Attendance
Attendance
Face-to-face education is important in helping students to fulfil their potential. During school time we believe students should be in class with their teachers and peers and enjoying all the benefits that brings.
Being in school every day that it is open is important to your child’s achievement, wellbeing, and their wider development.
There is strong evidence to show that those students whose attendance is high not only do much better in their learning and make greater progress but they also tend to be much happier and more settled in school. However, as soon as attendance starts to drop, their absence begins to have a damaging effect across all areas of their school life.
At Chances we work with our partner schools to encourage all students to attend Chances Education Support Services regularly; subsequently they will be able to take full advantage of the educational opportunities available.
Chances Provision will ensure that:
Students are registered accurately and efficiently using our attendance system. Information is electronically passed back to the individual student’s mainstream school
Attendance targets are set with the mainstream school and for the individual student if necessary
Parents or carers are contacted when a reason for absence is unknown
Student attendance and lateness is monitored daily
Student attendance statistics are reported
Chances will always gain permission from the mainstream school for any planned absences in advance
All registers are completed AM and PM
Senior Chances staff will complete the register using the Registers code
Parents/carers will support Chances by:
Parents/carers are encouraged to inform Chances if there is a problem that may lead to absences
Parents/carers are to encourage good attendance
Parents/carers are to inform the school daily about their child’s absence. A written note or doctor’s note is required for any lengthened period of absence
Absence from school
As a parent or carer, you are legally responsible for ensuring that your child attends school regularly. If your child is absent, you must provide the school with a valid and reasonable explanation for their absence in line with the Education Act 1996.
If you are aware in advance that your child will be unable to attend school, please inform us as early as possible. We also ask that you notify us of any lateness or planned appointments.
If your child is unwell and unable to attend, please complete the Online Absence Notification Form each day of their absence:
Click here for : Online Absence Notification Form
The school will follow up any absences with a phone call later in the morning. Where an absence is not authorised, information will be shared with the student’s mainstream school, who may refer the case to the Educational Welfare Service. This could result in a fixed penalty notice being issued.
In most cases, work will not be set for students while they are absent. Our main priority is for students to recover fully and return to school as soon as possible so they can re-engage with learning and receive appropriate support.
If a child becomes unwell during the school day
If a child becomes unwell during the day and is unable to attend lessons they should report to the office where they will be assessed by a first aid trained member of staff and where appropriate their parent/carer will be contacted and asked to collect them. Students are not permitted to telephone, text or otherwise message parents/carers directly to ask to be collected in the event of illness.
Encouraging positive attendance
Poor attendance is one of the single biggest blocks to student achievement as they start to fall behind in their learning. At Chances we promote the importance of positive attendance as it not only has a positive impact on their learning, but also their happiness and wellbeing. Often students that are placed at Chances have low attendance levels and staff will work directly with the family, partner school and outside agencies to support attendance.
In the first instance Chances staff will promote the importance of positive attendance at school through key worker meetings, assemblies and throughout the curriculum. Rewards will be offered to students who demonstrate a positive change in their attendance and for those who have 100% attendance each week.
Attendance is regularly monitored and where it becomes a concern or demonstrates a pattern of non attendance, Chances will contact the mainstream school, make calls home to find out how we can best support the family and student before making any formal contact. We are always aiming to work with the parents/carers, students and schools collaboratively to support attendance.