Whole School Approaches

The key to tackling poor school attendance is in the creative intervention strategies that a school uses. In this section we discuss ways to approach irregular school attendance, including the legal interventions to use and how to effectively engage with families.  We outline procedures for good working practices within school and how to promote good school attendance.

Whole school approaches to improving attendance

Download an accessible PDF of the intervention diagram. (PDF, 572 KB)

Schools need to adopt a whole school approach when dealing with attendance matters. Improving school attendance is a responsibility shared by governors, school staff, parents, pupils and the wider school community. Clear systems need to be implemented to monitor and track the attendance of all pupils. Early intervention is crucial to try and prevent a situation escalating. By identifying individual staff to take the lead in attendance matters there will be clearly defined responsibilities.

Improving attendance needs to be a constant feature of all aspects of school-life. Does every adult know the part that they have to play in improving attendance? A robust whole school approach means attendance is a constant feature of assemblies, wall displays, parent consultations, newsletters etc. Attendance targets should be visible everywhere. Most importantly, the school should feel like a welcoming, safe and appropriately challenging place.

A good place for all schools to start is to have clear lines of communication with all parents. Ensure parents are aware that they are legally responsible for making sure their child attends school regularly and are given clear guidance regarding attendance law. This includes term time holidays which could lead to the parent being issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice.

Missing school causes severe disruption to their child's education and will affect their chances in later life. If their child shows any reluctance to attend school, parents and staff need to work together to address the cause.

Model of intervention

It is important to track pupil attendance and to have a particular focus on pupils with attendance below 90% and those on track to become Persistently Absent (PA). This level of analysis needs to be completed on a regular basis in order to put effective intervention in place. By investigating individual circumstances, it becomes possible to treat each pupil on a case-by-case basis. The use of a traffic light system can clearly demonstrate which interventions need to be implemented at which point.

Below is an example of some of the possible interventions:

A traffic light system can also be adopted for attendance letters sent home to parents/carers.  Each half term the relevant letter with attendance information can be sent using the definition in the above table.

It is everyone's responsibility within the school community to promote the importance of school attendance.  There are many was to publicise this message.

Assemblies

Assemblies are a good opportunity to address and talk about attendance. Highlighting the importance of attending regularly and punctually and giving them facts on the amount of school holiday they have compared with the amount of time they are in school, for example.  They should also be used to celebrate and reward good and improving attendance for individual pupils and classes.

Home-school agreement  

All maintained schools and academies are required to publish a home-school agreement and an accompanying parental declaration.  Reasonable steps should be taken to ensure that all registered parents/carers of pupils sign the parental declaration to indicate that they understand and accept the home-school agreement.

The Home-school agreement could include:

• The school's ethos.
• The importance of good school attendance.
• The responsibilities of the parent/carer in ensuring their child's attendance.
• The expectations of the school, parent/carer and pupil for attendance/behaviour and homework.
• The information schools and parents/carers will give one another e.g. home contact details and alternative emergency contact details.  

First day response

A school's first day response procedures must be included in the school's attendance policy.  This must be shared with parents/carers to ensure they know what is expected of them and what the school will do following no contact from home.  It must clearly state what happens on continuous days of absences, who conducts the follow ups and all information/conversations must be recorded clearly and accurately.  Schools must remember to be professionally curious and professionally challenge parents when there are concerns about a pupil.

Keeping the lines of communication open between parents/pupils and school can lessen the chances of having to escalate to legal action and can improve the outcomes of young people in the long term.

Working with parents and carers

It is the legal duty of parents/carers to ensure their child receives a suitable education relevant to their ability, age and any special needs. For most parents this is done by registering their child on a school roll.

It is the law that when a child is registered at school, they must attend regularly and punctually. The child should only be absent from school due to illness or an unavoidable cause.

When a child is absent from school and no reason or explanation is given, it is up to the school to professionally challenge this with the parents/carers and record the absence as unauthorised if the explanation is not satisfactory. If the absences are recorded as unauthorised the parent/carer is at risk of being prosecuted or receiving a fixed penalty notice for poor attendance.

