or sibling schools to support with enquiries about the whereabouts of the child.
If a child is absent from the Academy for 20 days (or 10 days after an authorised holiday) and their whereabouts are unknown or they are reported to have left Leeds, a referral to the Child Missing Education Team will be made and the child will be removed from roll.
Where pupils are identified as vulnerable, or we have a safeguarding concern, if communication is not made on day one of absence, procedures will be followed through more swiftly with welfare checks requested on day one if deemed necessary

Reporting and Requesting Planned Absences

Attending a medical or dental appointment will be counted as authorised as long as the pupil’s parent/carer notifies the school office in advance of the appointment by calling into school in person or by ringing 0113 2407382. You will need to show your appointment text or letter to verify your appointment. However, we encourage parents/carers to make medical and dental appointments out of school hours where possible. Where this is not possible, the pupil should be out of school for the minimum amount of time necessary by returning promptly to school following their appointment and also attend prior to appointment if not first thing in the morning. The appointment should be made at the start/end of the academy day to minimise disruption to learning.

The pupil’s parent/carer must also apply for other types of term-time absence as far in advance as possible of the requested absence. Go to section 7 to find out which term-time absences are authorised.

Recording Absence

Attendance register

By law, all schools are required to keep an attendance register. The academy uses an electronic system (ARBOR) to accurately record attendance and punctuality to every lesson on a daily basis.

The attendance register marks whether every pupil is:

Present
Attending an approved off-site educational activity
Absent
Unable to attend due to exceptional circumstances

By law, all schools are required to close their register 30 minutes after they open, and are required to record a U code for any pupils arriving after this point.

At the start of every day, pupils receive their morning registration mark. If they arrive late the reason will be recorded on Arbor along with an L code. If a pupil arrives late for the afternoon session they will also receive an L code as above. If a child arrives over 30 minutes after the registers have closed they will receive a U code.

Each day, pupils can access the building from 8.40 am. They must be in the classroom by 8.45 am to receive their present mark. Registers formally close 30 minutes later at 9.15 am. Any pupils arriving after this time will lose half a day of attendance and will receive a U code. (see appendix 1 for attendance register codes).

Any amendment to the attendance register will include:

The original entry
The amended entry
The reason for the amendment
The date on which the amendment was made
The name and position of the person who made the amendment

We will also record:

Whether the absence is authorised or not
The nature of the activity if a pupil is attending an approved educational activity
The nature of circumstances where a pupil is unable to attend due to exceptional circumstances

Persistent lateness

Pupils need to arrive at the academy on time to be ready for the day ahead. It is not acceptable for pupils to persistently arrive late to school (whether before or after the register has closed) as this not only hinders their progress but also disrupts the learning of others. The attendance team will monitor late arrivals and follow this up through:

• Letters home

• Punctuality Panels

Late Procedures: Classroom doors open at 8.40am and close at 8.45am.

Children who arrive late after 8.45am must go to Year 2 cloakroom doors.
They will be added to the late list and receive a late mark, a reason for lateness must be given. If they have a sibling that has arrived on time the children will not be marked late as we recognise for larger families there is only a small amount of time to arrive at a number of classroom doors.
Children who arrive late will be monitored; parents will be contacted by our Attendance Manager to discuss concerns.
Children who arrive after 9.15am need to go to the school office. This will be recorded as an unauthorised absence due to lateness, this will impact on their attendance percentage and could lead to a fine.
Attendance Officers will carry out unannounced ‘Late Gate’ sessions to challenge parents over reasons for poor punctuality.

Our Attendance Manager will strive to reduce lateness using the following protocols:

A letter will be sent after 3 episodes of lateness
After 5 episodes a meeting will take place with the Attendance Manager
After 10 episodes a Punctuality Panel will take place with the Attendance Manager and Headteacher/ SLT.

To support all students to attend and be punctual, all Co-op Academies run a breakfast club (free to all students at Woodlands) before school, to ensure that pupils can start the day positively and be on time. If a pupil is persistently late, they may be referred to the breakfast club to support punctuality.

If all the above are unsuccessful, the Academy will use legal channels in accordance with the local authority policy. This may mean that court action is taken. Every U code counts as half a days unauthorised absence and may result in fixed penalty action or prosecution.

Recording Attendance at off site provision / dual registered pupils

Attendance at alternative provisions is monitored daily using Arbor and QLM where possible by Lynda Anderson. The attendance team will contact parents where pupils are absent and follow usual procedures.
Pupils will be given a ‘B’ code on Arbor when they have attended external alternative provision. Any absences will be recorded using the appropriate absence code.
Some provisions, as well as managed moves, are used on a dual-registration basis - Lynda Anderson will oversee this and will give the pupil the appropriate enrolment status. In these cases pupils will be given a ‘D’ code when they are on roll with the provision for all periods where the pupil is expected to attend the other provision/school.
Pupils who are Guest Pupils at another school will remain as ‘single registration’ at Co-op Academy Woodlands. Where the pupil has attended the other school, a ‘B’ mark will be recorded. All absences will be logged with the appropriate code.
Attendance Staff from the Academy will conduct home visits where appropriate.
Lynda Anderson will provide daily/weekly attendance figures to key staff when appropriate.
Once a placement is set up, pupils must attend. Failure to do so will carry the same consequences as non-attendance within the Academy.
Lynda Anderson will request regular attendance certificates for pupils attending dual-registration provisions/schools.

Reporting to parents/carers

Half termly Attendance Reports

Letters warning of attendance concerns/ medical proof/ lateness/ request to attend meetings.

Text messages via Arbor

Partnership work with parents, preventative work through mentoring and other support

Coffee mornings and Family Support Worker drop in.

Attendance figures and winners in weekly newsletter.

Half termly Attendance Newsletter

Parent evenings and school reports have an attendance focus to promote attendance and to attempt to reach out to all parents

Incentives for parents to ensure their children have good attendance, e.g. prize draw raffles

Authorised and Unauthorised Absences

Medical and Illness

Children should attend school on every possible day they can. Mild illnesses such as colds and coughs should not prevent a pupil from coming to school. Guidance for school leaders on authorising absence for mild illnesses, or mild anxiety, from the chief medical officer can be found here and details when parents or carers should make sure pupils attend.

