Attendance Policy

Section 1 — Definitions

The following definitions apply throughout this policy:

Parent — As defined in Section 576 of the Education Act 1996: includes all natural parents (whether married or not), all those who have parental responsibility for a child or young person, and those who have day-to-day responsibility for a child or young person.

Compulsory school age — A child is of compulsory school age from the term commencing on or after their fifth birthday until the last Friday of June in the school year that they reach sixteen.

Absence — Arrival at school after the register has closed, or not attending school for any reason.

Authorised absence — An absence that only the Headteacher can authorise, where parents have explained that their child is unable to attend for an agreed and/or exceptional reason. Examples include:

• The child is too unwell to attend and the school has granted leave.
• Medical or dental appointments which unavoidably fall during school time.
• Attendance at an interview for employment or admission to another educational setting.
• Religious or cultural observances for which the school has granted leave.
• A family emergency.
• Authorised study leave.
• A parent travelling for occupational purposes accompanied by the child.

When periods of illness are regular or repeated, the school will request medical evidence before authorising absences.

Unauthorised absence — Any absence that is not agreed and/or where the reason given is not exceptional. This can carry the risk of prosecution under Section 444 of the Education Act 1996. Examples include:

• Parents keeping children off school unnecessarily or without reason.
• Truancy before or during the school day.
• Absences which have never been properly explained.
• Arrival at school after the register has closed.
• Shopping, looking after other children, or birthdays.
• Day trips and holidays in term time which have not been agreed.
• Leaving school for no reason during the day.

Persistent absenteeism — Missing 10% or more of schooling across the year for any reason. This is equal to 38 sessions (19 days) absence in any one academic year.

Section 2 — Introduction

Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 states that the parent of every child of compulsory school age must ensure they receive efficient full-time education suitable to their age, ability, aptitude, and any special educational needs — either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.

DfE statutory guidance, Working Together to Improve School Attendance, provides clear evidence linking regular attendance to improvements in attainment, wellbeing, and wider life chances, as well as reducing exposure to harm. Children who attend school regularly are more likely to:

• Build firm and secure knowledge across all curriculum subjects.
• Consistently meet and build upon expectations for their age or developmental stage.
• Develop good habits and important life skills.
• Maintain friendships.
• Gain better qualifications.
• Access a wider range of opportunities when they leave school.

At Haydon Bridge High School we know that attendance matters. We have high expectations in all areas, but attendance is the key to a successful and happy school life. We want our students to benefit from the positive relationships they build with staff, and we know that improved attendance leads to better outcomes and life chances for young people.

We understand that barriers to accessing education can be complex and specific to individual students and their families. We want to work collaboratively with families to understand these barriers and find effective ways to make every child feel a sense of belonging at Haydon Bridge High School.

This policy is written with regard to statutory and non-statutory guidance including:

• The Education Act 1996 and Education Act 2002
• The Equality Act 2010 and the Human Rights Act 1998
• The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
• The Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003
• The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014
• The School Attendance (Student Registration) (England) Regulations 2024
• The Education (Penalty Notices) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2024
• The Education (Information about Individual Students) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2024
• Statutory guidance: School behaviour and attendance: parental responsibility measures
• Statutory guidance: Keeping children safe in education
• Statutory guidance: Working together to improve school attendance
• Statutory guidance: Arranging education for children who cannot attend school because of health needs
• Non-statutory guidance: Behaviour in schools: advice for headteachers and school staff
• Non-statutory guidance: Supporting students at school with medical conditions

Section 3 — Aims

By implementing this policy, we aim to:

• Safeguard and promote the welfare of all students.
• Improve achievement by ensuring high levels of attendance and punctuality.
• Achieve attendance rates in line with the national average, except for students with chronic health issues.
• Provide additional support for students absent due to mental or physical ill health, or special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Foster an ethos where good attendance and punctuality are valued and recognised as the norm.
• Raise awareness among parents, carers, and students about the importance of consistent attendance at every stage of education.
• Ensure this policy applies to post-16 students, promoting good habits beyond compulsory schooling.
• Build strong, collaborative relationships with families to identify and remove barriers to attendance.
• Promote a positive, welcoming atmosphere where students feel safe, valued, and responsible.
• Establish consistent monitoring of attendance, recognising achievement and addressing difficulties promptly.
• Provide effective early intervention strategies to prevent students missing educational opportunities due to non-attendance or lateness.

