ATTENDANCE Policy

November 2025

1. Introduction/Aim

At Stoke Primary School we value the attendance of all pupils. There is a strong relationship between good school attendance and achieving positive outcomes for children. It is recognised that attending school regularly can be a protective factor for children and young people. It is important that as a school we offer a safe environment, positive relationships, high quality teaching and learning opportunities to develop social and emotional skills.

Ensuring that children attend school every day will help achieve this ambition by maximising their education and social achievements as well as developing self-discipline, organisation and preparedness for the work environment. Improving attendance and reducing absence, especially persistent absence is a priority for our school and Coventry City Council.

Research commissioned by the Department for Education shows missing school for even a day can mean a child is less likely to achieve good grades, which can have a damaging effect on their life chances. As set out in this policy, we will work with families to identify the reasons for poor attendance and try to resolve any difficulties at the earliest opportunity.

Our attendance policy aims to give clear guidance to staff, parents, pupils, and governors to:

• Support pupil’s achievement by establishing the highest possible levels of attendance and punctuality.
• Recognise the key role of all staff in promoting good attendance.
• Provide a clear framework for monitoring and responding to pupil absences.
• Make parents / carers aware of their legal responsibilities and ensure their children have access to the education to which they are entitled.

We recognise that attendance is a matter for the whole school community. Our Attendance Policy should not be viewed in isolation; it is a strand that runs through all aspects of school improvement, supported by our policies on safeguarding, prevention of bullying, behaviour, and inclusive learning.

2. Legal Framework

Section 7 of the 1996 Education Act states that parents must ensure that children of compulsory school age receive 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 school or by education otherwise than at school. Where parents decide to have their child registered at school, they have an additional legal duty to ensure their child attends that school regularly. A child is of compulsory school age at the beginning of the term following their 5^th birthday. A child ceases to be of compulsory school age on the last Friday in June of the school year in which they reach the age of 16.

The government expects all schools and local authorities to:

• Promote good attendance and reduce absence, including persistent absence.
• Ensure every pupil has access to full-time education to which they are entitled.
• and act early to address patterns of absence.

Parents are expected to perform their legal duty by ensuring their children of compulsory school age who are registered at school attend regularly.

In accordance with the Education Act 1996, we will work with parents and carers and the Local Authority to ensure that parents are supported to secure education for children of compulsory school age. Where required, we will formalise support and where necessary, work with the LA to use legal measures. 

A “Parent” is defined as:

• Any natural parent, whether married or not
• Any parent who, although not a natural parent, has parental responsibility as defined in the Children Act (1989) for a child or young person.
• Any person who, although not a natural parent, has care of a child or young person.

3. Attendance Objectives

Our school attendance policy:

• Is easy to understand by pupils, parents and staff
• Is clear and consistently applied, transparent and fair
• Considers the individual needs of pupils and their families
• Is easy to find so that the whole school community is aware of our attendance expectations
• Includes the contact details of key staff to make it easy for parents to get in touch
• Is reviewed by staff regularly and involves pupils and parents because school attendance matters to everyone
• Is followed in accordance with the procedures outlined below

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.

4. Roles and Responsibilities

At Stoke Primary School, we believe that school attendance matters to everyone. School attendance is a shared responsibility by governors/trustees, all school staff, parents, pupils, and the wider school community.

The Local Governing Board/Trustee Board of Stoke Primary School recognises the importance of school attendance and promotes it across the school’s ethos and policies. They take an active role in attendance improvement by:

• Supporting the school to prioritise attendance and work together with leaders to set whole school cultures.
• Ensuring school leaders fulfil expectations and statutory duties.
• Ensuring school staff receive training on school attendance.
• Use data to understand patterns of attendance, identifying areas of progress and where greater focus is needed
• Regularly reviewing attendance data and help school leaders focus support on the pupils who need it.
• Designating a member of staff to have responsibility for the promotion of the education achievement of looked after and previously looked after pupils.
  • Monitor and review attendance of the cohort and consider how school polices, including behaviour policies, are sensitive to their needs and support good attendance.