Approval for term-time absence

The Government’s amendments of the Education Regulations 2006 removed the right of Headteachers to authorise family holidays and extended leave. The academy policy, therefore, reflects this legislation.

The headteacher will only grant a leave of absence to a pupil during term time if they consider there to be 'exceptional circumstances'. A leave of absence is granted at the headteacher’s discretion, including the length of time the pupil is authorised to be absent for.

The school considers each application for term-time absence individually, taking into account the specific facts, circumstances and relevant context behind the request. Any request should be submitted as soon as it is anticipated and, where possible, at least 4 weeks before the absence. Leave of absence forms can be found at the school office. The headteacher will require evidence to support any request for leave of absence including plane tickets; medical evidence; letters from authorities.

Valid reasons for authorised absence include:

Illness (including mental illness) and medical/dental appointments (when accompanied by evidence if your child has low attendance)
Religious observance – where the day is exclusively set apart for religious observance by the religious body to which the pupil’s parents/carers belong. If necessary, the school will seek advice from the religious body to confirm whether the day is set apart. The academy authorises up to two days for a religious absence per academic year and one day per religious event
Traveller pupils travelling for occupational purposes – this covers Roma, English and Welsh Gypsies, Irish and Scottish travellers, showmen (fairground people) and circus people, bargees (occupational boat dwellers) and new travellers. Absence may be authorised only when a traveller family is known to be travelling for occupational purposes and has agreed this with the school, but it is not known whether the pupil is attending educational provision

Fines and Sanctions

The school or local authority can fine parents/carers for the unauthorised absence of their child from school, where the child is of compulsory school age (from the term after they turn 5 years old) . The school is obligated to pass information about unauthorised absence to the local authority. This can lead to a fixed penalty notice (Fast Track Fine) issued from the authority. If issued with a fine, or penalty notice, each parent/carer must pay £160 (paid within 28 days), per pupil, reduced to £80 is paid within 21 days. The payment must be made directly to the local authority. Fines are issued per pupil and per parent so in a family of four, you could receive up to four fixed penalty notices.

Penalty notices can be issued by a headteacher, local authority officer or the police.

The decision on whether or not to issue a penalty notice may take into account:

Whether the national threshold for considering a penalty notice has been met (10 sessions / 5 days of unauthorised absence in a rolling period of 10 school weeks)
Whether a penalty notice is the best available tool to improve attendance for that pupil
Whether support, a notice to improve or other legal intervention would be more appropriate
Whether any obligations the school has under the Equality Act 2010 make issuing a penalty notice inappropriate

A penalty notice may also be issued where parents allow their child to be present in a public place during school hours without reasonable justification, during the first 5 days of a suspension or exclusion (where the school has notified the parents that the pupil must not be present in a public place).

If the payment has not been made after 28 days, the local authority can decide whether to prosecute.

If a second penalty notice is issued to the same parent in respect of the same pupil, within a three year period, the parent must pay the full £160 within 28 days.

A third penalty notice cannot be issued to the same parent in respect of the same child within 3 years of the date of the issue of the first penalty notice. In a case where the national threshold is met for a third time within those 3 years the local authority will consider prosecution in a magistrates court and a potential fine of £2500 - as well as a possible criminal record for the parent.

Notices to improve

If the national threshold has been met and support is appropriate, but parents do not engage with offers of support, Co-op Academy Woodlands may offer a notice to improve to give parents a final chance to engage.

Notices to improve are issued in line with processes set out in the Leeds City Council guidance. They will include:

Details of the pupil’s attendance record and of the offences
The benefits of attendance and duty of parents under section 7 of Education Act 1996
Details of the support provided so far
Opportunities for further support, or previously provided support not engaged with
A clear warning that a penalty notice may be issued if attendance doesn’t improve within the improvement period, along with details of what sufficient improvement looks like, which will be decided on a case-by-case basis
A clear timeframe of between 3 and 6 weeks for the improvement period
The grounds on which a penalty notice may be issued before the end of the improvement period

Promoting and Supporting Attendance

The Academy recognises that poor attendance can be an indication of difficulties in a child’s life. This may be related to problems at home and/or in school. Parents should make school aware of any difficulties or changes in circumstances that may affect their child’s attendance and or behaviour in school, for example, bereavement, divorce/separation, incidents of domestic abuse. This will help the school identify any additional support that may be required.

Co-op Academy Woodlands also recognises that some pupils are more likely to require additional support to achieve excellent attendance, for example, those pupils with special educational needs, those with physical or mental health needs, and looked after children.

Part of promoting and supporting great attendance at Co-op Academy Woodlands is to ensure that the pupils receive the best possible experience on a day-to-day basis - to ensure that they are excited to attend, feel a sense of belonging, and are supported to experience success in their learning. As a school, therefore, we put on a range of extracurricular activities on each day of the week. We also ensure that each and every day, pupils feel warmly welcomed into the academy - and that they are offered a broad and exciting curriculum. Part of our universal offer is also to provide a breakfast club each morning; access to a trusted adult during the day; high-quality teaching; a fair and proportionate policy for positive behaviour and regular communication with parents. In addition, to support and encourage pupils who might find attendance at school more difficult, we also implement a range of strategies:

Regular communication with home, e.g letters and postcards sent home as a positive reinforcement in order to recognise good attendance or if improvements are made.
Half termly communication home re their child’s attendance in relation to the school.
Mentoring and interventions, Attendance Officers to work directly with pupils to discuss triggers, low attendance and put support plans for individual pupils together, mentoring conversations when attendance is a concern. Weekly prizes for key children being monitored under legal case work/ fast track.
Daily check ins with pupils who need extra support to help them attend more often.
Regular 1:1 attendance mentoring for identified groups of pupils

Information published weekly on exciting events and opportunities for the following days
Bespoke support and further signposting for pupils with barriers to attending
A Counsellor trained to support pupils with emotional based school avoidance
A family support worker to work with those who need it

Recognising strong attendance is key and celebrating strong attendance is important.

