Absence/Attendance
To support pupils, parents/carers and staff we have developed an updated Attendance Management Policy. This outlines the measures we will all take to promote good attendance and accurately record school absences. We are very grateful for your support in this very important area.
Thank you to all the parents/carers who contact Knox before the school day to inform us if their young person is going to be absent. We ask that you use Parent Portal to record and notify us off absences. If you do choose to call, you will be able to leave notification of your young person’s absence by selecting Option 1.
However, sometimes we are not notified by parent/carers about their young person’s absence and this is recorded as ‘unexplained’. For pupils in S1-S4 a member of the office staff will contact parents/carers, via a text, of any pupil whose absence remained ‘unexplained’ at 9.15 am. These texts from our office team should be complete by 10.30 am each morning and parents/carers are asked to respond to this message stating the reason for their young person’s absence from school.
Following a telephone call/text message response, or a message on Parent Portal, pupils are recorded as having an explanation for absence, which is recorded appropriately on their attendance record. A letter/email or a reply to a text message from their parent/carer is also accepted. Where a pupil’s absence remains ‘unexplained’, the absence will be recorded as truancy.
For pupils in receipt of an Educational Maintenance Allowance, absences can affect the payments they receive.
Please help us by:
- Recording your young person’s absence on Parent Portal, before the school day starts. Equally, if more convenient, you can contact the school office on 01620 823387 to inform us of their absence by selecting Option 1. The preferred option of communication is through Parent Portal.
- We should be informed of medical/dental appointments in school time through Parent Portal or a phone call at least one day prior to the appointment
Attendance Concerns
On a monthly basis, a letter is sent to parents/carers of pupils with an attendance record that falls below 90%. A copy of their attendance record will be enclosed with this letter. This system is designed to provide an early warning, and a support to parents/carers and young people. Pupil Support Leaders are keen to become involved and help support pupils and their parents/carers before poor attendance has a detrimental impact on attainment and achievement.
Good school attendance is the foundation of our ambition for our young people to reach their full potential and is fundamental to Getting it Right for Every Child and raising attainment.
The Legal Requirements and Expectations
Parents are responsible for ensuring that their young person attends school. In cases of unsatisfactory attendance, the appropriate Pupil Support Team will be in touch by letter and telephone to arrange a Child’s Planning Meeting (CPM) in order to discuss and implement supports to improve attendance. If unsatisfactory attendance persists the Pupil Support Team will contact Children’s Services. If attendance does not improve following discussions and possible interventions from Children’s Services, the team around the child/young person may decide that the case should be referred to the Children’s Reporter.
If a pupil is absent, parents/carers are asked to contact the school through Parent Portal or by telephone to outline the reason for the absence on the first day of absence, with daily updates, if necessary. If Parents/carers fail to report the reason for an absence and the young person does not attend school for 3 consecutive days, the school is asked to contact Children’s Service to maintain our safeguarding responsibility.
The National Child Protection Guidance 2021 indicates that all agencies that work with children and their families have a shared responsibility for protecting children and promoting, supporting and safeguarding their wellbeing. The importance of promoting good attendance at school is highlighted by concerns about the safety and wellbeing of children who are not at school. Child protection is of paramount importance and absence from school may indicate a child is at risk.
Punctuality
It is obviously very important that young people are on time for school as lateness not only causes disruption to lessons but also does not set good work standards. If a pupil is unavoidably late for school, parents are asked to send a note with the pupil or telephone to explain the reason. Registration runs from 8.30-8.40am and young people arriving in school after the 8.30 am bell will be recorded as late.
The parents/carers of pupils whose lateness is causing concern will be contacted in order to pursue an early resolution to the problem.
https://www.ka-net.org.uk/files/attendance_expectations_website_dec_2024.pdf
