Attendance
Please see attached letter from OCC.
To report your child's absence from school please e-mail: absence@bgn.oxon.sch.uk
Blessed George Napier School is committed to providing a full and efficient education to all pupils and embraces the concept of equal opportunities for all. We work closely with the Oxfordshire County Council Attendance team
We will endeavour to provide an environment where all pupils feel valued and welcome. Everything we do is based on our core Gospel values of compassion, respect, truth, service, forgiveness
For a child to reach their full educational achievement, a high level of school attendance is essential. We will consistently work towards a goal of 100% attendance for all children. Every opportunity will be used to convey to pupils and their parents or carers the importance of regular and punctual attendance including e.g. newsletters and end of term reports. Of course, all students can become ill or need to miss school for another reason at some point, but our expectation is that all students will achieve at least 96% attendance each year. We regularly recognise and reward students who achieve excellent attendance.
School attendance is subject to various Education laws and this school attendance policy is written to reflect these laws and the guidance produced by the Department for Education (DfE). Any student whose attendance falls below 90% in any one year is classed a ‘persistent absentee’ by the DfE.
Each year the school will examine its attendance figures and set attendance/absence targets. These will reflect both national and Oxfordshire attendance targets.
The school will review its systems for improving attendance at regular intervals to ensure that it is achieving its set goals.
This policy will contain within it, the procedures that the school will use to meet its attendance targets.
Morning registration will take place at the start of school at 8:40am. The registers will remain open until half an hour after registration time. Any pupil arriving after this time will be marked as having an unauthorised absence (U) unless there is an acceptable explanation (school transport was delayed). In cases for example, where the absence at registration was for attending an early morning medical appointment, the appropriate absence code will be entered.
A text explaining a child has received a late mark will be sent to the parents/guardians that day. Being late more than twice will result in an after-school detention.
The afternoon registration will be at the beginning of Period 5. Pupils arriving after the start of school but before the end of the registration period will be treated for statistical purposes, as present, but will be coded as late (L) before registers close.
Absence because of illness
Parents/Carers must inform the school if their child is going to be absent on or before the first day – contact details: absence@bgn.oxon.sch.uk. Parents/guardians must contact the school on each day of absence until the student is well enough to return for safeguarding reasons, unless we receive a letter from the GP/Hospital advising us of the length of absence, i.e recovery after an operation. When informing us of an absence for illness, it is important to explain the nature of the illness as we cannot authorise an absence for a general comment, i.e. unwell, poorly or not feeling well,
If no contact has been made by parents/carers by the close of registration, then a ‘GroupCall’ automated message will be sent to the nominated number to inform parents/carers that the student is not at school. On some occasions, if the parent/carer cannot be contacted, a home visit may be arranged to establish that a student is safe, and this may involve a referral to other agencies if there are significant concerns. Welfare checks may also be carried out in the instance of child absence even when parent/carer has made contact with the school.
When making medical/dental appointments, every effort must be made to ensure appointments are outside school hours, but we acknowledge that this is not always possible. Medical/Dental appointments must be accompanied by an appointment card or other written confirmation. Please note, a whole school day should not normally be necessary, and students are expected to attend before and after their appointment.
While we will do everything possible to support students who have been absent for a genuine reason, it is the responsibility of the student to speak to their teachers and clarify what work they need to catch up on. There is a large amount of subject information available to students and parents on the school VLE.
Why regular attendance is so important
Any absence affects the pattern of a child’s schooling and regular absence will seriously affect their learning. Any pupil’s absence disrupts teaching routines so may affect the learning of others in the same class. Ensuring your child’s regular attendance at school is your legal responsibility and permitting absence from school without a good reason creates an offence in law and may result in prosecution.
Absence due to prolonged or repeated illness
When a student is absent from school for prolonged periods of time due to an ongoing illness, a letter from their consultant is required which states clearly that the student is unfit for school. The letter should state the date/dates that the student will be absent and the date when the student will be expected to return to school and a brief explanation as to the reason for absence. We will work closely with medical staff and the student to ensure that we offer appropriate support as far as we are able to. If we do not have appropriate medical evidence, then the absence will be unauthorised. In cases where students have been absent from school for prolonged periods of time, and they are not under the care of a specialist medical team, the responsibility for day-to-day safeguarding remains with the school. Therefore, we carry out home visits from time-to-time. This has two purposes; firstly, to stay in touch with the student and to encourage them to return to school, and secondly, we have to physically sight the student and be able to record that they are safe in line with safeguarding policies and procedures.