Section 4 — Communication and Review

We will provide a copy of this policy to families when their child joins the school, remind parents about it annually at the start of each school year, and whenever it is updated. The current policy is also published on our website.

As barriers to attendance can evolve quickly, we will review and update this policy as necessary, and will seek the views of students and parents when making significant changes.

Section 5 — Roles and Responsibilities

Governors are responsible for promoting school attendance throughout the school’s ethos and policies; ensuring school leaders fulfil statutory duties; regularly reviewing attendance data; ensuring staff receive adequate training; and handling representations from parents where an application for authorised absence has been refused.

The Headteacher is responsible for ensuring effective systems are in place to accurately reflect attendance patterns; overseeing day-to-day implementation of this policy; and making parents and carers aware of the policy through the school website and other communications.

The Senior Leader of Attendance is responsible for setting a clear vision for improving and maintaining good attendance; monitoring and evaluating attendance for individual students, groups, and the whole school; reporting data to the Headteacher every half term; and coordinating legal documentation regarding attendance, including penalty notices to the Local Authority.

Staff taking registration are required to provide an accurate record of attendance at every session, respond promptly to any issues identified in weekly register analysis, arrange appropriate work for students absent for extended periods, and raise any attendance or punctuality concerns.

The Attendance Officer is responsible for recording late arrivals and early departures; preparing and managing Arbor; contacting parents on the first day of unexplained absence; and ensuring a satisfactory reason for every absence is established by the end of each week.

The Local Authority Education Welfare Officer enforces the law regarding school attendance and supports the school’s whole-school response through regular Targeting Support meetings and involvement in specific attendance or inclusion issues.

Section 6 — Attendance Expectations

What to expect from school

We will maintain a whole-school culture that promotes the benefits of high attendance; set high expectations for all students; accurately complete attendance registers and follow up absences promptly; regularly analyse data to identify students who need support; and work in partnership with families to remove barriers to attendance.

We will also work collaboratively with other schools, the local authority, and other partners where absence is at risk of becoming persistent or severe.

What we expect from parents and carers

• Ensure your child attends school every day unless there is a genuine reason for absence.
• Ensure your child is not late for school.
• Contact school by telephone, in person, by text, email, or written note before 8.00am on the first day of absence, and regularly if absence is ongoing.
• Provide accurate and up-to-date contact details, including a minimum of two emergency contacts.
• Where possible, make medical and dental appointments outside school hours or at the very start or end of the school day.
• Tell a member of staff about anything that may affect your child’s attendance.
• Avoid taking your child out of school for non-urgent matters.

What we expect from students

• Attend school every day and strive for 100% attendance — every day counts.
• Arrive on time and be appropriately prepared for the day.
• Tell a teacher or member of staff promptly about any problems that may affect your attendance.

Section 7 — Registration Procedures

Students are registered every morning and afternoon. AM registration takes place at 8.45am for all year groups; PM registration is taken during Period 4. The register closes at 9.00am and 1.45pm. Students arriving after these times will be recorded as absent or late on Arbor.

Registers are legal records and will be preserved for 6 years from the date of entry. Amendments will only be made where the reason for absence could not be established at the time, and every amendment will record the original entry, the amended entry, the reason for the change, the date of the amendment, and the name of the person making it.

Section 8 — Absence Procedures and Intervention

Absence is often a symptom of wider issues a family is facing. Supportive approaches are most effective when put in place as early as possible. Where support has not been successful or is not engaged with, legal interventions are available to protect students’ right to an education.

Interventions are considered in three broad stages:

Voluntary Support — Working in partnership with students and parents to provide in-school support and help families access services of their own accord.