 Stoke Primary School will:

• Have a clear school attendance policy on the school website which all staff, pupils and parents understand. 
• Develop and maintain a whole school culture that promotes the benefits of high attendance. 
• Accurately complete admission and attendance registers. 
• Have robust daily processes to follow up absence. 
• Regularly monitor data to identify patterns and trends and understand which pupils and pupil cohorts to focus on.
• Have a dedicated senior leader with overall responsibility for championing and improving attendance. 
• Proactively use data to identify pupils at risk of persistent absence.
• Work with each identified pupil and their parents to understand and address the reasons for absence, including any in-school barriers to attendance. 
• Signpost and support access to any required services where out of school barriers are identified and act as lead practitioner if attendance is the only issue and/or threshold for formal early help is not met.
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• Put additional targeted support in place to remove any barriers where absence becomes persistent.
• Hold more formal conversations with parents and be clear about the potential need for legal intervention in future where there is a lack of engagement. 
• Work with the local authority on legal intervention where support is not working, being engaged with or appropriate. 
• Intensify support through a referral to statutory children’s social care where there are safeguarding concerns. 
• Work with other schools in the local area, such as schools previously attended and the schools of any siblings. 
• Take an active part in the multi-agency effort with the local authority and other partners and if the case meets threshold for formal early help/family support, including conducting an early help assessment and acting as lead practitioner where all partners agree that the school is the best placed lead service. Where the lead practitioner is outside of the school, continue to work with the local authority and partners.
• Agree a joint approach for all severely absent pupils with the local authority. 
• Proactively use data to identify cohorts with, or at risk of, low attendance and develop strategies to support them. 
• Work with other schools in the local area and the local authority to share effective practice where there are common barriers to attendance. 
• Maintain the same ambition for attendance and work with pupils with SEND and/or medical conditions and their parents to maximise attendance. 
• Ensure join up with pastoral support and where required, put in place additional support and adjustments, such as an individual healthcare plan and if applicable, ensuring the provision outlined in the pupil’s EHCP is accessed. 
• Consider additional support from wider services and external partners, making timely referrals for children with SEND and medical conditions. 
• Regularly monitor data for children with SEND and medical conditions, including at board and governing body meetings and with local authorities. 
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• Know who the pupils who have, or who have had, a social worker are.
• Understand how the welfare, safeguarding, and child protection issues these pupils are experiencing, or have experienced, can have an impact on attendance – whilst maintaining a culture of high aspiration.
• Provide additional academic support and make reasonable adjustments to help pupils who have a social worker, recognising that even when statutory social care intervention has ended, there can be a lasting impact on children’s educational outcomes.
• Inform the pupil’s social worker if there are any unexplained absences.
• Work in partnership with local authority Virtual School Head to develop and deliver high quality Personal Education Plans for looked after children that support good attendance.
• Work directly with parents to develop good home-school links that support good attendance including discussion on the use of Pupil Premium Plus for previously looked after pupils.

Stoke Primary School requests that parents:

• Ensure their child attends every day the school is open except when a statutory reason applies.
• Notify the school as soon as possible when their child has to be unexpectedly absent (e.g. sickness).
• Only request leave of absence in exceptional circumstances and do so in advance.
• Book any medical appointments around the school day where possible.
• Work with the school and local authority to help them understand the child’s barriers to attendance.
• Proactively engage with the support offered to prevent the need for more formal support.
• Proactively engage with the formal support offered – including parenting contract or voluntary early help plan to prevent the need for legal intervention.

Pupils will:

• Be aware of the school’s attendance policy and when and where they are required to attend. This will be communicated to them by school staff, parents and through the school timetable.
• Speak to their class teacher or another member of staff if they are experiencing difficulties at school or at home which may impact on their attendance.
• Attend school on time and ready to learn, with the appropriate learning tools, including correct uniform or PE kit.
• Follow the school procedure if they arrive late. This will help the school to monitor attendance and keep accurate records for the child’s individual attendance.  This is also vital for health and safety in the event of a school evacuation.

5. Recording Absence and Attendance

We will apply the national codes as outlined and regulated by the Department of Education guidance to accurately record and report attendance.