As a very last resort - and only in exceptional circumstances, the Academy may implement a part time timetable to support regular attendance. This would only be as a very last resort, for as short a time as possible and with regular, weekly reviews between school and home.

Where parents fail or refuse to engage with the support offered and further unauthorised absence occurs, Co-op Academy Woodlands will consider the use of legal sanctions, including Fast track penalties and case work. .

Rewarding Attendance

Recognising strong attendance is key and celebrating improvements in attendance is important. Positive points on Arbor, will be given to all pupils to acknowledge good attendance, and will be awarded at regular intervals for those who have achieved good attendance or have improved their attendance. Within the academy rewards policy, pupils will receive additional Praise Points on a half termly basis for achieving 95%+ attendance. Parents can track these Praise Points via the Arbor app.

Weekly prizes for individuals best and most improved attendance in Phase 1,2 and 3 presented in weekly assemblies
Most improved class attendance and highest class attendance in both Phase 1,2 and 3 is celebrated weekly in Friday assembly,
Additional raffles and flash prizes for being at school on a random day.
100% class prizes, additional in-house incentives e.g. Tea Parties and VIP lunch.
Class competitions, prize of extra playtime on Friday for the class with the highest attendance.
Half termly prize for most improved class, children are rewarded with a party and non-uniform day
Children with 100% attendance will receive a half termly prize and an annual prize.
Every half term, whenever a pupil attends the academy and is on time, their name will be entered into a prize draw at the end of half term, where a significant prize will be awarded.

Attendance achievements will be communicated to families regularly through the Arbor app, on the website and through social media.

Attendance Monitoring

The Academy will monitor attendance and absence data weekly, half-termly, termly and yearly across the school and at an individual pupil level. Through this analysis we will Identify whether or not there are particular groups of children whose absences may be a cause for concern

Pupil-level absence data will be collected each term and published at national and local authority level through the DfE's school absence national statistics releases. The underlying school-level absence data is published alongside the national statistics. The school will compare attendance data to the national average, and share this with the academy governing council and Regional Director..

Analysing attendance

The school will analyse attendance and absence data regularly to identify pupils or cohorts that need additional support with their attendance, and use this analysis to provide targeted support to these pupils and their families. We will look at historic and emerging patterns of attendance and absence, and then develop strategies to address these patterns. See Appendix 3 for how we use attendance data

Using data to improve attendance

The school will provide regular attendance reports to form tutors and class teachers and to school leaders, to facilitate discussions with pupils and families and use data to monitor and evaluate the impact of any interventions put in place in order to modify them and inform future strategies.

Identifying and supporting Persistent and Severely Absent Pupils

Persistent absence is where a pupil misses 10% or more of school, and severe absence is where a pupil misses 50% or more of school. Research shows that missing 10% or more of school dramatically reduces a pupil’s ability to go on to get great qualifications and to be a healthy and happy individual. The academy will work with parents/carers, staff, agencies and pupils to prevent children from falling into either of these categories.

The school will use attendance data to find patterns and trends of persistent and severe absence. We will hold regular meetings with the parents/carers of pupils and all adults who are listed as holding parental responsibility, who the school (and/or local authority) considers to be vulnerable, or are persistently or severely absent, to discuss attendance and engagement at school. We will provide access to wider support services to remove the barriers to attendance.

Pupils with attendance of less than 90% will be identified by the attendance team and referred to the Academy Attendance Improvement Officers (AIO) for more intensive casework. Preventative intervention work will be done to avoid pupils reaching PA status.

In order to prevent pupils from falling into Persistent Absence category, the following strategy will ensue:

Use attendance data to find patterns and trends of persistent and severe absence
Consider potential safeguarding issues and, where suspected or present, address them in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education
Hold regular meetings with the parents of pupils who the school (and/or local authority) considers to be vulnerable or at risk of persistent or severe absence, or who are persistently or severely absent, to:

o Discuss attendance and engagement at school

o Listen, and understand barriers to attendance

o Explain the help that is available

o Explain the potential consequences of, and sanctions for, persistent and severe absence

o Review any existing actions or interventions

Provide access to wider support services to remove the barriers to attendance, in conjunction with the local authority, where relevant
Consider alternative support that could be put in place to remove any barriers to attendance and re-engage these pupils. In doing so, the school will sensitively consider some of the reasons for absence

If, after all the above processes are unsuccessful and pupil attendance drops below 90%, we will consider the legal sanctions. If there is another, underlying cause of absence, we will refer to other agencies e.g. the SEND team; Educational psychology; Children’s social work services; CAMHs; and Early Help. We always aim to work with families to improve attendance and through all of the interventions in place. Where families are not engaging with the support we will have to take more punitive actions including:

Fast Track Initiative
Formal Casework
Referral to Leeds City Council for legal work

Reintegration after significant absences

Every effort will be made to re-integrate pupils successfully back into the Academy following long periods of absence. This might include:

Phased returns and reduced timetables, in exceptional circumstances
Bespoke timetables
A ‘catch up’ plan with teachers to support with accessing missed curriculum
Morning check-ins and welcomes and end-of-day check-ins
Mentoring from the pastoral team
An attendance support plan agreed with pupils and Parents
Identified safe space and trusted adult
Regular reviews on progress

Identifying and supporting Children Missing in Education

We recognise that a child going missing from education is a potential indicator of abuse or neglect. A pupil is counted to be ‘Missing in Education’ if they have been absent for 20 consecutive days from the academy (with no reason for absence given) or if they have not returned for 10 consecutive school days after returning from an authorised absence. Where a child is identified as missing education we will comply with our statutory duty to inform the local authority of any pupil who falls within the reporting notification requirements outlined in Children Missing Education – Statutory guidance for local authorities (DfE September 2016) and follow the LSCP - Local protocols for Leeds practitioners (leedsscp.org.uk)

School and college staff members must follow the Leeds Children’s Services protocols see CME Guidance/ Referral Forms

Contact: cme@leeds.gov.uk. Tel: 0113 3789686.

