Bailiff’s Ukraine Appeal
Please help the students of JCG raise money for the people of Ukraine
Read MorePlease help the students of JCG raise money for the people of Ukraine
Read MoreAuthor: | Emma Silvestri-Fox |
Reviewed By: | Simon Milner |
Date: | January 2022 |
To be Reviewed: | January 2024 |
Principles:
One of Jersey College for Girls’ core values is ‘belong’: we aim to create an inclusive and welcoming environment which students want to attend and in which they want to learn. We also aim to support students and families in removing barriers to achieving good attendance wherever possible.
We recognise that 100% attendance will not always be possible. Students may sometimes be unwell, and there may also be occasions where authorised absences are appropriate, for example for important religious or cultural observations. The British Psychological Association notes that ‘the conclusion that a student cannot afford to miss even a few days at school without a significantly detrimental effect appears to be based on unsubstantiated beliefs’(School attendance, exclusion and persistent absence, 2017).
However, they go on to note that ‘persistent absence from school – defined in 2015 as less than 90 per cent attendance – incurs costs: Economic, social and psychological, for the children and young people involved, for their communities and for society.’
Even 90% attendance entails significant learning loss: ‘Achieving 90 per cent in an exam or test is a fantastic result but if your child is at school for only 90 per cent of the school year then they will have missed 19 days - almost four whole weeks of school.’(https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/school-attendance-and-absence)
As such, we believe that it is our responsibility to ensure that students make the best progress possible and we recognise that attendance is crucial to this. For a child to reach their full educational potential, a high level of school attendance is essential.
Jersey College for Girls, working together with parents and in partnership with other professionals when needed, encourages all students to achieve excellent levels of attendance and punctuality.
Aims / Objectives
Supporting cases of persistent non-attendance
‘Any single case of persistent non-attendance might include elements of one or more of the following factor-categories of causation.
(Adapted from School attendance, exclusion and persistent absence, 2017)
The causes of persistent non-attendance are complex, individual and dynamic. As such, students experiencing persistent non-attendance may benefit from the support of various professionals including the following:
Procedures
Students should be encouraged to take responsibility for:
Parents have responsibility for:
Subject Teachers have responsibility for:
Heads of Department have responsibility for:
Tutors have responsibility for:
Heads of School and Assistants to Heads of School have responsibility for:
Administration support (AS) and Assistants to Heads of School (AHOS) have responsibility for:
Assistant Headteacher Student Progress and Welfare has responsibility for:
Principal has responsibility for:
Relationship to other policies
External Policies
Internal Policies :
Dear
I’m aware that NAME has been quite unwell this week. I just wanted to make contact to find out how she is and to ask if there is anything I can do to reassure her until she is well enough to return to school? Although her priority must, of course, be getting better some students worry about missing work and about the quantity of work that needs to be caught up. To put NAME's mind at ease I can arrange to collate work for her in her absence, if she would like, and work with her to create a ‘catch up timetable’ when she returns. If it looks as though NAME may be absent for longer, please could I ask that you send us a doctor’s note for our files.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards,
Tutor
Our interpretation:
Registration guidance
Unless an alternative symbol has been entered by the office and you follow it, please only use the symbols as per below. Please don’t worry about the ‘P’, ‘V’ etc. on the SIMS screen.
AM Registration 8.25am and Period 1
Scenario |
Action |
Student is present |
/ |
Student is absent and office have pre-entered a symbol |
Submit register with the pre-entered symbol |
Student is absent |
N |
Student arrives late (8.25 or after register has been submitted) |
Send to the office to sign in |
Student has music/exam/sport/ other activity in school but no symbol entered by office |
N |
Period 2 onwards
Scenario |
Action |
Student is present |
/ |
Student is absent and office have pre-entered a symbol |
Submit register with the pre-entered symbol |
Student is absent (and office have not pre-entered a symbol) |
N *Get message to the office* This can be done using group office email: [email protected] or by telephoning the office |
Student arrives late |
L |
You know the student has music/exam/sport/ other activity that is in school as you have seen a list to say they are involved. |
Q |
PM Registration 2.00pm (may be 1.50pm in the event of a ‘live’ assembly)
Scenario |
Action |
Student is present |
/ |
Student is absent and office have pre-entered a symbol |
Submit register with the pre-entered symbol |
Student is absent |
N *Get message to the office* This can be done using group office email: [email protected] or by telephoning the office |
Student arrives late |
L |
Student has music/exam/sport/ other activity in school but no symbol entered by office |
N |
Medical appointments
Discretion can be used if the student has only missed part of the am / pm session. If an M is pre-entered for the morning and a student returns before 11am, the M can be changed to ‘/’ when they arrive, for the morning session only. A note of the time and initials will be added to SIMS. The M will remain for the lessons they have missed. In the afternoon, if a student arrives back from the appointment before 3.00pm the M will be changed to ‘/’ retrospectively for the session.
