Help & Support with Attendance

Our Attendance & Pastoral Lead

Children may struggle to attend school for a wide range of reasons. If your child is struggling to attend school we want to work together to explore the possible reasons why and discuss what support you or they need to overcome the barriers to attendance they are experiencing. 

If the barriers to attendance you or your child are facing go beyond the remit of our school, such as a transport or a mental health issue, we will signpost you to information, local organisations or charities. In some cases, we may suggest making a referral to agencies that have a level of expertise that cannot be matched by school staff. This may include a health visitor, school health nurse, Mental Health Support Team/CAMHS.

Attendance Improvement Plans

We often formalise help and support for pupils and families in a document called an Attendance Improvement Plan, also known as an Attendance Contract. These are also used in cases where a pupil’s attendance falls below 90% and improvement must be made. An attendance percentage this low puts the pupil in a category called Persistent Absentee (PA) regardless of absence being authorised or unauthorised. Being persistently absent can have a big impact on a child’s progress, learning, wellbeing, and friendships.

Help and support for persistently absent pupils

For some pupils, we may use a progressive reward system that is focused on securing an attendance streak, which can happen any day of the week. These streaks are designed to celebrate the achievements that fall outside of the weekly or termly ones outlined above and include stickers, certificates and prize tokens.

A FPN referral is made when a pupil has reached the local authority’s threshold for unauthorised absences when they are of statutory school age. This includes missing school without permission or taking holidays in term-time. Once a referral is made, the local authority manages the next steps, which may involve issuing a Fixed Penalty Notice to the child’s parent/carer. Click here for information about Fixed Penalty Notices.