Children who are absent, abscond or go missing during the school day are vulnerable and at potential risk of abuse, neglect, CSE or CCE including involvement in county lines. Academy staff members must follow the academy’s procedures for dealing with pupils who are absent/go missing, particularly on repeat occasions, to help identify the risk of abuse and neglect including sexual abuse or exploitation and to help prevent the risks of going missing in future.

Links with other Policies

This policy links to the following policies:

Academy Safeguarding Policy
Positive Behaviour policy
Exclusions Policy
Co-op Academies Trust Attendance Principles

Appendix 1 - Coding

The following codes are taken from the DfE’s guidance on school attendance.

Code	Definition	Scenario
/	Present (am)	Pupil is present at morning registration
\	Present (pm)	Pupil is present at afternoon registration
L	Late arrival	Pupil arrives late before register has closed
Attending a place other than the school
K	Attending education provision arranged by the local authority	Pupil is attending a place other than a school at which they are registered, for educational provision arranged by the local authority
V	Attending an educational visit or trip	Pupil is on an educational visit/trip organised or approved by the school
P	Participating in a sporting activity	Pupil is participating in a supervised sporting activity approved by the school
W	Attending work experience	Pupil is on an approved work experience placement
B	Attending any other approved educational activity	Pupil is attending a place for an approved educational activity that is not a sporting activity or work experience
D	Dual registered	Pupil is attending a session at another setting where they are also registered
Absent – leave of absence
C1	Participating in a regulated performance or undertaking regulated employment abroad	Pupil is undertaking employment (paid or unpaid) during school hours, approved by the school
M	Medical/dental appointment	Pupil is at a medical or dental appointment
J1	Interview	Pupil has an interview with a prospective employer/educational establishment
S	Study leave	Pupil has been granted leave of absence to study for a public examination
X	Not required to be in school	Pupil of non-compulsory school age is not required to attend
C2	Part-time timetable	Pupil is not in school due to having a part-time timetable
C	Exceptional circumstances	Pupil has been granted a leave of absence due to exceptional circumstances
Absent – other authorised reasons
T	Parent travelling for occupational purposes	Pupil is a ‘mobile child’ who is travelling with their parent(s) who are travelling for occupational purposes
R	Religious observance	Pupil is taking part in a day of religious observance
I	Illness (not medical or dental appointment)	Pupil is unable to attend due to illness (either related to physical or mental health)
E	Suspended or excluded	Pupil has been suspended or excluded from school and no alternative provision has been made
Absent – unable to attend school because of unavoidable cause
Q	Lack of access arrangements	Pupil is unable to attend school because the local authority has failed to make access arrangements to enable attendance at school
Y1	Transport not available	Pupil is unable to attend because school is not within walking distance of their home and the transport normally provided is not available
Y2	Widespread disruption to travel	Pupil is unable to attend because of widespread disruption to travel caused by a local, national or international emergency
Y3	Part of school premises closed	Pupil is unable to attend because they cannot practicably be accommodated in the part of the premises that remains open
Y4	Whole school site unexpectedly closed	Every pupil absent as the school is closed unexpectedly (e.g. due to adverse weather)
Y5	Criminal justice detention	Pupil is unable to attend as they are: · In police detention · Remanded to youth detention, awaiting trial or sentencing, or · Detained under a sentence of detention
Y6	Public health guidance or law	Pupil’s travel to or attendance at the school would be prohibited under public health guidance or law
Y7	Any other unavoidable cause	To be used where an unavoidable cause is not covered by the other codes
Absent – unauthorised absence
G	Holiday not granted by the school	Pupil is absent for the purpose of a holiday, not approved by the school
N	Reason for absence not yet established	Reason for absence has not been established before the register closes
O	Absent in other or unknown circumstances	No reason for absence has been established, or the school isn’t satisfied that the reason given would be recorded using one of the codes for authorised absence
U	Arrived in school after registration closed	Pupil has arrived late, after the register has closed but before the end of session
Administrative codes
Z	Prospective pupil not on admission register	Pupil has not joined school yet but has been registered
#	Planned whole-school closure	Whole-school closures that are known and planned in advance, including school holidays

Appendix 2 - Removing Barriers Flowchart

(from Working Together to Improve School Attendance)

Successfully treating the root causes of absence and removing barriers to attendance, at home, in school or more broadly requires schools and local partners to work collaboratively in partnership with, not against families. All partners should work together to:

Expect

Aspire to high standards of attendance from all pupils and parents and build a culture where all can, and want to, be in school and ready to learn by prioritising attendance improvement across the school.

Monitor

Rigorously use attendance data to identify patterns of poor attendance (at individual and cohort level) as soon as possible so all parties can work together to resolve them before they become entrenched.

Listen and understand

When a pattern is spotted, discuss with pupils and parents to listen to and understand barriers to attendance and agree how all partners can work together to resolve them.

Facilitate support

Remove barriers in school and help pupils and parents to access the support they need to overcome the barriers outside of school. This might include an early help or whole family plan where absence is a symptom of wider issues.

Formalise support

Where absence persists and voluntary support is not working or not being engaged with, partners should work together to explain the consequences clearly and ensure support is also in place to enable families to respond. Depending on the circumstances this may include formalising support through an attendance contract or education supervision order.

Enforce

Where all other avenues have been exhausted and support is not working or not being engaged with, enforce attendance through statutory intervention: a penalty notice in line with the National Framework or prosecution to protect the pupil’s right to an education.