If we are not notified in advance of an appointment the M will not be changed.
The mark in the registration/session box will be amended to present as this alters the student’s overall % attendance. It will always be done retrospectively in case of a fire alarm.
Additional codes to be used by Assistants to Heads of School and Administration Support only:
Present |
/ |
Use this if the student is in your lesson and on time |
Unauthorised absence |
O |
Do not use this without confirmation from SLT |
Late |
L |
Use this if a student arrives for a lesson late unless it is morning registration when the office will enter lateness when you have already marked student as ‘N’ |
Educated off-site |
B |
Only use if code has been pre-entered by office |
Other authorised |
C |
Only use if code has been pre-entered by office (this usually means that the student is authorised to not be in school for an exceptional reason; office staff to enter the reason when they pre-enter the C code) |
Dual Registration |
D |
Only use if code has been pre-entered by office |
Unauthorised Holiday / Leave |
G |
Only use if code has been pre-entered by office |
Approved holiday / Leave |
H |
Only use if code has been pre-entered by office |
Illness |
I |
Only use if code has been pre-entered by office |
Medical Appointment |
M |
Only use if code has been pre-entered by office |
Approved Sporting Activity |
P |
Only use if code has been pre-entered by office |
Religious observance |
R |
Only use if code has been pre-entered by office |
Study leave |
S |
Only use if code has been pre-entered by office |
Late - 30 minutes after register |
U |
You should not have to enter this one |
Educational visit/trip |
V |
Only use if code has been pre-entered by office |
Work experience |
W |
Only use if code has been pre-entered by office |
Interview |
J |
Only use if code has been pre-entered by office |
No Reason yet provided |
N |
You should use this one when a student is not present in your lesson and no code has previously been entered by the office. If it is not registration, you should contact the office to see if they know where the student is. |
Not required to attend |
Q |
Present in school but not in your lesson for a legitimate reason (e.g. sitting an exam). |
The main codes class teachers should use are / or N for AM registration. In subsequent lessons, the office should have already pre-entered a code (e.g I /S/M etc.).
*Please personalise this letter where possible.
Dear
I am writing to you with regard to Name’s attendance for this current academic year. I am enclosing a copy of her attendance record, which is kept electronically. I am aware that your daughter has been unwell this year and this has contributed towards her absence. However, I would like to make you aware of the fact that her total attendance this year is ??%, which is well below the expected attendance for students at JCG.
If Name is experiencing a recurring illness or she is having ongoing treatment please inform me in writing so that it can be kept on file for future reference. Year 10 is a very important year and this term sees the start of coursework and exams in many of her subjects.
Should you wish to discuss this further, please feel free to contact me on …
I hope that your daughter’s attendance can further improve this term.
Yours sincerely
Head of School…
Dear ….,
Each month, a punctuality report is generated to assist us in monitoring student lateness and identify any potential punctuality issues.
We understand that there are usually valid reasons for arriving late to school. We want to ensure that communication is maintained between parents and the College and we therefore feel it is important that you are aware that, according to our records, ….has been registered late for registration at 8.25am on the occasions listed below during the last month.
I would be grateful if you could sign an acknowledgement below for the lateness and return this slip to school. If you feel that there are any notes that are important for us to know, please provide details on the acknowledgement slip. This will help us to understand the situation and allow us to help where appropriate.
If you would like to discuss ---------’s punctuality or well-being further, please do not hesitate to contact her tutor or myself on tel. 516… or email ….
Yours sincerely,
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Student Name:
Student Form:
Dates when late |
Notes (if appropriate) |
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I acknowledge receipt of the letter informing me of my daughter’s recent punctuality record.
Signed: Date:
Dear ……………..
Thank you for your letter requesting absence for NAME on DATE.
I receive many requests for absence and only authorise those for significant family events. I do know you understand the importance of attendance and the positive impact it has upon the students’ educational outcomes. I also hope you understand my need to be fair and consistent in my response to parental requests. Therefore NAME’s absence will be marked down as unauthorised.
Yours sincerely
Carl Howarth
Principal