School Attendance and the Law
New legislation was passed, The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 which introduced a National Framework in England. By law all children of compulsory school age must receive an appropriate full-time education (Education Act 1996). Parents have a legal duty to ensure their child attends school regularly at the school at which they are registered.
The designated senior leader (also known as the ‘senior attendance champion’) responsible for attendance – Headteacher.
At Ferndale, we expect children’s attendance to be 96% or above. To promote this, we reward children who achieve 100% attendance half termly, termly and annually.
Rewards
Attendance of all pupils is monitored. The class with the highest attendance percentage and most punctual receive an extra playtime each week.
Children who have 100% attendance in 1 term become a bronze attender.
Children who have 100% attendance over 2 terms become a silver attender.
Children who have 100% attendance over 3 terms- the school year- become a gold attender.
Anyone with 100% attendance each half term gets entered into a prize draw to win a prize from our book vending machine.
Gates
All three gates open at 8:30am and close at 8:45am.
All three gates open at 3:10pm for collection at 3:20pm.
(32.5 hours)
NURSERY
The main entrance to nursery is situated on Eastwood Road. This entrance must be used for all nursery collections and for the drop off for the PM session.
For AM drop off, parents can enter school site via any of our entrances though please remember that all gates close at 8:45am.
Mornings at Ferndale
Ferndale class and building doors open on the first bell at 8:40am. The three gates close at 8:45am in order for children to be in class for registration at 8:50am. If your child is not in class by 8:50am when the register is taken, they will receive a late mark (L code) on the register.
Any children arriving after the gates have closed MUST be signed in by an adult at the main office (Ferndale Ave).
Lateness
Poor punctuality is not acceptable and can sometimes lead to irregular school attendance patterns. Good time-keeping is a vital life skill which will help children as they progress through their school life and out into the wider world.
Pupils who arrive late disrupt lessons and, if a child misses the start of the day, they can feel unsettled and embarrassed and risk missing vital work and important messages from their class teacher.
Illness at Ferndale
We understand that from time to time we all become ill. If your child is not well enough to attend school, you must contact us every day your child is absent, before 9am. Please call, text or WhatsApp our attendance line :07749 889 874 providing the information outlined below:
- Child’s full name
- Child’s class name/ teacher name
- Reason for absence (please provide some detail. ‘Unwell’ will require us to contact requesting further information)
Please note that the attendance line is only to be used for information regarding absences. Any other queries and communication must go through the usual channels such as the school phone, emailing admin or coming into the office.
As previously mentioned, we have to account for every child, every day, including during periods of illness. By informing school every day a child is absent, you will avoid someone from school calling, texting or even visiting your home to identify a reason for the absence. The attendance code given to your child can also be affected- if we do not have a valid reason for absence an unauthorised absence is recorded. Unauthorised attendance is closely monitored. If a child’s attendance falls below 90%, referrals to Sandwell Attendance Service will be made.
Ferndale’s absence procedure
If we have not heard why a child is absent from school by 9am our first day calling system is activated, which is outlined below:
Step 1) a member of staff will contact phone numbers attached to the child on our SIMS system.
Step 2) if contact via phone call cannot be made a text will be sent to numbers attached to the child on our SIMS system.
Step 3) If the child is not in school by 10:30am and if no communication has been made from a parent/ carer, a member of school’s Designated Safeguarding Team will consider the need to complete a home visit.
This cycle will continue and if contact is not made, it may be deemed necessary to contact the Police.
Medical Appointments
Evidence of medical appointments must be seen in order to authorise a child’s absence for the appointment. Electronic evidence must be sent to the absence line via WhatsApp. Regular dental and optician appointments, which can be pre-planned, should be arranged outside school hours or during school holidays.
