WPSPS Attendance Matters Leaflet
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WPSPS Attendance and Punctuality Letter
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WPSPS Attendance Leaflet
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Please find above the school's Attendance Policy and Attendance Leaflet for 2023-24.

Information for Parents:
All children of statutory school age are expected to attend school regularly and on time.  By having robust attendance procedures in place, we can support parents to ensure that their child has excellent attendance and that he/she is therefore able to make the most of any opportunities for learning.  As a school we hold good attendance and punctuality in high regard; it is a life skill and it is massively important for children to learn this at an early age.  We hope all of the children at Park Street go on to have successful and happy careers, if they so choose - being at work regularly and on time is important!

Because of the high profile that we give good and regular attendance, we have an 'Attendance Team' in school:
Mrs Elaine Green - Business Support and Attendance Lead
Mrs Carol Mason - Parent Support Advisor and Deputy Safeguarding Leader
Mrs Chloe Lawson - Headteacher and Designated Safeguarding Leader
Mrs Joanne Dabbs - Attendance Administration Officer
​Mr David Scarth - Education Welfare Officer (EWO) for 2023-24
​
What should I do if my child(ren) is unwell?
As a school, we are also committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all our children and therefore it is important that we know why a child is not in school if he/she is absent - parents must phone on the morning of every day that their child is ill and let us know why they are off.  Texts and contact phone calls will be made by our Attendance Team in school, if parents do not contact us.  This is purely for safeguarding reasons - to make sure all of our children are safe.  If your child is unable to attend school for any reason, please contact the school office by 9.00am, (1pm for afternoon Nursery children.) A message can be left on the school absence line, (select option 1 when phoning,) or you can speak to a member of our office staff.  We need to know the name of your child, their team, your name and relationship to the child, why your child is not in school and the expected day to return to school.
e.g. "This is Mr Smith, Harry Smith’s Dad, Team AB.  Harry will not be in school today as he has a high temperature/flu symptoms, hopefully back in school tomorrow .” 

Parents are expected to inform school of the reason for absences, then school  can make the decision whether to authorise the absence or not, based on the information they have. Parents are encouraged to provide as much information as possible such as appointment cards/prescribed medication or application for leave of absence, all of which will assist school in making this decision.

Failure to communicate with school or provide a reason for an absence will result in the absence not being authorised.
Re-occurring unauthorised absences will be referred to the Education Welfare Service and this may result in a fine.

What happens if my child's attendance falls below 90%?
Our Attendance Team in school meet regularly to discuss our children's attendance, with our school's Education Welfare Officer (EWO).  As a result of this, parents may get asked to attend an 'Internal School Attendance Panel' (ISAP) meeting.  Here, members of our Attendance Team and potentially our school's EWO and Attendance Link Governor, will meet and discuss the child's attendance and possible ways forward, before a full EWO referral is made.  The school hopes and expects situations to be managed by parents and school, without the need for this full referral. However we do recognise in certain situations, this may not be possible.  Our school's EWO for 2023-24 is David Scarth.

Rewards for good and improved attendance:
Classes with the best weekly attendance receive a £5 credit in assembly to spend how the class chooses at the end of the year.
  • Rewards are given to pupils when they achieve 100% attendance and also when significant improvement is seen over a period. These include stickers/certificates/gift vouchers and other treats.
  • At the end of the academic year, the Year 6’s with 100% will receive a reward and certificate at their leaver’s assembly. All other years with 100% are invited to an outing at the start of the new academic year such as to Pizza Hut, for a meal and other treats.

You can find our class' weekly attendance on the 'Attendance Matters' display in the main entrance and this is always communicated each half term in a Newsletter to parents!

Attendance improvements and targets:
Our school attendance target is 97% for 2023-24 and we are working hard as a school to reduce the number of persistent absentees in school, following the COVID-19 pandemic, see our weekly attendance percentages further down this page.

Prior to the pandemic, our attendance had steadily improved due to a tenacious leadership of attendance and the joined up approach to manage families and other professionals.  We were very proud of this!

Punctuality:
Children must arrive at school on time.  The school day starts at 8.40am (with doors open from 8.35am for R-Y6 children). Children who arrive after the classroom doors close at 8.45am must report to the school office with their parent/carer to be signed in.  Parents of children who are late three times in a term may be contacted by letter.  If the child is subsequently late, parents will be invited to attend an ISAP Meeting in school to discuss any support they may require in getting their child to school on time.

