Attendance

Attendance Policy

• Please phone the school on 01926 641316 before 9:15am if your child is not coming in or via Study Bugs.
• Registration closes at 9:30am.

• We need to know why your child is off. Saying only “unwell” is not enough — please tell us the symptoms or the issue.
• If we don’t receive a clear reason, the admin team will contact you.
• If a suitable reason still cannot be given, the absence will be marked unauthorised. 

• If your child has a medical or other appointment, we can only authorise it if you provide proof (e.g., appointment text or letter).

• We will contact you to check where your child is.
• Until we receive a reason, the absence will be marked unauthorised.

• We will continue trying by text, email, and phone. 

• A home visit will take place on the third day by a member of the Senior Leadership Team and the Attendance Support Team.
• Unexplained absences may also be discussed with Family Connect.

• If we have not heard from you by 12:00pm, the absence will stay unauthorised for that day.
• This cannot be changed later. 

• We may ask you to seek medical advice.
• This helps us make sure your child is well and to support them when they return. 

• When your child returns, a Designated Safeguarding Lead may speak with them to confirm they are safe and well.

• A member of the Attendance Support Team will contact the relevant professionals.

• A home visit will be carried out by a member of the Senior Leadership Team. 

• If your child is off for more than one day, please contact us each morning to update us.
• If you have any worries or need help, please speak to the Attendance Support Team.

We are aware that consistent lateness can have an affect on a child's entitlement to education. 

As a school we have clear expectations that children should be in on time, each day. When appropriate, parents/carers will receive half termly information when the school is concerned about your child's lateness. 

Below is the school process for recording and reporting punctuality concerns:

1. School doors open at 8.45am and close at 8.55am. 
2. Any child who arrives after 8.55am will need to do so through the schools main office. 
3. Children who are late must sign in through the schools system with a reason. Ideally, all children who are late should be accompanied by a parent/carer. 
4. Every child who arrives after 8.55am will receive the appropriate code in the register. This is in accordance with the reason provided when signing them in. 
5. All late episodes are recorded on the schools registration system along with the minutes absent, past 9am. 
6. If a parent/carer reports a child's lateness, before 9am, the appropriate code will be used and a comment will be noted on the school system. This does not necessarily mean that the lateness will be authorised. 
7. Each week the Attendance Support Team will monitor those children who are late and record any patterns of punctuality concerns. 
8. If necessary, parents/carers will be contacted to discuss their child's punctuality. 
9. When there are consistent punctuality concerns or patterns, it may result in further conversations with a member of the Attendance Support Team. This could result in a meeting and a support plan to be produced.  

Applying for term time Leave of Absence:

1. Resident parent to request a Leave of Absence (LoA) application from the school office or download the form below.
2. This MUST be the resident parent, as all other applications will be declined. 
3. Resident parent to complete, and sign, the application. Returning to school with supporting evidence. i.e. flight details, appointment letters. 
4. Please give the school a minimum of two weeks to process any applications. Any LoA requests without enough notice, may not get processed until you return from the absence, making it difficult for us to authorise the time away from school. 

5. Each request will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and will be at the discretion of the Head Teacher and/or Attendance Lead.

6. If a request for LoA is not submitted, or it is done so after the Leave of Absence this will result in an unauthorised mark.

7. Best practice is to talk to a member of the Attendance Support Team prior to requesting the time out of school by emailing Templeherdewyke@stowevalley.com or phoning 01926 641316.

Do note that each request for absence will be followed by a decision letter. These are standard, generic, letters that outline the reason for the decision. Whilst we would like to personalise these to suit our families, we must follow strict guidelines for Leave of Absence requests. If you have any concerns about the letter received please do ensure to contact a member of the Attendance Support Team. 

Application for leave of absence

Emotional Based School Non-Attendance (EBSNA) is a broad umbrella term used to describe a group of children and young people who have severe difficulty in attending school due to emotional factors, often resulting in prolonged absences from school.  The impact of EBSNA on young people and schools is far reaching.  Outcomes for young people who display EBSNA include poor academic attainment, reduced social opportunities and limited employment opportunities. EBSNA is also associated with poor adult mental health.

We know that the earlier difficulties are identified and support put in place the more successful we are at developing children and young people’s ability to cope with their anxiety and develop their resilience to cope with life's challenges resulting in improved attendance and ongoing life opportunities.

There is no single cause for EBSNA and there are likely to be various contributing factors for why a young person may be finding it difficult to attend school. It is well recognised in the research literature that EBSNA is often underpinned by several complex and interlinked factors, including the young person, the family and the school environment (Thambirajah et al, 2008).

However Kearney and Silberman’s (1990) review of the literature indicates that there tends to be four main reasons for school avoidance:

1. To avoid uncomfortable feelings brought on by attending school, such as feelings of anxiety or low mood.
2. To avoid situations that might be stressful, such as academic demands, social pressures and/or aspects of the school environment.
3. To reduce separation anxiety or to gain attention from significant others, such as parents or other family members.
4. To pursue tangible reinforces outside of school, such as going shopping or playing computer games during school time.

At Temple Herdewyke Primary School we are here to work collaboratively with parents/carers, and professionals, to support those children who show signs, or are suffering, from EBSNA. It is vital that we act quickly to the early signs of school based anxiety and respond sensitively to any concerns. We look to parents/carers to inform us as soon as they possibly can about any signs of reluctance.

These signs could include:

• Children openly talking about not wanting to attend school
• Frequent tummy or head aches
• Children finding it increasingly more difficult to leave parents/carers to enter school
• An increase in sensitivity when conversations about school take place
• Reduction in social ability, maybe becoming isolated
• Spending time away/avoiding things that would previously not cause any distress
• Seeking more connection with familiar adults; this could also be displayed as 'fussy' behaviour
• Angry outbursts when the demand to attend school is made

For further advice contact the school here