Attendance - Shortbrook Attendance Target is 96.4%

Good attendance and punctuality are vital if pupils are to achieve their maximum potential. Shortbrook Nursery & Primary are committed to working with parents/carers and pupils to ensure that each pupil benefits from the academic, personal and social opportunities available to them during their years with us. Children who miss out on education are at an immediate disadvantage relative to their peers and at a great cost to themselves and the community as a whole.  By working together, with families we can keep absence at school to the lowest possible figure.  This will ensure that children get the absolute most from their education at our school.  The young child, however, is dependent upon the adults in their life to get them to school regularly and on time. So the focus in both Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 programmes is to establish good habits and work with parent/carers to improve attendance. In Key Stage 2 we continue to work with parent/carers and start to develop ‘self’ responsibility in the children. The school operates within a framework of local schools, including the linked secondary school.

We are, therefore, committed to a whole school /Family of Schools approach to attendance and a partnership relationship with parent/carers.

Aims

• Ensure that our school maintains good standards of work and behaviour in a positive, welcoming environment to ensure that our pupils wish to attend regularly.
• Create an ethos in which good attendance is the norm.
• Maintain an effective partnership between home and school, the Multi Agency Support Teams (MAST), police, social services and other agencies in addressing attendance issues.
• Recognise and reward pupils who achieve attendance and punctuality targets throughout the academic year
• Ensure all staff and governors understand the procedures and promote and monitor good attendance with support from the SLT.
• Ensuring parent/carers and pupils are informed about the procedures for attendance and encouraging them to take an active role in promoting good attendance and punctuality
• School will take appropriate action to promote and encourage good attendance.

Appointments During School Hours

We ask that all appointments such as medical etc are made out of school hours. However if your child has an appointment they cannot miss or rearrange, evidence of this appointment will need to be seen by the school office. This could be an appointment card or text message.

Holiday's During Term Time

The new DfE guidelines makes it very clear that Headteachers cannot authorise any leave of absence, including term time holidays, unless there are exceptional circumstances. Any absence without this agreement will be classed as unauthorised.  Unauthorised absences of five or more consecutive days will lead to the issuing of a fixed penalty notice regardless of the student’s previous attendance record. If authorised, the Headteacher is also able to set a time limit on the leave of absence. Details of the amendments made by the DfE can be found on the DfE website www.education.gov.uk.

Exceptional circumstances are described as unique or one off events. They might include family emergencies, a sudden change in circumstances or a once in a lifetime opportunity. Visits from family members or opportunities for discounted holidays will not constitute as exceptional circumstances. Also, in taking any decision to authorise absence the headteacher will also take other factors into account such as a student’s current attendance level.

This policy is in line with Sheffield City Council guidelines and is common across the Westfield Family of Schools.