Frequent and unauthorised absence
It is the responsibility of the Attendance Officer/Deputy Headteacher for Student progress and Wellbeing, to be aware of and bring attention to, any emerging attendance concerns. In cases where a pupil begins to develop a pattern of absences, the school will try to resolve any concerns with parent/s.
Where incidents of poor attendance and/or lateness are identified through monitoring, parents/carers will be notified in writing that this is a cause for concern. If this continues, the school will invite parents/carers in to discuss causes and ways forward. An attendance contract will be agreed at this meeting and the Head of Year will continue to monitor the student’s attendance. Parents/carers will be asked to give permission to speak to the student’s GP if the absences are related to ill health. If the GP’s practice issues a charge for this information, it is the responsibility of the parents to pay for it in order for the information to be used as evidence/confirmation to authorise absence due to medical reasons. In order to authorise absence on medical grounds, written medical evidence covering the entire period of absence is required.
If attendance does not improve then the completion of a Strengths & Needs Form will be offered. This process identifies all the support that the family and student currently have access to and brings all agencies together in a team around the family (TAF). The EHA is managed by the school with support from the LCSS team (Locality and Community Support Service) at Oxfordshire County Council.
Penalty Notices and Legal Action
The Law
The Education Act 1996 Part 1, Section 7 states:
The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable-
[a] To his age, ability and aptitude and
[b] To any special needs he may have.
either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.
For educational purposes the term parent is used to include those that have parental responsibility and/or those that have the day-to-day care of the child.The legislation that appertains to children who are of compulsory school age and are registered at school is contained within this Act.Part V1 Section 444 contains the details of when an offence is committed if a child fails to attend school.
In cases of persistent absenteeism, the school reserves the right to issue a Penalty Notice Warning which could result in a referral to The County Attendance Team to issue a fine or take further legal action through the courts, which may end up as a Criminal Prosecution which will result in a criminal record.
A Penalty Notice is a fine that the County Attendance Team may decide to issue instead of taking legal action through the Magistrates’ Court system.
A Parent/Carer can be issued with a penalty notice if:
- they fail to ensure that their child attends school or other education provision regularly, usually defined as six or more unauthorised absence sessions over a six-week period;
- they fail to return their child to school on the agreed date after a period of authorised leave of absence;
- their child persistently arrives late for school after registration is closed;
- they allow their child to take leave of absence during term time without the school’s authorisation. Please note that from September 2019 all parents/carers will be issued with a Penalty Notice Warning letter at the start of the school year. A fine can be issued at the Headteachers discretion following the first unauthorised absence for holiday during the school year within five days of the pupil’s return to school.
A pupil becomes a ‘persistent absentee’ (PA) when they miss 10% or more schooling across the school year for whatever reason. Absence at this level is doing considerable damage to any child’s educational prospects and we need parents’ fullest support and co-operation to tackle this.
The school monitors all absence thoroughly. Any case that is seen to have reached the PA mark or is at risk of moving towards that mark is given priority and parents will be informed of this immediately.
PA pupils are tracked and monitored carefully by the school and a parenting contract meeting will be offered between parent, pupil and school to try and help resolve any issues. PA cases maybe referred to the County Attendance Team and if necessary, they have a range of legal powers open to them to enforce attendance including parenting orders, education supervision orders and prosecutions. If convicted of an offence a parent could face a fine of up to £2,500 per parent and/or 3 months imprisonment.
Catch up Card
Students must complete all missed work to a satisfactory standard within a week. The card will be singed by the teacher and Head of Year. Failure to complete work may result in your child staying after school to catch up.
Return from prolonged absence
It is important that on return from an absence that all pupils are made to feel welcome. This should include ensuring that the pupil is helped to catch up on missed work and brought up to date on any information that has been passed to other pupils. This will be managed by the Head of Year and Pastoral Support Manager/SENCO as appropriate.
Promoting Attendance
The school will use opportunities as they arise to remind parents/carers that it is their responsibility to ensure that their children receive their education. Attendance is regularly highlighted in the school newsletter. Tutors support students in completing a record in their planner so they are aware of their percentage attendance. Percentage attendance is included in each school report that is sent to parents/carers. Attendance is a regular whole school focus and at the end of each term there is a prize for excellent attendance in each year group. Certificates are rewarded regularly for excellent attendance whole year to date as well as for specific term(s). The names of students awarded these certificates are entered into a draw and have a chance of winning a prize.