Appendix 3 - Data monitoring and analysis

As a minimum, the following data will be analysed and collected on a daily, weekly and half termly basis

Frequency	What is analysed	Reported by	Reported to
Daily	Daily whole school percentage Each year group percentage Number of U codes	Attendance Manager	SLT
Weekly	YTD attendance 3 week trend Demographic attendance Y group attendance Code analysis (root cause) Weekly attendance patterns Weekly unauthorised Current PA and PSA figure Top 20 attendance concerns Significant improvements	Senior Attendance Champion	SLT
Weekly	YTD attendance Last week / this week Y group attendance Significant group attendance Significant improvements	Senior Attendance Champion	All staff
Fortnightly	Two week trends decline Two week trends improvement Individuals 3 or more O codes	Attendance Manager	SAC Attendance Team
Half termly	YTD attendance Trend over half term Demographic attendance Cohort attendance Code analysis (root cause) Current PA and SA Patterns and improvements Number of Home Visits	Head teacher	AGC

Appendix 4 - Thresholds and Interventions

To be updated within half term 1.

Appendix 5 - Responsibilities

Appendix 6 - Legal Interventions

Fixed Penalty Notice (Fast Track):

Fixed penalty notices are served on parents as an alternative to prosecution where they have failed to ensure that their child of compulsory school age regularly attends the school where they are registered or at a place where alternative provision is provided. Fixed penalty notices can be used by all schools where the pupil’s absence has not been authorised by the school and the absence constitutes an offence. Fixed penalty notices can be issued to each parent liable for the attendance offence or offences, which should usually be the parent or parents with day to day responsibility for the pupil’s attendance. Fixed penalty notices are intended to prevent the need for court action and should only be used where a fixed penalty notice is deemed likely to change parental behaviour and support to secure regular attendance has been provided and has not worked or been engaged with, or would not have been appropriate in the circumstances of the offence (e.g. an unauthorised holiday in term time). A Fast Track penalty notice must be issued in line with the National Framework and local code of conduct for the area in which the child goes to school.. The National Threshold for issuing penalty notices is 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a rolling period of 10 school weeks. A school week means any week in which there is at least one school session. This can be met with any combination of unauthorised absence (e.g. 4 sessions of holiday taken in term time plus 6 sessions of arriving late after the register closes all within 10 school weeks). These sessions can be consecutive (e.g. 10 sessions of holiday in one week) or not (e.g. 6 sessions of unauthorised absence taken in 1 week and 1 per week for the next 4 weeks). The period of 10 school weeks can also span different terms or school years (e.g. 2 sessions of unauthorised absence in the Summer Term and a further 8 within the Autumn Term) and different schools.

Education supervision order:

Where a voluntary early help plan, or formal parenting contract has not been successful, an Education Supervision Order (ESO) can be a useful alternative to provide formal legal intervention without criminal prosecution. In deciding whether to progress to an ESO, the school and local authority should have exhausted voluntary support and be clear that making the order would be beneficial for the pupil and parent. Where safeguarding concerns exist, the lead practitioner should also discuss with the school’s designated safeguarding lead and children’s social care services and agree an ESO would be a more suitable option than a s.17 (Children in Need) or s.47 (Child Protection) plan. In all cases, local authorities must fully consider using an ESO before moving forward to prosecution.

Prosecution:

If a child of compulsory school age fails to attend regularly at a school at which they are registered, or at a place where alternative provision is provided for them, their parents may be guilty of an offence and can be prosecuted by the local authority. Prosecution in the Magistrates Court is the last resort where all other voluntary and formal support or legal intervention has failed or where support has been deemed inappropriate in the circumstances of the individual case.

Local authorities have the power to prosecute:

• Parents who fail to comply with a school attendance order issued by the local authority to require a parent to get their child registered at a named school (under section 443 of the Education Act 1996). This may result in a fine of up to level 3 (£1,000).

• Parents who fail to secure their child’s regular attendance at a school, for which there are 2 separate offences: section 444(1) where a parent fails to secure the child’s regular attendance; and section 444(1A) where a parent knows that the child is failing to attend school regularly and fails to ensure the child does so. The section 444(1) offence may result in a fine of up to level 3 (£1,000) and the section 444(1A) offence my result in a fine of up to level 4 (£2,500), and/or a community order or imprisonment of up to 3 months.

• Parents who fail to secure the regular attendance of their child at a place where the local authority or governing body has arranged alternative provision (under sections 444 and 444ZA). This may result in a fine of up to level 3 (£1,000), or if the parent is found to have known the child was not attending regularly and failed to ensure that they did so, a fine of up to level 4 (£2,500), and/or a community order or imprisonment of up to 3 months.

• Parents who persistently fail to comply with directions under an Education Supervision Order (under Schedule 3 to the Children Act 1989) or breach a Parenting Order or directions under the order (under section 375 of the Sentencing Act 2020). These may result in a fine of up to level 3 (£1,000)

Parenting orders:

Parenting orders are an ancillary order that can be imposed by the Court following conviction for non-attendance alongside a fine and/or community order. Parents’ agreement is not required before an order is made. They may be appropriate where the parent has not engaged in support to improve their child’s attendance and where compulsion to do so would help change parental behaviour. The order requires a parent to comply with the arrangements specified in the order by the Court which can include a requirement for parents to attend counselling or guidance sessions (e.g. parenting education or parenting support classes) where they will receive help and support to enable them to improve their child’s attendance for up to 3 months. Any breach of the order could lead to a fine.

School Attendance Orders (SAOs):

Where it appears a child of compulsory school age in their area is not receiving suitable education, either at school or otherwise than at a school (such as unsuitable home education), that local authority (the Home LA) is responsible for serving a notice and if necessary a SAO in line with sections 437 to 442 of the Education Act 1996. Likewise, if prosecution for breaching the SAO is deemed necessary.

Appendix 7 - Templates Letters and Texts

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Whole School Pupil Attendance Report – Half Termly

Attendance Report (dates)

Pupil Name:	Class:	Attendance % to date:	Number of times late to school:

Below 90%

Inadequate

A student with 80% attendance every year at primary school will have missed a whole year of education overall.

91% to 95%

Requires Improvement

A student with 90% attendance every year at primary school will have missed half a year of

education overall.

96% to 99%

Good

Woodlands Target

100%

Outstanding

An excellent achievement, well done!