Formal Support — A formal attendance contract or education supervision order agreed by the student, parent, school, and/or local authority. This may progress to a legally binding Education Supervision Order in the Family Court if there is non-engagement.

Legal Action — Where all other routes have failed, this may include a penalty notice in line with the National Framework or prosecution in the Magistrate’s Court. Where there are safeguarding concerns, statutory children’s social care involvement may also be considered.

Where a student is recorded as absent without an agreed authorised absence, we will:

1. Implement our First Day Calling procedure for vulnerable students.
2. Follow our Escalation of Intervention Procedure where a pattern of non-attendance is emerging.
3. Send routine letters to all parents about their child’s termly attendance, and a specific letter when attendance falls below 96%.
4. Where persistent absenteeism is identified (below 90%), send a letter home and, if there is no improvement, invite parents or carers to a meeting with the Headteacher and/or Senior Attendance Champion.
5. After one half term with no improvement, consult with the LA Access and Inclusion Officer to determine next steps, which may include an Early Help Assessment or formal referral for legal action.
6. Keep a detailed chronology of all interventions and actions taken.

Section 9 — Attendance Monitoring

To monitor and manage attendance, the school has in place:

• A First Day Calling protocol.
• Follow-up phone calls, SMS, email, and app notifications.
• Fortnightly attendance reports and individual reports to identify patterns and trends.
• Strategies to support young carers and children with a social worker.
• Close monitoring of disadvantaged students’ attendance.
• A regular attendance section in the school newsletter.
• Attendance letters issued at the end of every term, with individual student attendance trackers.
• Student Premium incentives.

Section 10 — Late Procedures

If a student arrives after 8.45am they are recorded as late. Late students should enter via main reception, use the intercom to access reception, and sign in before joining lessons.

Where lateness becomes persistent, we will:

• Remind parents or carers of the importance of punctuality on the day of the first identified late arrival.
• Contact parents informally if lateness continues.
• Issue a formal letter from the Headteacher if lateness persists.
• Invite parents or carers to a formal meeting with the Headteacher and link Governor if the problem continues.
• Progress to our full Escalation of Intervention procedure, which may include referral to the LA Access and Inclusion Officer in the most persistent cases.

Section 11 — Medical or Dental Appointments

Absence for a medical, dental, therapy, or hospital appointment is authorised. Advance notice is required. We encourage parents to make appointments outside school hours where possible; where this is not possible, the student should be out of school for the minimum time necessary.

Section 12 — Leaves of Absence During Term Time

The law does not grant parents an automatic right to take their child out of school during term time. Parents must apply in writing using a Leave of Absence form, returned to school at least two weeks before the requested start date (except in cases of bereavement or serious family emergency).

Specific circumstances in which leave may be granted include regulated performances, attendance at interviews, study leave for public examinations, and agreed temporary part-time timetables.

Exceptional circumstances are events a parent could not control or did not expect. No holidays in term time will be authorised unless an exceptional circumstance applies. Other valid exceptional circumstances may include serious illness, school site closure, transport unavailability, local or national emergency, service personnel returning from a tour of duty, religious observance, Traveller families travelling for occupational purposes, bereavement, or attendance at a close family wedding (up to one day).

Unauthorised absences are cumulative. Parents who fail to ensure regular attendance may be issued with a Notice to Improve and/or a Fixed Penalty Notice:

• First offence: £80 per parent per child if paid within 21 days; £160 if paid within 28 days.
• Second offence (within 3 years): £160 per parent per child, paid within 28 days.

Failure to pay within 28 days may result in prosecution.

Section 13 — Incentives and Rewards

We positively celebrate good and improving attendance in a number of ways:

• Students build up daily rewards in class for being in school and on time.
• Weekly class attendance percentages are shared and celebrated, including 100% attendance, most improved, and recognition for students managing health conditions.
• Classes achieving 100% attendance for a week receive a small class reward.
• Every half term, students who have achieved 100% attendance are rewarded. Students with medical conditions may be assessed against personal criteria to be included in attendance rewards.
• Information about our attendance expectations and how we celebrate good attendance is published on the school website and in regular newsletters.