Some acceptable reasons for a school to authorise absences are as follows:

• Illness
• Unavoidable medical or dental appointments (however, where possible these should be arranged for after school or during school holidays)
• Day of religious observance (This does not include weddings, confirmations or christenings)
• Exceptional family circumstances, such as bereavement
• An interview with a college

Examples of reasons a school may not authorise an absence:

• Shopping for school shoes, uniform etc during school hours
• Day trips
• Birthdays (theirs or other family members)
• Looking after brothers or sisters or ill relatives
• Term-time holiday
• Caring for a disabled parent

Communicating with parents/carers

• It is important to follow up in person, on absences where no contact has been made. It is necessary to challenge and probe reasons for absence.
• Letters to parents/carers of individual pupils with poor school attendance can be effective. Letters should be addressed to individual parents /carers and not just "Dear Parent/Carer" and translated if necessary to ensure inclusion for all families.
• Through the school's attendance monitoring it should be easy to identify the pupils who require a letter. For children who have a serious illness or suffered a recent bereavement this may not be appropriate.

How parents/carers can help their child have good attendance

Parents/carers should be encouraged to make sure their child arrives on time and every day, starting in their nursery and Reception years. Creating good habits from an early age will set the precedent and expectations during the child's school life.

• If their child arrives after the register has closed without a good reason, this will be recorded as an 'unauthorised' absence for that session
• The parent/carer must ensure that they contact the school if their child is absent, preferably on the morning that the absence occurs. It should be made clear in the school's policy what the procedure is and how the school will follow this up if a message has not been received
• Be aware of the school's daily routines to avoid issues such as whether they have their PE kit or not
• Be interested in their child's schooling and be given opportunities to find out how they are doing, through attending parent meetings, concerts and other school events
• Don't let their children take time off school for minor ailments - particularly those which would not stop parents/carers from going to work.
• If a medical appointment must be made in school time, parents should be encouraged to return the child to school afterwards. A morning appointment doesn't have to be a whole day of school missed.
• Family holidays should not be taken in term time, families should be aware of when the term dates are and encouraged to plan holidays around these.
• If parents/carers feel there is an issue with their child which could affect their attendance, they should contact the school at the earliest opportunity. It should be clear in the school's policy and on other school information who the point of contact is within the school 
• Parents/carers should know what their child's attendance is, through updates from the school. There should be no surprises when a parent sees an attendance record

Download an attendance tips for parents pamphlet (PDF, 177 KB) and  download an attendance tips checklist for parents (Word doc, 45 KB).

Lateness

It is vital that parents/carers and pupils know that punctuality matters, both for individuals and for the smooth running of the school community. Your Attendance Policy will state the times that your registers open and close.  Deciding on the times will vary from school to school but the registers should not be kept open for the whole morning session or afternoon session.

Parents and pupils should be made aware of these times to ensure they are punctual and not late and be aware that if they arrive late after registration closes then it will be coded as U, which is an unauthorised absence for that whole session.

If lateness becomes a continued issue for individual pupils or for the school as a whole there are strategies and incentives that can be adopted to resolve the issue.

Strategies could include the following.

Raising awareness of lateness

This can be undertaken on a whole school level by utilising displays within school to illustrate the impact of lateness. Download the following example posters:  Every minute counts bar chart (Word doc, 59 KB),  Punctuality matters: Every school day counts (Word doc, 194 KB),  Punctuality matters equation (Word doc, 354 KB).

More concerning cases can be addressed on an individual level using a late letter, such as this example to download (Word doc, 691 KB). 

Parents evenings

Discuss good punctuality with parents/carers.  By using the school's management information system you can calculate the total number of minutes that a pupil is arriving late and state the amount of learning time lost and share this with parents/carers and pupils.

Meetings with parents/carers

A meeting can be held with the parents/carers of pupils who consistently arrive late, and where they do not respond to the school's procedures to tackle punctuality. The discussion could involve pastoral staff, members of the Senior Leadership Team and/or school governors. Ensure that parents/carers are aware of the difference between the L and U code and the implications of this. The meetings aim is to discuss the impact of persistent lateness on the pupil's education, their peers and teachers.

Explain to parents/carers that poor punctuality can lead their child to:

• Feel embarrassed in front of their friends
• Miss the beginning of vital lessons
• Miss important instructions for the rest of the school day
• Learn bad habits which could affect their employability in the future
• Be given sanctions such as detentions and negative points for lateness

Strategies to suggest to parents could include:

• Bedtime routines - setting a regular bedtime and when the child should switch off TV, games consoles and other electrical equipment
• Being organised - ensuring school bags are packed with all equipment ready and school uniform prepared. Packed lunches are made. Homework is completed
• Morning routines - setting an alarm to ensure sufficient time to get ready, have breakfast and leave in good time to arrive at school. Arranging to meet a friend to walk to school with
• Attend Breakfast Club if available
• Explaining the importance of not being late and if the parents/carers work how this would affect their work if they were consistently late

Following improvement

• Send a letter (or praise postcard) to parents/carers acknowledging any improvements in punctuality.
• Reward pupils in assemblies with 'most improved' certificates and small prizes.