If your child is statutory school age (5+) and attendance is below 90% due to unauthorised absence, legal action could be taken:

Fast Track Penalty Notice: Each parent receives a penalty notice for each child who has met the threshold. The penalty is £80 or £160 depending on how soon payment is made.

Taking parents to court for unauthorised absence: Education Act 1996 Section 444(1) – a court can fine each parent per child and/or impose a Parenting Order.

Being taken to court could result in a criminal record.

Attendance %	Impact	Hours Lost per year
100%	0 Days Lost	0 Hours Lost
95%	9 Days Lost	45 Hours Lost
90%	19 Days Lost	95 Hours Lost
85%	28 Days Lost	140 Hours Lost
80%	38 Days Lost	190 Hours Lost
70%	46 Days Lost	230 Hours Lost

Please remember that parental illness, going shopping, visiting family, not wanting to go to school, alleged bullying (speak to school immediately to resolve the issue) are not acceptable reasons to be absent. These will be recorded as unauthorised absence, including if your child arrives at school after the close of registration. Absence during term time will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances. Please provide evidence of medical appointments and/ or illness to enable us to authorise absences.

If your child’s level of absence is of concern we will contact you to discuss, after this, any further unauthorised absences may result in the Academy and the Local Authority taking legal action. We will improve attendance by making it clear within the school and local community that unauthorised absence is not acceptable. Please speak with Lynda Anderson if you have any questions about this letter.

We would like to thank those parents who make sure their child is attending school regularly and are therefore benefiting fully from their educational opportunity.

Yours cooperatively

Adele Clark (Head Teacher)

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Punctuality Letter (Trigger = 3 lates in a half term)

Dear

RE: Student Name Class:

Number of times you child has been late this year:	Minutes Lost

Minutes Late Each Day	Impact per year
5 minutes	3.5 Days Lost
10 minutes	7 Days Lost
15 minutes	10.5 Days Lost
20 minutes	14 Days Lost
25 minutes	17.5 Days Lost
30 minutes	21 Days Lost

We are becoming increasingly concerned that your child is arriving to school late.

All students should arrive no later than 8.45am.

All children of compulsory school age who are registered pupils at a school or educational establishment must attend regularly and punctually. As a parent/carer it is your legal responsibility to ensure that your child attends Coop Academy Woodlands on time.

Should your child arrive late (after 8.45am) after receiving this letter you will be invited into school or a home visit will take place, to discuss our concerns and how this impacts on your child’s academic progress and emotional well being.

We appreciate your support in ensuring that your child attends school every day and on time.

Yours sincerely

Adele Clark (Head teacher)

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Level of absence due to illness is causing concern. Further absences will no longer be authorised without medical proof

Dear Parent/Carer of

Current Attendance __________ % Class:

Due to the level of your child’s absence, we will no longer authorise any absence for medical reasons unless supported by medical evidence/ proof. We monitor all pupils with low school attendance and take appropriate action when absence is unauthorised. Unauthorised absence can lead to a penalty notice (fine).

Therefore, should your child have any further sessions of absence because of illness or medical reasons you are strongly advised to provide one of the following which may enable us to authorise your child’s absence. If you do not provide medical proof your child’s absence will be recorded as unauthorised which could lead to a Penalty Notice (fine).

• medical appointment card • letter from a professional• medication prescribed by a GP• copy of prescription• print screen of medical notes• letters concerning hospital appointments• slip with date, pupils name and surgery stamp, signed by Receptionist. Please be aware that telephone calls and handwritten notes from a parent/carer are not acceptable as medical evidence.

(Delete paragraph for non-statutory aged children)

As a parent/carer of a child of statutory school age, you have a legal responsibility to ensure full time education suitable to the child’s age, ability and aptitude and any special educational needs the child may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise (Education Act 1996 Section 444).

Fines

· First offence - The first time a Penalty Notice is issued the amount will be: £80 per parent, per child paid within 21 days. This increases to £160 per parent, per child if paid after day 21, until day 28. Any non-payment of the Penalty Notice may be referred to the Magistrates Court.

· Second Offence (within 3 years) - the second time a Penalty Notice is issued the amount will be £160 per parent, per child paid within 28 days. Any non-payment of the Penalty Notice may be referred to the Magistrates Court.

· Third Offence and Any Further Offences (within 3 years) - the third time an offence is committed a Penalty Notice will not be issued, and the case may be presented straight to the Magistrates’ Court under s.444 of the Education Act (1996) or other legal interventions considered. A guilty verdict at the Magistrates’ Court can lead to a fine of up to £1000, and a criminal record which can affect employment opportunities.

Good attendance will mean that your child is able to achieve the best grades for their ability and have real opportunity in further education and the world of work. Absence disrupts the education of the individual pupil and the whole class. Children who do not attend regularly do not achieve well in exams, find it difficult to maintain friendships, miss out on social events and are more likely to become involved in crime

If you feel that your child has ongoing or unresolved medical issues you are advised to approach your doctor urgently. If you wish to discuss the contents of this letter or your child’s attendance, please contact Lynda Anderson to make an appointment.

Yours cooperatively

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Medical Proof Follow Up Letter

Dear Parent/ Carer of

As a school, we regard good attendance as critical to pupil progress and aim for every child to attend school every day on time. We regularly monitor all children’s attendance and have previously sent you a letter stating that any further absence from school due to illness will not be authorised unless medical proof is provided.

Your child was absent on _____________and we have not been provided with evidence of their illness. Please bring this to the school office as soon as possible to enable us to authorise this absence.

If you do not provide medical proof your child’s absence will be recorded as unauthorised which could lead to a Penalty Notice (fine).

If you wish to discuss this further please contact me.

Yours faithfully,

Lynda Anderson (Attendance Manager)

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Request to meet with Attendance Manager due to concerning pattern of attendance (Trigger = 6 unauthorised absences in 10 weeks)

Dear Parent/Carer of

I have been monitoring your child’s attendance and it has come to my attention that there are now ……… unauthorised absences recorded in the past 10 weeks.

