Attendence

Introduction 

This guide is based on the document "Attendance principles and actions .docx" that was agreed at the meeting of 07.09.23. It outlines the steps that each school should take to improve attendance and reduce persistent absence. The guide covers the following topics: 

• Principles  

• Staffing  

• Communication 

• Targeting key groups 

• WMAT Escalation Process 

• Fixed penalty notices 

• Support and monitoring 

• Useful links 

Principles 

• We can only have impact when they are in  

• All students attending everyday - Goal 100% - Minimum 96% 

• Attendance is an attitude of all, not admin  

• The school creates a tangible sense of belonging  

• Strong school support for students who are ill or suffering  

• All families need to find it it easier to send them in than keep them at home if they are not seriously ill due to the culture we create 

• All absences followed up as early as possible  

• All persistent absences receive support and challenge at the right time with the aim of getting students in  

• All students making better than expected progress compared to peers nationally 

Staffing 

Each school should review and realign the roles and responsibilities of the staff involved in attendance matters. This may include: 

• Tutors 

• Attendance officers 

• Year leaders 

• Senior leaders 

• Principals 

Each school should follow these steps: 

• Review the current staffing structure and identify any gaps or needs. Consider the budget constraints and the options for funding support. 

• Create a plan of what is required and cost it. If additional staff are required, discuss it with the local governing body, the line management, and the headteacher board. 

• Ensure that the staff have the appropriate training and resources to carry out their roles effectively. Provide them with the attendance policy, micro scripts, the attendance stages, and the data dashboard. 

• Assign clear tasks and accountabilities to each staff member and monitor their performance and impact. 

• Aim to have a staffing structure that supports the attendance goals in place by half term. 

Communication 

Communication is essential to convey the importance of attendance to students, parents, and staff. Each school should follow these steps: 

• Plan and send regular newsletters that highlight the attendance expectations and progress towards the targets. The newsletters should be at least half a page long and make attendance the first item. 

• Update the school website with clear information about attendance expectations and the impact of attendance on academic outcomes. 

• Send a detailed bulletin to parents with the GCSE results of this year and how they are related to attendance. Also, organize parent information forums to explain the attendance policy and procedures. 

• Make attendance the first item on every agenda and a key part of every meeting, such as leadership team, head of department, tutor, and parent meetings. 

• Use social media to promote attendance and celebrate success 

Targeting key groups 

Each school should identify and target the key groups of students who need support and intervention to improve their attendance. These include: 

• Students with attendance between 90% and 94% (key converters) 

• Students with attendance below 90% (persistent absentees) 

• Students who are late or absent the day before 

• Students who need a well-being check-in 

• Students from disadvantaged or SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) backgrounds 

• Key groups identified by the Impact Ed report (see useful links)  

Each school should aim to follow these steps: 

• Make daily reactive and pre-emptive phone calls to the parents of these students. Provide micro scripts for the phone calls and record the outcomes. 

• Conduct regular home visits for the persistent absentees and offer support and guidance. 

• Meet with the students regularly and set targets and review progress. Use the attendance stages as a framework for the meetings and follow the escalation process. 

• Praise small wins and conversions, both for the students and the parents. Recognize and reward the students who improve their attendance or achieve the targets. 

• Remove any barriers that prevent the students from attending school, such as transport, uniform, equipment, or health issues. 

• Build positive relationships with the students and their families and show them that the school cares about their well-being and success. 

WMAT Escalation Process

A rolling system for student/ parent meetings should be implemented, linked to maintaining 96% or above.  

Stage one: first day absence: phone call home (tutor or attendance officer) - pre-emptive to stop second day 

Optional: Day two call by tutor 

Stage two (3 days term one):  hybrid model depending on school of either -  

1. face to face tutor meeting with parent and student to offer support and set targets 

2. tutor meeting with student to offer support and set targets with follow up call to parents (preferred model) - an example pro-forma for this meeting can be found here 

Stage three (6 days term one):  year leader meeting with targets and support reviewed (T2 8 days/ T3 10 days)  

Stage four (9 days absent term one): Senior Leader meeting with targets and support reviewed (T2 11 days (about 1 and a half weeks)/ T3 13 days) 

Rolling escalation: Term1: 3 days Term 2: 5 days Term 3:7 days for tutor meeting 

Example attendance letters can be found here 

Fixed penalty notices

Fixed penalty notices are a legal measure to enforce regular school attendance.  

Please follow the latest guidance from your LA (Local Authority) e.g. https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/110994/23110994_PN.Code-of-Conduct.-26.10.2022_p1.pdf  

Please note that from Aug 2024 Surrey CC guidance is changing (for info https://surreyeducationservices.surreycc.gov.uk/Article/160392 )

Support and monitoring 

Support and monitoring are essential to ensure the effectiveness and consistency of the attendance principles and actions. Each school should follow these steps: 

• Use the trust daily data dashboard to track and analyze the attendance of each student, group, and cohort.  

• Set up Arbor to allow attendance actions to be logged and have the tracking document set up. Please contact Sally Walker to  organise this swalker@fhes.org.uk  

Natalie Hill nhill@fhes.org.uk or Grant Tubridy gtubridy@weydonschool.surrey.sch.uk  are useful contacts to explain how you might set up actions in Arbor from a practical staff usage sense; Sally can help implement system changes.  

• Use the trust tracking document to track actions being completed on Arbor (set up by S Walker) 

• The school attendance officer should prepare a list of key actions required for students on a weekly basis 

• The LT link should meet weekly with the school attendance officer and review the actions list, allocate actions to appropriate colleagues, review actions from the previous week and follow up incomplete actions  

• The LT attendance lead and attendance officer (where possible) should participate in the half-termly attendance forum. Discuss the strategies, policies, and resources for attendance improvement. Contact klockett@wmat.org.uk for details of these meetings.  

• Host a half-termly attendance challenge visit from the trust lead and a senior leader from another trust school. Receive feedback and support on the attendance principles and actions. 

• Report to the local governing body on the attendance performance and targets. Provide them with the trust data dashboard and the summary dashboard. 

• Meet with the link governor for attendance and the trust lead. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the attendance provision and the plans for improvement. 

Useful links 

Case study Sandbach High School 

DFE (Department of Education) Toolkit 

Impact Ed – Understanding the drivers of attendance