Mexborough St John the Baptist Church of England Primary School
Together we believe, together we succeed

 

Attendance Procedure

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Our school aim is to ensure that all children are able to achieve their very best by taking full advantage of the education opportunities that are available to them. We hope to do this by ensuring high levels of attendance and punctuality and creating an ethos in which good attendance is valued by both school and parents/carers. When children attend school regularly they are more likely to succeed as well as learning social skills, giving them the opportunity to engage positively with their peers and building strong friendships.

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Attendance Monitoring

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We are proud of the positive relationships we have with our parent/s and carers and know that strong partnerships are the most effective ways to help ensure good attendance. For the majority of our children and families’ attendance isn't an issue. To ensure that pupils’ attendance meets the expected standard, and effective intervention is provided where pupils’ attendance falls below expected levels:

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• Attendance is discussed by classroom staff and pupils on a regular basis.  Any attendance/punctuality trends noticed by classroom teachers are passed on immediately to SLT. In addition, our school attendance leads (Mrs Loftus and Mrs Elliss) review and monitor pupil’s attendance on weekly basis.

 

• School will inform all parents/carers of their child(s) attendance by letter each half term (From November onwards).

 

• When a pupil’s attendance becomes a concern parents/carers are informed via letter. This is typically when a child’s attendance falls to 95% 

 

• School will arrange a meeting with parents/carers to discuss attendance issues once their child’s attendance falls to 92% or below.

 

• School will monitor attendance and where necessary refer to and work with parents/carers to tackle persistent absence.

 

• Contact is made with parents on the first day of absence for any pupil where absence has not been reported. (School will use all of the contact numbers for pupils).

 

• If contact cannot be made to ascertain why the pupil is not in school, then a Safe and Well home visit will be considered especially if there are already safeguarding concerns.

 

Attendance reviews will take place every half term. Any actions taken to address poor attendance will be recorded on the child’s chronology and school will retain records and analysis (using a standard attendance review format) in a central attendance file.

 

Attendance Meetings

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The purpose of an attendance meeting is to look at ways school and families can work together to improve a child’s attendance. ​Parents/Carers will be required to attend a meeting with school leaders and the school attendance lead if their child's attendance falls below 92%. During the meeting the attendance lead and parents/carers will form a plan of actions to help improve attendance within a four-week time frame.

 

If in the unlikely event that attendance fails to improve following the implementation of the plan the school may need to make a referral to the Education Welfare Office. Once a referral has been accepted the Education welfare officer they will begin a 12-week programme of support with a family. Failure to engage may lead to a court summons, criminal record (which can affect a person’s ability to secure credit, loans, or mortgages) and/or a fixed penalty notice (fine).

 

Good attendance class rewards

 

• Class teachers give children who arrive on time with 100% attendance a dojo each week. These children will be entered into a raffle and 1 child per class will receive a small prize.

• The class with the highest attendance will receive, a dojo per child and an extra 10 minutes’ playtime.

• If a class achieves 100% attendance for a week all pupil’s will also receive cupcake.

 

Attendance Rewards

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We have a range of incentives and rewards for the class and pupils with the highest attendance. This is to encourage our children to have a shared accountability in ensuring they have good attendance. Our aim is that all our children know about our school target (96%) and try hard to achieve this.

Rewards include:

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• Weekly dojo’s and raffle for children who arrive on time with 100% attendance each week.

• The use of the school zip wire every Friday for the class with the highest attendance.

• The top 3 classes above 96% earn cash to go into a cash pot. This is added up over the year and will be used at the end of the year for a class reward, each class votes from a choice of ideas decided by themselves and their class teacher. The most popular choice will be purchased. The cash rewards are as follows: 

  • 3rd place – above 96% - £2

  • 2nd place – above 96% - £3

  • 1st place – Above 96% -£4​

• If a class achieves 100% attendance, instead of £4 added to the cash pot they will receive £5 plus buns for the whole class.

• Buns for a class if they achieve 100% for a week.

• A certificate, 5 dojos, small prize and special event (film or High tea etc.) for children that achieve 100% attendance for the term.

• A certificate, 10 dojos and special event for every pupil who achieves 96% or above at the end of the year.

• A certificate, 10 dojos and voucher for every pupil who achieves 100% at the end of the year.

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Useful documents 

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