This is due to the fact that you have either failed to notify school of a reason for absence, not provided medical evidence to enable us to authorise an absence and/ or your child has arrived at school after 9.15am without good reason. Please note if your child has more than 10 unauthorised absences in a 1o-week period this may result in a fine.

Due to the number of unauthorised absences you are now invited to a meeting to discuss this with me on ……………………………….. If you need to change the meeting day/ time please contact me to rearrange as soon as possible.

Please take this opportunity to discuss your child’s attendance. If this meeting does not go ahead it could mean a referral is made for a FastTrack Penalty Notice or to the Attendance Casework which may lead to a fine.

Yours sincerely, Lynda Anderson (Attendance manager)

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Absence in Term Time Letters

Leave of Absence Not Applied For

Dear Parent/Carer

We understand that you have recently taken your child out of school for a holiday in term time. We believe this to be the case because ……...(enter the reason why you believe they have been on holiday from the evidence you have i.e. parent or child told the school on their return that they had been on holiday, other family contact telephone numbers were called during the absence (as we were unable to contact you) and they said the family were on holiday etc

Amendments to the Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations in relation to term time holidays make it clear that schools are no longer allowed to authorise holidays during term time. As a result, only exceptional circumstance leave can be authorised by the Head Teacher and must be applied for prior to the leave being taken.

Your child’s leave of absence from school was not requested and we have had no notification of any exceptional circumstances therefore, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised and you could receive a Penalty Notice

Fines

Penalty Notices are issued by Leeds City Council on our behalf and are issued per parent, per child. Failure to pay penalty notices can result in prosecution in the Magistrates Court which could incur a fine of up to £1,000.

If you feel that you have exceptional circumstances that you have not informed us of with regards to this holiday, I would ask that you submit your reasons to the school in writing within the next 5 (school) days from the date of this letter.

Please do not hesitate to contact school if you have any queries that you would like to discuss about this matter.

Your sincerely

Note: Payment of a Penalty Notice if paid within 21 days, is £80. If you do not pay within 21 days the fine is increased to £160 and you have a further 7 days to make this payment in full

Exceptional Leave request form

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Case Work Letters

Notice to Improve (A final chance to improve attendance before formal casework commences. To be used when support is appropriate but parents have not engaged)

School Attendance Notice to Improve

RE: NAME OF PUPIL

Dear (Add FULL name of parent/carer)

For your child to gain the full benefit from their education, for their learning, wellbeing, and wider development, they need to attend school on time, every day.

If a child of compulsory school age who is a registered pupil at a school fails to attend regularly at the school, their parent may be guilty of an offence under s.444 Education Act 1996.

You, «FORENAME» «SURNAME» are a parent/carer of «PUPILS_Name», who is a registered pupil at «School_Name». We have offered support to you and your family to try and help improve «Pupils_Name»’s attendance, including:

DETAIL ALL SUPPORT OFFERED

Unfortunately, despite the support that was offered to your family, attendance remains a cause for concern. Between «START_DATE» and «END_DATE» the pupil failed to attend regularly at «School_Name», which resulted in 10 sessions (half days) or more of unauthorised absences being recorded. Please see the attached registration certificate for details.

You now have twenty school days (4 school weeks) in which to improve your child’s attendance. During this time your child must show significant improvements in attendance and avoid having any unauthorised absences from school during this period. Should we not see sufficient improvement and further unauthorised absences take place during this period, a Penalty Notice may be issued, or legal action may commence.

If you wish to discuss this notice, or discuss what further support is available, please contact school as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely

Invitation to Panel Letter

Dear Parent/carer of ______________________________________________________________

RE: Attendance Panel Meeting

Attendance

Unauthorised Absence

Authorised Absence

Target

Number of Lates

number days

I am writing because the academy has ongoing concerns about ____________________________ attendance and punctuality. The average number of missed days of school for a student at Co-op Academy Woodlands is xxx. Your child has missed more days than most students.

I would like to invite you to an Attendance Panel Hearing to discuss this matter in full. The meeting will be held at Co-op Academy Woodlands on ___________________________________, at _____________. A Parenting Contract may be offered at the meeting; this is a plan that is agreed between you and Co-op Academy Woodlands and includes actions and targets to improve ____________________________ attendance. If you wish, you may bring a friend or other representative along to the meeting.

Staff are working at Co-op Academy Woodlands to support you to improve______________________’s attendance, but it is important that you understand that we are required to consider legal proceedings where a parent/carer fails to ensure the regular school attendance of their child/children. However, this is only considered when all plans to improve matters have failed. My initial role will be to try and support you in ensuring ____________________________ attendance and punctuality improves.

We need to remind you of your legal responsibility to ensure your child attends school regularly, under Section 444 of the 1996 Education Act. Failure to ensure regular school attendance can result in a fine of up to £2,500 and/or 3 months in prison.

Please don’t ignore this letter. If for any reason this appointment is not convenient, please contact the academy on 0113 2407382

Yours Sincerely

Example Record of Meeting:

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Fast Track Letters

Fast Track Letter 1

Dear «ParentCarer_Salutation»

Re: «Pupil_Full_Name» DOB: «DOB»

As the Attendance Lead in «School», my role is to improve attendance and punctuality. I monitor pupils attendance regularly and follow up on any frequent or unreasonable absences.

«School» would like your support to improve levels of attendance and punctuality, therefore a `Fast Track Initiative’ is currently being run in school in order to address attendance concerns quickly and effectively.

Having recently completed a register check, I am concerned to note «Pupil_Name»’s poor level of attendance and I enclose a copy of their registration certificate for your information.

As a result of these concerns, «Pupil_Name»’s attendance will be monitored for the next 20 school days, during which time school will only authorise absences if medical verification is provided. If «Pupil_Name»’s attendance shows little or no improvement after the monitored period, you will be formally invited to a School Attendance Panel in school order to discuss and address the situation.