Whole school initiatives

Sometimes school lateness is not just an individual problem.  Using whole school initiatives such as beat the clock (every child receives points/sticker every time they are in school on time, and the class or child with the most rewards wins a prize) is a way of promoting the importance of being in school on time.

Late patrols

School gate patrols (or 'late gates') can be a useful way of targeting punctuality issues within the school setting, in conjunction with other methods to support and improve whole school attendance and punctuality. 

Internal truancy

Truancy is any intentional, unjustified, unauthorised, or illegal absence from compulsory education. It is absence caused by pupils of their own free will, and usually does not refer to legitimate excused absences, such as ones related to medical conditions.

Internal truancy can be well managed if there are good procedures in place to address the problem.  It appears more likely to take place in but not exclusive to secondary schools.

The most effective way for this to be addressed is though registration at each lesson throughout a school day where pupils are required to move between classes.  Where a pupil does not register for an individual lesson schools should have a process in place whereby key members of staff are alerted to a missing pupil in order that they can initiate a search for the pupil.

If this becomes a frequent event for a pupil to truant within school, it would be best addressed through a discussion with them and parents to identify the reasons for this happening and put necessary intervention in place to support the pupil to remain in lessons.

It may be necessary to take extreme measures where internal truancy is a cause for concern and an ongoing issue to take such actions as to lock toilet blocks during lesson times.  Pupils would require permission to leave a lesson and would only be able to access a toilet with a member of staff escorting them to and from the classroom to use an agreed toilet. 

If you are unable to locate a pupil in school and believe they may have left the school site it would be necessary to follow your normal truancy procedures.

Rewards

Providing regular recognition for good and improved attendance sends a clear message that being in school every day is a priority.  Even as adults going to work in a welcoming, friendly environment and being acknowledged for our efforts increases our self-esteem and satisfaction with our jobs.  Rewards for attendance will differ from school to school, and all staff need to be on board with any system implemented to ensure consistency.

Merrett & Merrett 2013 state:

A number of factors increase the efficacy of reward systems. These include: consistent delivery, perceived fairness of reward distribution, prompt recognition for behaviour, regular and frequent small rewards, sense of community and belonging, providing choices in the rewards available. (The Use of Reward Systems to Improve Behaviour and Attendance in Schools)

Rewards and incentives do not have to cost anything and will vary depending on the ages of the pupils. A reward that may be appealing to a Year 7 pupil may not be so for a Year 10 pupil. Pupils should be given the opportunity to give ideas about the kind of rewards they would like to receive to have some ownership over the scheme.

A reward system will always be more effective when it is embedded in a school where praise and support are a part of the ethos. Incentives are not quick fixes but part of a well-thought-through strategy that builds a culture of positive behaviour.

Below are some examples of rewards and incentives.

Welcoming school culture

Attending a school that is friendly and welcoming is a good starting place to encourage regular attendance.  School staff can greet and welcome parents and children coming into the school each morning.  If a child has been absent the class teacher can welcome the child back and ask their peers to do the same.  For older pupils, having a supportive structure in place to help them catch up on any work missed.

Community involvement

Making links with local business to provide prizes for attendance is a good way to show community cohesion.  One High School contacted their local Halfords who provided a bike for the end of year prize.  Another school received cinema vouchers from their local cinema for pupils to receive for achieving good attendance.

Assemblies

Assemblies are a good way of publicly sharing achievements. Recognition is given to those pupils who have attended 100% as well as those who have improved their attendance. Assemblies are also an opportunity to share updates of any class or form competitions promoting peer encouragement and healthy competition. It is also an opportunity to remind pupils about the importance of attendance and punctuality and share collectively how the whole is doing with regards to attendance.

Notice boards

Having a designated board for attendance gives you the opportunity to show the achievements of individual pupils, classes and the whole school. It is a space to explain the consequences of poor school attendance and what support is on offer for pupils who are struggling to attend, as well as showing what the rewards are for attending and how they can be earned.

Using your management system

Points for attendance can be given using your management system alongside any behavioural and achievement points. These are totted up at the end of each half term and rewards are given according to the number of point earned.

Postcards

Postcards are a great way of letting a pupil and parents know that they have done well. Attendance postcards can be sent out for improved attendance and 100% attendance over a half term or a term. The postcards are posted home and give a visual recognition of what the pupil and parents have achieved and the opportunity to share together.