Leave of Absence
As of 19th August 2024, new legislation came into force which states a Headteacher will not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Parents/Carers should seek permission from the Headteacher prior to the leave of absence period in question.
Taking holidays in term time will affect your child’s schooling as much as any other absence and we expect parents to help us by not taking children away in school time. Remember that any savings you think you may make by taking a holiday in school time are offset by the cost to your child’s education.
There is no automatic entitlement in law to time off in school to go on holiday and the school may request for a Penalty Notice to be issued.
- It is widely known that the link between a pupil’s attendance and attainment is irrefutable
- Early poor attendance habits follow through into secondary school, further education and employment
- All schools in Oxfordshire are encouraged to adopt a policy of not authorising requests for holidays.
The Headteacher will determine the number of school days a child can be away from school if the leave is granted. The percentage attendance of the student in the current year and also previous attendance patterns will be considered when making this decision. Parents/carers who remove their children from school without authorisation or do not return their child to school on the agreed date following an authorised period of leave of absence, may face a Penalty Notice Warning which could lead to a fine/prosecution (see Penalty Notices and Legal Action above). Taking holidays in term time will affect your child’s schooling as much as any other absence and we expect parents to help us by not taking children away in school time. Remember that any saving you think may make by taking a holiday in school time are offset by the cost of your child’s education.
What does the law say?
Parents are expected to contact school at any early stage and to work with the staff in resolving any problems together. This is nearly always successful. If difficulties cannot be sorted out this way, the school may refer the child to the County Attendance Team at the Local Authority. At the school’s request, they may issue a Penalty Notice per parent/carer, per child. The Penalty is £80 if paid within 21 days of receipt of the notice, increasing to £160 if paid between day 21 and day 28. This amount is prescribed by the Education Penalty Notices (England) Regulations 2007. Failure to pay a Penalty Notice within the prescribed period may result in prosecution for the underlying offence of failure to secure regular school attendance. Any second penalty notice issued to the same parent for the same child within a rolling 3 year period will be charged at a higher rate of £160 with no option for this second offence to be discharged at the lower rate of £80. (The three-year period begins from the date of the first penalty notice issued on or after 19 August 2024. Please note: Penalty Notices are issued per parent/per child.
The guidance summarises the legal powers and duties that govern school attendance and explains how they apply to local authorities, head teachers, school staff, governing bodies, pupils and parents.
These requirements are contained in:
• The Education Act 1996 - sections 434(1)(3)(4)&(6) and 458(4)&(5)
• The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006
• The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2010
• The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2011
• The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013
• The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2016
The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) governs how information about people (Personal Data) should be treated. It also gives rights to individuals whose data is held. The Regulation came into force on 25 May 2018 and applies to all personal data collected at any time whether held on computer or manual record. The Regulation is enforced by the Information Commissioner.
The County Attendance Team
Parents are expected to contact school at an early stage and to work with the staff in resolving any problems together. This is nearly always successful. If difficulties cannot be sorted out in this way, the school may refer the child to the County Attendance Team at Oxfordshire County Council for consideration of legal proceedings.At the school’s request, they may issue a Penalty Notice per parent/carer, or take action via a Non-Attendance referral, the legislation is the Education Act 1996 sec 444(1) and 444 (1A).
The County Attendance Team with the school, will encourage you to engage with a Strengths and Needs form. Education Supervision Orders may be discussed with you to support rapidly improved attendance.
Parents that have previously been issued with Penalty Notices for their children’s unauthorised absences, in the event of further unauthorised absences may receive summonses to Court.
Alternatively, parents or children may wish to contact the County Attendance Team themselves to ask for help or information. They are independent of the school and will give impartial advice. Their telephone number is 01865 323513 – attendance@oxfordshire.gov.uk
Those people responsible for attendance matters in this school are:
Mrs S Thornton - Attendance Officer
Mr S Masterson - Headteacher
Access to attendance information
The law regarding sharing personal data changed when the GDPR data protection regulations came into force. Blessed George Napier is an Academy and part of the Pope Francis Multi Academy Company. Under the current law, Blessed George Napier School is required to share one annual written report of each registered pupil’s progress and attainment in the main subject areas taught to the parents of that registered pupil. Summary attendance data is included in this report. However, we do not share any detailed information regarding the reason for the absence, as this data is not part of the ‘Educational record’. It is personal data under the GDPR legislation. The school can share attendance data with third parties under the ‘Lawful Basis of carrying out a public task’ only where the school has concerns about attendance, and it is the child’s best interest to share information.
