Guidance for class teachers

Why good attendance is so important for all of our pupils

The video below is from the USA but all the points made in it are equally valid for the UK. It sets out well what the problems are with poor attendance and some of the things that teachers and schools can do to improve attendance. (Small note about different terminology - in the USA they call it chronic absence whereas in the UK we call it persistent absence, in the USA year groups are known as grades and are one year higher than ours eg grade 3 is our Y4.)

Also, take a look at our introducing attendance page for more information about why good attendance is so important.

How attendance links with safeguarding

All staff will have induction and refresher training on their duties in relation to safeguarding, as well as regular updates throughout the year. It is the duty of all the team at school to be vigilant so that we can protect our young people. There is often a link between pupils with poor attendance and/or punctuality and safeguarding (although not always and pupils with 100% attendance may still have a safeguarding issue). As the classroom teacher/form tutor, you will know your pupils better than most other staff in the school. This puts you in a unique position to be vigilant for safeguarding issues and to notice any changes in attendance/punctuality. Does the child always miss a certain day of the week? Are they often late and/or arrive hungry or unkempt? Does the child avoid talking about the reason for their absence or give different reasons or reasons that just don't feel right? If there is anything that you spot that makes you feel uncomfortable then it is important that you discuss this with your safeguarding lead, even if you feel that it is only a minor thing.

In addition to the type of absence described above, we also need to be vigilant with regard to possible FGM. Be alert to pupils talking about going away for a special ceremony, particularly just before the summer holidays and if this is to a country on the African continent where FGM is more prevalent.

If you have travellers in your class, be alert to any discussion of them being about to move on or not returning. Whilst this is usually perfectly legitimate and not usually a safeguarding issue, it can be useful information to share with your safeguarding/pastoral lead to ensure that the pupils' education can be continued as they travel.

Sometimes children may just simply not turn up for school for several days and there may be no known reason, or you happen to hear from the child or their parent/guardian that they will not be attending school for several days for a variety of reasons (could be a holiday, a bereavement, a planned operation or a move of school etc). If this is the case, again, always be sure to discuss with your attendance lead to ensure that they are aware of this.

How you can contribute to a culture of great attendance

The best place to start is to ensure that you are aware of the things that the school explicitly does to support a culture of great attendance. Find out who your attendance lead is in the academy and also who your attendance officer is. (Sometimes these are the same person but not always. Your attendance lead is generally a member of the senior leadership team. Your attendance officer is the person that deals with absence etc on daily basis and they may have another title and combine this with other roles such as pastoral support.) Ask them how you can best support great attendance.

One of the most important ways of contributing is to make sure that you talk about attendance to your children on a regular basis in a positive way. Make sure that they understand, in simple terms, why it is important for them to have great attendance. Notice those children who always have great attendance and thank them and their parents for this. Warmly greet those pupils who have been absent or are late (avoid nagging or negative comments) and tell them that you have missed them and are glad that they are back (same with parents). Take every opportunity to spread the message that, if a parent is unsure whether to bring a child in, they can always bring them or phone for advice, and we will let them know if there is an issue (eg minor sniffles or an upset child). Celebrate great attendance in the class and take every opportunity to encourage competitiveness with regard to attendance where this is appropriate (but be sensitive to pupils who may have very legitimate reasons for absence such as those with long term illness). Model great attendance and punctuality yourself.

Your duties related to the attendance register

The attendance register is a legal document (see this page for more details of the law on attendance registers) and teachers are responsible for ensuring that it is accurately and promptly completed. Inaccurate or incomplete attendance registers are a safeguarding issue and are taken very seriously because they mean that we do not know where all of the pupils are. Every headteacher will be able to tell you their 'horror story' of an inaccurately completed register and the potential consequences. My own (it wasn't a child in my class and I wasn't the head teacher) is a secondary school child marked as present who was found by the police 50 miles away after deciding not to come to school and instead taking the train to the coast for the day. Imagine if you had been that teacher who had marked the pupil present!

From day one in the classroom make sure that you know how to take the attendance register, your responsibilities for updating it when children are late into your classroom and how to 'send' the completed register to the office (ie pressing a button if computerised or physically getting a register to the designated central collection point) and what time it should be sent by at the latest. Also make sure you are clear about what to do if your computer is not working and you cannot complete the electronic register, what happens when someone else is taking your class register (eg supply or cover - if its still done using your logon then you remain legally responsible (so that shouldn't happen)) and taking the register in the event of an evacuation.

There are several areas where adults taking a register may encounter problems if they are not careful and clear about what is required in your academy:

Attendance Codes

The first is in the correct use of codes. Often teachers are restricted in the codes that they can use and only attendance staff can put it the 'special' codes that are not used as regularly. Sometimes codes have been pre-completed by attendance staff if there is an absence that is known in advance. Do not be tempted to 'help' attendance staff by changing any of these codes or using a more unusual code, even if you believe that the existing code is wrong. Instead, ensure that you alert the attendance officer (check what is the best way to do this in advance) who will decide what code to enter. Also, check if you should be making any comments on the register in the event of an absence and how these should be formulated (remember the attendance register is a legal document that must be ready for inspection by an Ofsted inspector at any time).

Pupils Completing Registers

This is more likely in secondary academies. Often when a teacher is taking the register and a pupil is absent, the other pupils will tell you why they are absent. Whilst you can take note of this and alert the attendance officer, you should not take what is said as a certainty. Also, be wary of allowing pupils to complete the register themselves (don't leave the register open and unattended) and using registration methods that are open to abuse (eg having children count through numbers where a missing number means a missing child).

Lateness

Many computerised registration systems have an option to put in a L code if a pupil is late and then to add how many minutes late they are. Check with your attendance officer to find out if and how they would like this to be completed by class teachers. Different academies will have different systems for dealing with latecomers. Often classroom teachers are responsible for registering those who are just a few minutes late but there is a central registration point for those who are more than a few minutes late. It is easy for pupils who 'sneak in' to class to get missed off the register and marked absent if we are not careful. It can be difficult to check a register if you are in 'full flow' in the classroom but you should have a system in place to check latecomers are registered as soon as you are able.

Understanding the academy routines for absence

Much of this has already been covered in the sections above. The main messages here are:

• check with your attendance lead and attendance officer to ensure that you know what is expected of you in relation to attendance

• remain vigilant to all issues of safeguarding in relation to (non) attendance

• ensure you understand your duties in relation to completion of the attendance register and carry these out diligently

• if you are unsure about anything in relation to absence, make sure you ask - no question is stupid or too simple!