Sticker charts

Pupils can use sticker charts to track their own attendance. Placing a sticker for each day they have attended. Sticker charts can also be used for encouraging punctuality, for example, children who arrive on time every day receive a sticker and then at the end of the week if they have filled their chart they can receive 5 minutes extra playtime. This incentive can used across the whole school (including staff) and the class/form with the highest number of children attending on time, receives a reward. High School pupils can have a punctuality card stamped each day they arrive on time, if they complete it by the end of the week then they a reward is given for example, a pass to go first in the lunch queue.

Class/Year/House competitions

Attendance rewards can be used for groups of pupils not just individuals. Recognition is given to classes/year groups/houses that have achieved the highest attendance over a set period.

• Best Form Buns - One high school enlisted the help and support of their local supermarket to provide buns/fruit for the form who had the best attendance at the end of every half term.
• Best Class Bear - An incentive for Primary Schools whereby the class with the best attendance at the end of the week receives the Best Class Bear.

Incentives

Vouchers are presented to pupils who have 100% or most improved attendance each term. These can be for books, amazon voucher etc. One high school used beautician vouchers to reward their Year 11 girls who attended during the last term leading up to prom.

Lunch/Breakfast with the Head - A Primary School Head decided to reward his 100% attenders each term to a special lunch with him.

Raffles - Each half term a child with 100% is given a raffle ticket, at the end of the year all the raffle tickets are put into a hat and one is drawn and they win the overall prize. Some schools have given away iPads. 

Weekly £5 raffle for pupils who had 100% the week before.

Trophies are awarded to the house, class, form for the best attendance. Individual trophies can be awarded for overall improved attendance, 100% for the whole academic year etc.

Certificates are given to pupils who have 100% attendance and most improved. However, they can be given to those pupils who have reached the school target or their own individual target to reward their improvement.  Download an attendance certificate (PDF, 127 KB).

End of year trips are run for pupils who have 100% for the year. One school varied the trips depending on the pupil's attendance. For example, a full year of attendance the pupils went to Drayton Manor, for 96% -98% attendance went to Pleasurewood Hills.

Cost-free rewards are another way to encourage good attendance. For primary school children, using incentives such as sit with a friend pass, help the teacher pass, free choice pass, or extra playtime pass. For Secondary School pupils consider jump the queue pass, free lunch pass, extra time for homework pass, late homework pass (for 1 day), sit with a friend pass.

Early intervention and support

When a child regularly attends school, it has a positive impact on their learning and development. Starting at an early age, establishing good habits and routines will help children feel secure and settled and know what is expected. Children who have poor routines and are unsettled show higher levels of stress and this can impact on fully benefiting from the learning opportunities that schools offer.

It is key that schools get the message of good attendance and punctuality across to parents and carers right from the start of their schooling.

Focussed work with children is key and can include:

• An emphasis on attendance and punctuality across the curriculum
• Circle time, class discussions
• Peer support systems
• Celebrations and rewards
• Assemblies
• Providing positive role models, inviting special visitors to focus on particular issues
• Breakfast clubs to ensure children have a healthy and positive start to the day

School Attendance and SEN

Children with SEN are more likely to have higher patterns of non-attendance . When dealing with school attendance in relation to pupils with SEN, the attendance strategies and procedures must be the same as for all other pupils with the same focus, challenge and expectations and not an over-reliance on the child's special educational need as a cause of absence from school.

Children with SEN

A multi-agency response to poor school attendance is more likely to be required for pupils with SEN. This is to ensure all their individual needs are addressed. This could be through a review of the Education Health Care Plan, or possibly through a Early Help Assessment and Plan.

• The parents/carers should be made aware and understand the importance of their child attending school regularly by all the agencies involved with the family. Professionals should ensure that the family has the required resources and skills to achieve this and are aware that low attendance should be an indicator of concern.
• A deterioration in attendance could be an indicator that a child is struggling in their learning environment. Children who feel they cannot succeed will feel disaffected if it is reinforced daily. It is important that intervention is used at the earliest opportunity to re-engage the child with their learning by, for example, providing a provision that is more appropriate to improve progress and attendance.

It is important that all schools, including special schools, should be working to eradicate all avoidable absences and to maximise pupils' attendance. If there are health issues that have an impact on the child's attendance at schools, plans should identify support mechanisms that may assist to reduce this.

Pupil premium

The Pupil Premium is an additional amount of money that is put into a school budget to support pupils who may benefit from extra support. This may include children who are in the care of the Local Authority, children who are entitled to free school meals (FSM) or have parents/carers who serve in the armed forces.