Late Collection
The times of the school day are clearly communicated to parents on the website, in newsletters, on site or other appropriate means of communication. Parents/ carers must ensure they collect their children promptly- the school day finishes at 3:20pm (Nursery have separate session timings) Parents/ carers must notify the school if there are any changes to their collection arrangements or if they are going to be late (by calling the office) so that staff can be informed and so that care can be arranged for the pupil.
If a pupil is not collected at the end of the school day or after attending after school clubs, staff will establish with the pupil what their understanding of the arrangement is and will attempt to contact anyone on the child’s emergency contact list (if parents/ carers are unavailable.)
Where a child is collected 10 minutes or longer after the bell, parents/ carers are required to sign the pupil’s safeguarding form and these incidents will be recorded on our Safeguarding system CPOMS.
If a parent has not made contact or arrived by 4.30pm or 20 minutes after the end of an after-school club, a further phone call will be made and where available, a message will be left to inform the parents that a referral is being made to Sandwell’s Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) if no call is received within 10 minutes.
If the child is still not collected and no contact is made by 4.40 p.m. or 30 minutes after the end of an after school club, a referral will be made to MASH.
National Framework for Penalty Notices
There is now a single consistent national threshold for when a penalty notice must be considered by all schools in England, of 10 sessions (usually equivalent to 5 school days) of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10 school week period. The 10 sessions of absence do not have to be consecutive and can be made up of a combination of any type of unauthorised absence, this includes Leave of Absences. The 10 school week period can span different terms, school years or education settings.
Sanctions may include issuing each parent (for each child) with a Penalty Notice for £160, reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days (for the first offence). A second Penalty Notice issued within a three-year period will result in a fine of £160 per parent, per child. If a third offence is committed the matter may be referred to the local authority for consideration of prosecution via the Magistrates Court. If prosecution is instigated for irregular school attendance, each parent may receive a fine of up to £2500 and/or up to 3 months in prison. If a parent is found guilty in court, they will receive a criminal conviction.
Attendance monitoring
The attendance of some children may require closer monitoring. Below are some triggers that will lead to additional communication with parents, further investigation and possible referrals to Sandwell Attendance Service:
- absence on more than 3 occasions without a parent/ carer notifying school by 9am
- pupil attendance below 96% (expected minimum)
If your child’s actual attendance falls below 96% (regardless of authorised, unauthorised or both) school will monitor this.
If there is no improvement, school will meet with parent/ carers to discuss this further and offer support where appropriate.
If your child’s actual attendance falls below 90% (regardless of authorised, unauthorised or both) contact with Sandwell Attendance Services will be made.
Persistent Absenteeism (PA)
A pupil is defined by the Government as a ‘persistent absentee’ when they miss 10% or more schooling across the school year for any reason; this can be authorised or unauthorised absence. Absence at this level will cause considerable damage to any pupil’s education and we need the full support and co-operation of parents to resolve this. All pupils who have attendance levels of 90% or below are persistent absentees.
What we will do:
| 98-100% | Excellent attender | Good attendance benefits to learning and friendships. Accessing all opportunities | Bronze, silver and gold awards termly. The chance to go into the vending machine draw for a book half termly, best class rewarded weekly with extra play. |
| 95-97.9% | Good attender | Very few learning opportunities are missed. | Helping towards class rewards, certificates termly. |
| 90.1-94.9% | At risk attender | Risk of underachievement, up to 19 school days missed in an academic year. | Letters home, meetings with staff- teacher, attendance officer, Safeguarding lead, possible interventions. Support to remove barriers, possible parent contract, and/or Early/Family help. |
| 50.1%-90% | Persistent absentee | Extreme risk of underachievement. More than 22 school days missioned in an academic year. | Parent contract, possible prosecution, fines and criminal record. School will try to support and remove barriers as much as possible. Meetings with Local Authority staff, welfare officer, attendance officer, safeguarding staff. |
| 50% and below | Severe Absentee | Lack of achievement opportunities at all levels. | Safeguarding- DSL assess and referral to Sandwell children’s Trust for Educational Neglect
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