Medical and Dental Appointments:
Children who have emergency medical or dental appointments during school time are not permitted to leave unaccompanied; in every case a responsible person known to the school must collect them. Please inform the office beforehand of all medical appointments and provide an appointment letter, card or other evidence so that accurate registration can be maintained and the correct absence code be given.  Only emergency appointments should be attended during the school day if absolutely necessary.

Siblings must not be withdrawn from school to accompany their brothers/sisters to medical appointments.  Parents should make alternative arrangements to ensure that they are brought to, or collected from school as normal.  If this is a problem, contact our PSA, Mrs Mason, who will do her best to help keep your children in school.

Attendance Regulations - including information on holidays in term time!

The Education (Pupil Attendance Records) Regulations 1991 (as amended)
1.1 The basis of this document comes from the:-
Education (Schools and Further Education) Regulations 1981. Regulation 12.
Contained within this regulation, there is a discretionary power for permission to be granted for the purpose of leave of absence during term time under exceptional circumstances only.
Such permission is granted in accordance with arrangements made by the governing body of the school. 
These regulations confirm that no parent can demand leave of absence as of right.
1.2 The above definition is further refined and clarified by the
The Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations 1995
Section 8 (1) “Leave of absence may only be granted by a person authorised in that behalf by the proprietor of the school”.
Section 8 (3) “Subject to paragraph (4), on request made by the parent with whom the pupil normally resides, a pupil may be granted leave of absence from the school to enable him / her to be absent from school in exceptional circumstances only.
2. Criteria for assessing requests for leave of absence
Due to recent changes in legislation, we can no longer authorise holidays in term time except in exceptional circumstances such as bereavement or serious/critical illness.  Limitations by employers on parental leave are not classed as exceptional.  Any holidays during term time which are not approved must be recorded as unauthorised and may incur a Fixed Penalty Notice of £60 per child, (£120 if not paid within 21 days.)

A completed and signed holiday application form is required at least one week before a holiday is to be taken in order that full consideration and the appropriate response can be given. A letter will be prepared for collection from the office and requires signature of the applicant as proof of receipt.

WPSPS Leave of Absence Form
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Attendance Rewards


Weekly Attendance
Each week the class with the highest weekly attendance is given a £5 credit to spend at the end of the year.
Our weekly class winners 2023-24!
Every week we award the class with the best overall attendance with a £5 credit. This is calculated after all registers have been completed on a Friday afternoon. It is announced in assembly on the following Monday. Classes have a money bag on their classroom door so the pupils can see how they are doing and if their bag of money is growing. We hope this will raise awareness with all our pupils on the importance of attending regularly and on time. We will publish details of the class attendance bags in our half termly newsletters so everyone can see how this is going. Towards the end of each academic year, we will use some of the proceeds from our Summer Fair to fund a treat of the children’s choice up to the value of their attendance money bag. This could be anything from an outing, picnic on the field, party or something else of their choice. We hope that you will support your child(ren) in helping them to raise the value in their class attendance bag.

Yearly Attendance
Each year we reward our pupils who have achieved 100% attendance during the academic year.  Year 6 pupils with 100% attendance receive a gift voucher and the rest of the pupils are treated to a fun meal out at a local restaurant during lunchtime and receive lots treats while they are there.​
Trust Attendance Feedback:

Every half term/term we have to submit attendance information to the Trust Board.  Here is the latest feedback received:

Thank you for submitting your attendance data for autumn term.

A huge well done on the following;
•             Improving overall attendance in comparison to autumn terms 2021 & 2022
•             Having a minimal gap between the attendance of disadvantaged/SEND pupils and other pupils
•             Having overall attendance above the local average and in line with national
•             Having a very low number of unauthorised lates
•             Reducing the impact of lates on overall attendance by 0.17% in comparison to autumn term 2022
•             Reducing the number of persistent absentees by 1.11% in comparison to autumn term 2022
•             Having no pupils classed as severely absent (below 50% attendance)

Thank you as always for your continued hard work. 

A big THANK YOU to parents for all your support in helping our school obtain this wonderful feedback!




Children Missing in Education (CME)

At WPSPS we follow the Barnsley Local Authority's Child Missing in Education Policy and guidance (CME).  This can be found below.
WPSPS Blank CME form
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