Attendance Policy
At AET, we want to make every hour of learning count so that every pupil can find their remarkable. For our children to get benefit from everything we have to offer, it is essential that they attend on time, every day (unless absence is genuinely unavoidable).
A good attendance record is proven to be one of the most important factors in determining good outcomes for children. Therefore, for any pupil who cannot attend the school in person/on site for legitimate reasons but is well enough to continue learning, high-quality virtual learning will be provided from the first day of absence.
In accordance with the Department for Education guidance on 'School attendance', all of our academies will:
ensure every pupil has access to the full-time education to which they are entitled;
promote good attendance and reduce absence, including persistent absence;
ascertain the reason for absence and whether it is approved or not, following up with parents/carers as appropriate;
act early to address patterns of absence;
ensure proper safeguarding action is taken where appropriate; and
systematically record absence using the correct DfE attendance codes.
We know that parents share our passion for pupils’ outcomes. Therefore, we expect parents and carers to perform their legal duty. This means making sure that children of compulsory school age, who are registered at school, attend regularly. Where parents and carers face genuine challenges which affect the attendance of their children, we encourage them to work in partnership with academy leaders to identify where the school can help.
We have high expectations of pupils, too. We expect them to be punctual for school and for their lessons. Punctuality is a fundamental element of respect for ourselves and others: in particular, for staff and for fellow pupils.
Local policies and procedures
There is no statutory requirement to maintain an Attendance Policy. Nevertheless we encourage all our academies to have written procedures which clarify how they comply with the statutory requirements relating to attendance, including any specific elements required by their local authority.
To aid this process we have developed a template (link here) for our academies to use.
This policy will next be reviewed in June 2024.
Legal context
The legal powers and duties that govern school attendance and how they apply to local authorities, head teachers, school staff, proprietors, pupils and parents are contained in the Department for Education guidance on Working Together to Improve School Attendance.