Statement of Intent 

Kemsley Primary Academy is committed to the continuous raising of achievement of all our pupils.  Missing school means missing out.  Children should be at school, on time and ready to learn, every day school is open, unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable.  Our target for each child at Kemsley Primary Academy is to achieve a minimum of 97% attendance throughout the academic year. 

One of our basic principles is to celebrate success.  Good attendance is fundamental to a successful and fulfilling school experience. Alongside this, at Kemsley Primary Academy we want to support children to build habits and routines that will ensure successful characteristics and virtues as adults. We actively promote 100% attendance for all our pupils and we use a variety of weekly, termly and annual awards to promote good attendance and punctuality. These include Reggie Bear, Certificates, flash playtimes (additional play time) and an end of year school reward.

We recognise that our pupils are individuals and will work effectively with them and their parents/carers to enable them to achieve maximum possible attendance and that any problems preventing good attendance are acted on promptly.

Children and families have 175 days off school to spend time together, including weekends and school holidays. There is a clear connection between regular attendance and achievement. As attendance deteriorates, so does performance, achievement, friendship circles and self-esteem.

The Governors, Headteacher and Staff in partnership with parents have a duty to promote full attendance at Kemsley Primary Academy.

Kemsley Primary Academy is committed to promoting race, disability and gender equality within all practices and procedures related to attendance and punctuality.

Student attendance and punctuality data may be shared with Parents/Carers, REAch2, Local Authority, Early Help, School Liaison Officer, Social Services, Police, Ofsted and the DfE.

 

Attendance	Description	Approx. days lost per year	Approx. weeks lost per year
98-100%	Excellent	0-4	Less than 1
96-98%	Good	5-9	1-2
95-96%	Satisfactory	10-13	2-3
90-95%	Unsatisfactory	14-18	3-4
Below 90%	Persistent Absence	More than 19 Equivalent to 38 sessions	More than 4

 

Punctuality

Punctuality is an important life skill. Arriving late for school is a poor start to the day, potentially causing embarrassment to your child and disruption to the class.

School gates open at 8.30am and close at 8.45am. 

The register is taken at 8.50am and 1pm. Pupils arriving after these times must enter school by the main entrance and report to reception where their name and the reason for lateness will be recorded. The pupil will be marked as late before registration has closed (Code ‘L’). The register will close at 8.55am and 1.05pm.

Pupils arriving after 9.30am will be marked as late after registration (Code ‘U’) and this will count as an unauthorised absence. Frequent lateness after the register has closed (U) will be discussed with parents and could provide grounds for prosecution or a Penalty Notice.

The school closes at 3:15pm.

School gates open at 3:10pm and close at 3:25pm.

All pupils are expected to be collected at this time, unless they are attending wrap around care or extra-curricular clubs.
 

The Role of our Staff

At Kemsley Primary Academy there is a whole school responsibility and approach for improving school attendance, with specific staff taking individual responsibility. 

Miss I Homer – Headteacher

Mrs S Hornsby – Deputy Headteacher & SENco

Mrs C Steadman – Family Liaison Officer, Attendance Officer & Wellbeing Leader

Class teachers complete a register at the beginning of each morning and once during the afternoon session.  Marking the attendance registers twice daily is a legal requirement (The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006).  Teachers mark pupils present, absent or late. 

 It is the responsibility of our Attendance Officer to ensure: 

• Attendance and lateness records are up to date 
• If no reason for absence has been provided, parents are contacted on the first day of absence by phone call.  If we are still unsuccessful, two members of staff may make a home visit to ascertain why your child is not in school.
• Where there has been no communication, letters are sent to parents requesting reasons for absence. 
• The appropriate attendance code is entered into the register (National Attendance Codes)
• Parents are informed twice a year of child’s attendance figure.
   

School Action for Poor Attendance 

Our Attendance Officer is Mrs C Steadman. In her role, she monitors attendance, actively promotes good attendance and supports families to encourage good attendance for all pupils. Below is a list of the action the school takes with regards to attendance:

• 95 - 100% attendance (if attendance is declining) - class teacher to investigate and notify the Attendance Officer of concerns or the Attendance Officer will monitor pupils ‘at risk’ of below 95% attendance. The Attendance Officer will contact parent if appropriate. 
   
• 90 - 95% attendance (if attendance is declining) - school intervention letters/meeting with parents – consider Penalty Notice or Early Help Notification. 
   
• Below 90% (if attendance is declining) - If attendance has not improved and there are unauthorised absences, or the attendance is below 90% the school will invite parents in for a formal meeting with the Attendance & Wellbeing Lead.

If support is requested or attendance does not improve the school will make a referral to KCC’s Inclusion and Attendance Service using the Digital Front Door. If it is not clear a referral to the Service is appropriate, the school will consult with the Local Authority School Liaison Officer for advice.

For the cases that require intensive family support, the school may make an Early Help Notification.

The types of absences are also closely monitored as well as total figures. Support offered will be specific to the type of absence. For instance, high amounts of illness related absence will result in an offer of referral to the School Nurse Team. Refusal of assistance may result in further absences being unauthorised when supporting evidence is not provided.