I am obliged to inform you that under the provision of Section 444 of the Education Act 1996, parents/carers are legally responsible for ensuring their children attend school regularly and on time. Failure to do so could result in the issue of a Penalty Notice or legal proceedings being taken by the Local Authority.

If you require advice and support with regard to your child’s attendance, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours Sincerely

Fast Track Letter 2

Dear «ParentCarer »

Re: «Pupil_Full_Name» DOB: «DOB»

Further to my previous letter advising you that Coop Academy Woodlands is currently involved in a Fast Track Initiative, having recently completed a register check I am concerned to note that pupil name has failed to achieve the attendance target set. I enclose a copy of «hisher» registration certificate for your information.

As a result of these concerns and in order to discuss and address the situation, I would like to invite you to a Fast Track School Attendance Panel to be held in school on «appointment time and date». Failure to provide an acceptable explanation for the absences may result in a Notice to Improve letter being issued immediately following the meeting. Any further unauthorised absence may result in a Penalty Notice being issued.

A Penalty Notice gives you the opportunity to discharge any liability to conviction for the offence of failing to ensure the pupil’s regular attendance at school during the above period, by paying a penalty. The amount of the penalty would be £80 or £160 in accordance with the following details: For a first offence if payment is made within 21 days from the date of issue, the amount of the fixed penalty is £80. If paid after 21 days, but within 28 days, the amount of the fixed penalty is £160. For a second offence within three years, the amount of the fixed penalty notice is £160 and there is no reduced early payment period. In the event of any further offence in a three year period of time, a penalty notice will not be issued and the case will be considered for potential legal action. This can result in a criminal record and fines of up to £1,000 plus costs.

If the above appointment is not convenient, please do not hesitate to contact me on the above number to make an alternative arrangement, as the meeting will go ahead in your absence if you do not attend.

I look forward to meeting with you on the due date.

Yours sincerely

Notice to Improve (Fast Track Version Only)

School Attendance Notice to Improve

RE: NAME OF PUPIL

Dear (Add FULL name of parent/carer)

For your child to gain the full benefit from their education, for their learning, wellbeing, and wider development, they need to attend school on time, every day.g

If a child of compulsory school age who is a registered pupil at a school fails to attend regularly at the school, their parent may be guilty of an offence under s.444 Education Act 1996.

DETAIL ALL SUPPORT OFFERED

Should we not see sufficient improvement in attendance or if there are further instances of unauthorised absence, a Penalty Notice may be issued:

If you wish to discuss this notice, or discuss what further support is available, please contact school as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nudge Letter

Attendance matters – and you can help!

Dear {Parent/CarerName}

I am writing to you because {Student Name} has missed more school than other students this year.

{Student Name} has been absent for {#.#} days so far this year which is a percentage of {##.##%} The average attendance of the students at Co-op Academy Woodlandsin {Y#} is {##.##%} which means your child has missed more school than most other students

When students miss school they fall behind. Just missing five days a year of school could decrease your child’s chances of achieving well, whether the absence is authorised or unauthorised.

Our purpose is to support every child in achieving the best outcome. We know that students who are in school, every day, have a better chance at making progress and reaching their full potential.

You could have a big impact on {Student’s Name} attendance and we appreciate your support and help.

Yours sincerely

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Example Text Messages

1. falling below 95% / below average / declining

We are just letting you know that xxxx has missed x days of learning this year. This is more than the average for the school which is x. Please contact x if you would like to discuss your child's attendance. We know this could have a big impact.

2. Ascending attendance

Dear Parent/Carer, xxxxx attendance has improved! This will have a big impact on their learning. Thank you for ensuring x is in school as much as possible. We appreciate your support.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Appendix 8 - Attendance Principles

The attendance principles, found in full here, are principles that all academies should adhere to in their approach to attendance. Each academy should be able to evidence clearly, how they believe each principle is demonstrated in their setting; implemented with rigour; and have an accurate understanding of how successfully they feel each is embedded.

Great school attendance relies on rigour, tenacity and repeated and clear routines, systematically applied. It also relies on a brilliant knowledge of the context and situation of the community being served, great relationships and a culture of truly high expectations for all. Importantly, the fundamental of great attendance is having a school where children feel welcomed, supported, included and want to attend. We want to support, empathise and understand the challenges our pupils face - but we want to challenge poor attendance and ensure we are not tolerating anything but the highest possible.

The 23 Attendance Principles are:

All hands on deck - Everyone has a responsibility for attendance
Senior attendance champion - A dedicated senior leader who champions and promotes attendance
Data driven - Granular data collection and analysis to get to the root cause of attendance issues
Calendars, Timetables and Extra Curricular - Thought given to ‘selling the day’ to our pupils
Pastoral AND attendance - All teams should work together in a coordinated approach
People talk to people - Interactions are our interventions. Limit answerphones for absence reports
Daily, weekly, termly routines - Organisation and consistency around routines
Root cause of absence - We need to know the specific reasons for absence in our schools
Numbers not percentages - Report on lessons missed, subjects missed and number of days
Close registers - Arriving more than half an hour after the start of the day results in a U code
Explicit on what is not authorised - Clear verbal and written communication for unauthorised
Intervene early - Trends not just thresholds - Don’t wait for a student to become PA - act early
Safeguarding - Attendance and safeguarding are inextricably linked - robust processes
Clear communication (empathise but don’t tolerate) - High expectations, high support, low threat
Welcome strategy - From the day of admissions to returning from absence - staff welcome pupils
EBSA - At least one member of staff needs to be trained in emotional school avoidance
Scripts and scaffolds - Don’t leave language and interaction to chance
Regular whole staff training - Role of attendance team; addressing root cause of absence
Building Belonging - Training, thought and strategy for how to help our students feel the belong
Filling gaps in learning - Staff need to be clear on how to fill gaps for students with absence
Pupil and parent panels - For key groups to understand issues, challenges and assets
Reintegration plan - For all pupils who experience an absence of 5 days or more
PD package - Excellent personal development curriculum is key to support strong attendance`