5.1 Leave of absence

The headteacher can grant a leave of absence when a pupil needs to be absent from school with permission. The headteacher will restrict leaves of absence to the specific circumstance set out in regulation 11 of the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024. These circumstances are:

• Taking part in a regulated performance or employment abroad
• Attending an interview
• Study leave
• A temporary, time-limited part-time timetable
• Exceptional circumstances*

The headteacher can also allow pupils to be absent from the school site for certain educational activities or to attend other schools or settings.

*The headteacher will consider a leave of absence for other exceptional circumstances at their discretion. This must be requested in advance by a parent who the pupil normally lives with. The headteacher will consider each application individually taking into account the specific facts and circumstances and relevant background context behind the request. If a leave of absence is granted, the headteacher will determine the length of time the pupil can be away from school.

Generally, the DfE does not consider a need or desire for a holiday or leave of absence for the purposes of leisure or recreation to be an exceptional circumstance.

All absences associated with a family holiday (without exceptional circumstances) during term time will be marked as unauthorised on the register. Any parents known to have removed their child from school for the sole purpose of a holiday may be referred to the Local Authority by the headteacher and be issued with a fixed penalty notice.

Leave of Absence request forms must be completed as early as possible before the proposed time of leave. Parents will be contacted by the Attendance Lead for more information and then a decision will be made by the headteacher.

A penalty notice request may be submitted to the Local Authority by the headteacher if:

• The parent fails to submit a leave of absence request in advance of taking the leave.
• An application for a leave of absence is not authorised by the headteacher but is still taken.
• A longer period is taken more than the agreed number of days.

If a leave of absence is taken, the parent will need to agree a date of return. If a pupil fails to return on the expected date and contact is not received from, or made with the parents, school will seek advice from the Local Authority. This could result in a possible Children Missing from Education procedure being instigated.

5.2 Medical Appointments and absence due to illness

Parents should try to make appointments outside of school hours wherever possible. Where appointments during school time are unavoidable, we ask that parents notify the school in advance of the appointment wherever possible.  The pupil should only be out of school for the minimum amount of time necessary for the appointment. In most circumstances, a child should not miss a whole day at school for an appointment. If a pupil must attend a medical appointment during the school day, they must provide evidence of the appointment.

In most cases, absences for illness which are reported following the school’s absence reporting procedures will be authorised without the need for parents to supply medical evidence unnecessarily. In line with Department for Education guidance, if we do have a genuine concern about the authenticity of the illness, we may ask the parent to provide medical evidence, such as a prescription, appointment card, or other appropriate forms of evidence. If the school is not satisfied about the authenticity of the illness, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised.

5.3 Pupil Absence for the purposes of Religious Observance

Stoke Primary School acknowledges the multi-faith nature of British society and recognises that, on some occasions, religious festivals may fall outside school holiday periods or weekends and is recognised as such by a relevant religious authority. Where this occurs, the school will consider either authorising the pupil absence or making special leave for religious observance. Parents are requested to give advance notice to the school.

5.4 Unauthorised Absence

Absence will not be authorised unless parents have provided a satisfactory explanation, and it is accepted as such by the school. The decision to authorise absences is at the discretion of the headteacher.  Examples of unsatisfactory explanations include but are not limited to:

• Feeling tired
• Changes in climate ie. too hot or too cold
• Sibling attends a different school
• On the waiting list to attend a new school
• A pupil’s/family member’s birthday
• Closure of a sibling’s school for INSET
• Refusal to attend school on health grounds but where the pupil is considered well enough to attend
• Holidays taken without the authorisation of the school

6. Our Procedures

6.1 Register Keeping and Recording

The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024, require schools to take an attendance register at the beginning of each morning session and once during each afternoon session.

On each occasion the register is taken the appropriate national attendance and absence code must be entered for every pupil (of both compulsory and non-compulsory school age) whose name is listed on the admission register at the time.

Children self-register using the Studybugs programme. All registers must be entered by 9:10am in the morning and 1:10pm in the afternoon. The Family Team monitor attendance and make amendments to the codes where necessary.

6.2 Late Arrival at School

At Stoke Primary School all pupils are expected to arrive on time for every day of the school year.  The school day begins at 8:55am. We advise all parents to ensure their child is on site prior to this. Gates open at 8:40am. The school register will be taken at 9:00am. All pupils arriving after this time are required to report to the main office with their parents who will be expected to provide a reason for their late arrival. If their arrival is before 9:25am it will be recorded as late - L code (Late before the close of register).

