Attendance

Prior to being placed with us our children and young people may have experienced difficulties with attending school. Therefore, it will be part of their transition to work with the child or young person and the family to improve and maintain a high level of school attendance.

Educate U encourages all parents/carers to work in partnership with the school in order to improve attendance and punctuality and recognises that:

Parents have the primary responsibility to ensure that pupils of compulsory school age attend school regularly.

(DfE 1999).

Punctuality

It is the parent/carers responsibility:

• To ensure that their children arrive to school on time. Doors open at 09.25 am.
• To ensure children are collected promptly at the end of the school day and that necessary arrangements are in place for the journey home. If these differ from the child’s normal collection arrangements, the class teacher and school office should be made aware of this. There will be staff on the door for collection from 14:25pm daily.

Absences

It is the parent/carer’s responsibility:

• To notify the school on the first day of absence before 9:30am or as soon as possible. Parents can report an absence by telephoning the school office on 01903 297906 or by emailing

office@educate.co.uk

• To provide medical evidence where possible, on the child’s return to school.
• To ensure that as far as possible, medical appointments are arranged for outside school hours. Where this is not possible, parents are expected to provide evidence of the appointment in advance, and the child should attend school before/after the appointment.
• To liaise with the school as soon as possible regarding any specific issues that might cause absence or lateness, e.g. a sick parent/carer.

If a child is repeatedly absent due to illness, Educate U may request medical evidence for further absences. This can take the form of a GP appointment card, a consultant letter, a copy of a prescription etc.

Educate U will automatically request medical evidence for any illness absence taken immediately before or after a school holiday.

Parents/carers of children for whom we do not know the reason for absence will be contacted after 10:30am.

Leave of Absence in Term Time 

Families are strongly discouraged from taking their child out of school during term time. The DfE states that parents do not have an automatic right to take their child out of school for holidays during term time and such absences can only be authorized under 'exceptional circumstances.'

The following outlines our policy regarding term-time leave:

Exceptional Circumstances: The Headteacher will review each request for leave of absence on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the student's current attendance level, specific facts, and the context of the request. Exceptional circumstances may include:

• Unforeseen family emergencies.
• Religious observance, where the day is exclusively set apart by the religious body to which the student’s family belongs.
• Occupational purposes for Traveller students, such as Roma, Gypsy, and Circus families, where travel is essential and agreed upon with the school.
• Other specific reasons linked to the Special Educational Needs (SEN) of the student, in agreement with the Headteacher, parents, local authority, or social worker.

Request Procedure: Requests for leave of absence during term time must be made in writing to the Head of Provision at least 15 school days prior to the requested date of absence. Each request will be evaluated individually. Cost, convenience, or availability will not be considered exceptional circumstances.

Decision and Response: If the request for leave is not approved and the student is subsequently absent, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised.

Impact of Unauthorised Absences

Unauthorised absences can have a significant impact on a student's learning, especially for those with Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs and other Special Educational Needs, as routine and consistency are crucial for their progress. The school works with families to ensure students are supported in building regular attendance patterns, which is essential for their educational and emotional development.

Empathetic and Trauma-Informed Approach

At Educate U, we adopt a trauma-informed and therapeutic approach in all our interactions. We understand that the needs of each family are unique, and we strive to handle requests with empathy and understanding. However, it is also our responsibility to ensure that the students' educational needs are prioritised, and their learning is not disrupted by unnecessary absences.

We encourage families to discuss any potential requests with us as early as possible so that we can provide guidance and support in line with DfE regulations and our school's ethos.

It is the parent/carer’s responsibility:

• To obtain a Absence Request Form
• To complete and submit the form in advance of the period of absence 

If parents/carers decide to take a holiday without SLT’s authorisation, the child’s absence(s) will be marked as unauthorised.

Unexplained Absence

When a child is repeatedly absent and no satisfactory reason is given, the parent/carers will be investigated and may be liable for prosecution and/or a fine from the Local Authority. The school will work closely with home to find a solution to the situation and return the child to the school. If Safeguarding is identified the appropriate measures will be implemented.

Attendance Support

We will work closely with our parents/carers to support the child or young person if their attendance starts to decline. We will monitor attendance and when a difficulty arises and will work in partnership to support the child back into education.

For children who are struggling with attendance at school, support offered by Educate U may include:

• An even more bespoke timetable e.g.
  • Reduction of school hours
  • Change of timetable/activities
• Home visits from the school team,
• Contact from a key person including phone calls and emails
• Intervention EBSA strategies from our educational psychologist.
• In the event of a child experiencing Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) a key worker will be assigned to help improve attendance.
• Use of outside providers to re-engage and work with the child's anxieties.
• Family support

For more details please clink on the link below to view our Attendance Policy