Through Pupil Premium, funding support can be put in place to enable pupils to reach their full potential and expected levels of progress. If a child does not attend regularly then this is unlikely to happen. Schools could therefore use this money to target support for individual pupils, group work, or an Attendance Officer to support families and pupils. Any additional focus on attendance would help to increase the attendance of Pupil Premium pupil's therefore narrowing the gap and would improve the overall whole school attendance too.

Support for using pupil premium funding effectively can be found on The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) website (opens new window) they have produced a teaching and learning toolkit to help schools use the pupil premium effectively to support disadvantaged pupils.

Additionally, they have families of schools database which schools can access to learn about good practice from similar schools.

Looked After Children

Local Authorities have a statutory responsibility to make sure that they promote the educational achievement of the children they look after, regardless of where they are placed.

Norfolk's Virtual School in care and previously in care supports the educational progress of children in the care of Norfolk County Council, wherever they may be placed and, through support and challenge to schools, the local authority and other relevant partners, ensures they have the best possible education. It is important that schools liaise with the child's Social Worker if attendance is a concern with any LAC children at the earliest opportunity as part of the Personal Education Plan (PEP).

Leave of absence during term time

Headteachers should not grant leave of absence unless there are exceptional circumstances. The application must be made in advance and the head teacher must be satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances based on the individual facts and circumstances of the case which warrant the leave. Where a leave of absence is granted, the head teacher will determine the number of days a pupil can be away from school. A leave of absence is granted entirely at the headteacher's discretion.

Under Section 444 of the Education Act, an offence occurs if a parent/carer fails to secure their child's regular attendance at the school where they are a registered pupil, and the absence is not authorised by the school.

Only headteachers can authorise absence and the only legal reasons for absence are:

• The absences are with leave (i.e. that they have been agreed by the Headteacher)
• The absences are because of sickness or unavoidable cause. Parents may be asked to provide evidence to support absences due to ill-health. This can be through a copy of an appointment card or prescription or information from a medical practitioner
• The absences fall on days of religious observance for the religion to which parents belong
• The child is entitled to free transport to school and the LA have failed to provide this

If absences do not fall into any of these four categories or the school have not been informed of reasons for absence, absences will be marked as unauthorised.

Section 23 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 (opens new window) introduced powers for issuing Fixed Penalty Notices for unauthorised absence from school. The Education (Penalty Notices) (England) Regulations came into force on 27th February 2004. This was updated with amendments in 2007, 2012 and 2013.

Read more information about the use of Fixed Penalty Notices and the Norfolk Local Protocol.

Attendance panels

Analysis of your attendance data will identify those pupils whose attendance is at a level which causes concern. You will need to decide where you set this level and plan strategies for working with those pupils below it.

Attendance panels are a particularly useful early intervention where a pattern of poor attendance is apparent, whether it is authorised or unauthorised absence. Prior to this intervention it would be expected that school will have addressed early concerns through letters or phone calls to parents. The purpose of an attendance panel would be to hold a meeting with school staff, parents, pupil and any other professionals working with the family. It is a supportive process whereby the discussions and actions will be recorded in writing.

An  Early Intervention attendance plan (Word doc, 141 KB) is provided as a template for such meetings. A member of staff would be expected to chair the meeting with another recording the minutes throughout.

A discussion will take place to identify the reasons why you are concerned through reviewing the child's attendance record and addressing any patterns of absence. It would be good practice to follow a signs of safety approach and discuss: what is working well? what are we worried about? and lastly what needs to happen?

This approach should enable you to gather enough information to provide a full picture of the barriers to attendance and allow you to address these individually through the development of an action plan agreed between all parties.

The actions will be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely) actions and should explain how you expect your outcomes to be met. For example, we will often see written: 'Pupil to attend school every day and on time'; this is a desired outcome rather than the required steps and support needed to achieve this.

A good practice example would read:

Parents of Pupil A will ensure that pupils lunch box and school bag are packed and ready the evening before. That they are resting in plenty of time to allow them to settle down to sleep by 8pm in order that they are well rested and alert during the next day. To make sure pupil is up by 7am and that they eat breakfast and are ready for school by 8am to leave for school in plenty of time to arrive by the beginning of the school day.

The minutes recorded in the meeting record and plan (Word doc, 141 KB) should be read to close the meeting and signed by all present to state their agreement. A review meeting will be held no more than 6 weeks later to review pupil's attendance. The action plan set at the initial meeting will be reviewed along with the pupil's current attendance.

If there has been no improvement the appropriate action would be for the case to proceed to Fast Track but where an improvement is seen it would be appropriate to close the case and to monitor. A clear outcome should be given to parents at the end of this process.