The school register will officially close at 9:25am.  All pupils arriving on or after this time will be marked as having an unauthorised absence for the morning session - U code (Late after the close of register). This is categorised as an unauthorised absence for the session. Parents will be contacted to discuss any patterns of late arrival. Repeated arrival after the close of registration will result in appropriate interventions being instigated and may also result in a penalty notice being issued or prosecution.

6.3 Expected absence procedure for parents

A parent has a legal responsibility to ensure that their child attends school regularly. If a child is unavoidably absent from school parents are expected to contact school by the Studybugs App or telephone call on the morning of the first day of absence and on each subsequent day, identifying the reason for absence and the expected date of return. If no contact is received, then absence protocols will be instigated.

If a child is absent, the following actions will be initiated by the school:

• Automated message procedures will be activated for all pupils who are not in school after close of register at 9:25am and where no reason for absence is known.
• If there is still no contact made from the pupil’s parents, a  telephone call home will be made. If no response can be gained, the child’s named emergency contact will be telephoned.
• If school cannot contact a parent and are concerned about a pupil, a home visit may be carried out. 

In certain circumstances the school may also:

• Visit the home of the pupil.
• Write to the parents of a pupil to highlight attendance or punctuality issues.
• Invite parents to discuss how school can support the family to make improvement.
• Discuss the pupil at the termly Targeted Support Meetings to seek advice and guidance on additional support strategies.
• Refer to Early Help and/or other external agencies to offer support, guidance, and advice.
• Refer to the Local Authority for joint enquiries to be made to establish the whereabouts of the child through Children Missing Education procedures.
• Refer to the Local Authority to consider issuing a penalty notice or to consider prosecution when all other interventions have failed, or an unauthorised leave of absence has been taken.

6.4 Rewards and Interventions

School attendance is the responsibility of the parent to ensure their child is both attending school and arriving on time.  Stoke Primary School is committed to ensuring that all children understand the importance of attending school every day and how this will enable them to be the best they can be.

Stoke Primary School uses a range of rewards and systems to ensure the profile of attendance remains high throughout the school year.  These include, but not exclusively:

• Birthday attendance reward
• Weekly House trophy
• Weekly 100% attendance Spin the Wheel prize
• Themed termly attendance rewards for the house with the best attendance
• End of year rewards for children with 100% attendance for the whole academic year
• Attendance Avengers reviewing attendance and reporting back to children / classes

Class teachers receive a notification from Studybugs when a child’s attendance has fallen below 90% and a year-to-date report of class attendance of individual pupils. This includes a breakdown of pupil premium, SEND and FSM.

Each child’s attendance record is shared every half term with parents via email.

The Attendance Lead meets the LAAO weekly to discuss children of concern and next steps. The LAAO will send letters to parents and request meetings where necessary.

Stage 1: Prevention

Criteria: Attendance is between 91% and 100%

Pupils who have attendance between 91% and 100% will receive support from school and other universal services they may be accessing i.e., GP

Stage 2: Early Intervention

Criteria: Attendance is between 81% and 90%

Pupils who have attendance between 81% and 90% may require support from other services outside of school and universal services at stage 1.

Stage 3: Targeted Support

Criteria: Attendance is below 80%

Pupils who have attendance below 80% may require multi-agency support in addition to that provided at stage 2.

7. Tailored Support

At Stoke Primary School we recognise that poor attendance can be an indication of difficulties in a family’s life. This may be related to problems at home and/or in school. Parents are encouraged to inform school of any difficulties or changes in circumstances that may affect their child’s attendance and/or behaviour in school, for example, bereavement, divorce/separation, emerging health concerns. This will help the school identify any additional support that may be required.

We also recognise that some pupils are more likely to require additional support to attain good attendance. The school will implement a range of strategies to support improved attendance based on the individual needs and circumstances of the child.

Strategies we may use to support you include:

• Tailored rewards specific to the child
• Daily check-ins where necessary
• Daily communication with parents where necessary
• Support from the Family Team
• Referral to Early Help

To plan the correct support, we will always invite parents and pupils to attend a meeting to discuss the concerns and devise a plan to support the child’s regular attendance. Support offered will be child centred and planned in discussion and agreement with both parents and pupils. This may include a referral to Early Help or a Parenting Contract.

8. Persistent Absence and the use of legal interventions

A pupil becomes a ‘persistent absentee’ (PA) when their attendance drops to 90% and below for any reason. Over a full academic year this would be 40 sessions (20 days). Absence at this level is causing considerable damage to a child’s educational prospects.

The attendance of all pupils at our school is monitored to identify children who are PA, or are on track to becoming PA. Where emerging concerns are identified we will instigate appropriate and timely interventions as outlined in the section above. Referrals may also be made to external agencies for targeted support.

If parents fail to engage with support and their child continues to have unsatisfactory attendance/ punctuality, a request may be made to the Local Authority to pursue legal proceedings either through a penalty notice or prosecution in the Magistrates’ Court.

Parents found guilty in a Magistrates’ Court of failing to secure their child’s regular attendance at school under the provisions of the Education Act 1996, will receive a criminal record and a maximum penalty of a £1000 fine under a Section 444 (1) offence or a £2500 fine or up to a 3-month prison sentence, under a Section 444 (1a) offence.

8.1 Penalty Notices

Penalty notices will be issued by the Headteacher to parents or carers if your children are absent from school. Penalty notices will be issued in line with the National Framework for Penalty Notices.

The threshold is 10 sessions (equivalent to 5 school days) for any unauthorised absence within a rolling 10 school week period. The 10-week period may span different terms or school years.

The school will prioritise a ‘support first’ approach offering support to families in cases where it is appropriate. Penalty notices can still be issued where support is not appropriate, such as leave of absence in term time or when support has not been engaged with.

Penalty Notices will be issued by post to your home address to each parent or carer by the local authority at the request of the Headteacher. The Penalty Notice is:

• £80 for each of your children if paid in full within 21 days.
• £160 if paid in full after 21 days but within 28 days.

If a second penalty notice is issued to the same parent within a rolling 3-year period, the notice will be charged at the higher rate of £160 with no option for this second offence to be discharged at the lower rate of £80.

A national limit of 2 penalty notices that can be issued to a parent of the same child within a rolling 3-year period has been set within the National Framework, so at the 3^rd (or subsequent) offence(s) a prosecution will be considered.

9. Staged Reintegration/Part-time timetables

All children of compulsory school age are entitled to receive a suitable full-time education and the school and local authority have a statutory duty to ensure that all children in the area receive such an education. In very exceptional circumstances, we may decide to implement a temporary, part-time timetable to meet a pupil's individual needs and only where it is safe to do so.

We will not use a part-time timetable to manage a pupil’s behaviour. A part-time timetable will not be treated as a long-term solution and will have a time limit by which point the pupil is expected to attend full-time or be provided with alternative provision where applicable. We will never put a part-time timetable in place without written agreement from parent/carer and/or other professionals working with the family as appropriate. This intervention will only be used as part of a comprehensive package of support for the pupil; it will be reviewed regularly in partnership with the child, parent and any other relevant professionals working with the family.

We will notify the Attendance and Children Missing Education Team of all part-time timetables as soon as a plan has been agreed and use the appropriate attendance code to record this within our admission register.

10. Related Policies

To underpin the values and ethos of our school and our intent to ensure that pupils at our school attend school regularly and reach their full potential the following policies are integral to this approach:

• safeguarding including child protection.
• medical needs
• admissions
• anti-bullying
• exclusion
• special educational needs
• teaching and learning
• behaviour and rewards

11. Statutory Framework

This policy has been devised in accordance with the following legislation and guidance:

• Working together to improve school attendance (February 2024)
• School attendance parental responsibility measures (January 2015)
• Children missing education (September 2016)
• Keeping children safe in education (September 2023)
• Working together to safeguard children (December 2023)

12. Appendices

Copies of template letters / advice documents issued by the Local Authority are available on the Local Authority website.

https://www.coventry.gov.uk/attendance-inclusion/attendance