Attendance Policy

                                                      Attendance Policy

 Statement of strategy for School Attendance

“Changing social habits and patterns necessitated the updating of the school’s attendance policy. The redrafting was a collaborative school process involving staff and Board of Management, following initial drafting by a representative group”

  1. To promote and encourage regular attendance as an essential factor in our pupil’ learning.
  2. Legislative requirements such as the Education Welfare Act 2000 and the Education act,1998
  3. The role of the Education Welfare Service (Tusla)

 

Our aim is to follow our DEIS plan in relation to attendance; including coherent and practical planning for the inclusion of children with special needs, allowing each child to reach the highest level of academic attainment consistent with his or her talents, so that the school community is enriched by the unique gifts and talents of all its students.

Aims and Objectives

  1. Ensuring that pupil attendance is recorded daily
  2. Encouraging full attendance where possible
  3. Promoting a positive learning environment
  4. Fostering an appreciation of learning and education
  5. Enabling equal access to learning opportunities for all pupils
  6. Raising awareness of the importance of school attendance and its relationship with retention
  7. Developing links between the school and the families of children who may be at risk of developing attendance difficulties
  8. Identifying and addressing obstacles to school attendance
  9. Ensuring compliance with the requirements of the relevant legislation
  10. Ensuring we are following our attendance strategy

Roles and responsibilities

Principal

  • Engage with parents/carers regarding attendance concerns
  • Prepare a report on attendance for the board of management meetings or as needs arise.
  • Provide opportunities for the staff to engage actively with the development and monitoring of the schools attendance strategies.
  • View the attendance statistics on the Aladdin system
  • Attend Monthly meeting with Postholder and HSCL
  • Submit the attendance figures to Tusla twice yearly on the Tusla Portal
  • Ensure that the Education Welfare Service is informed of where necessary –
  • When a pupil has been suspended for a period of 6 days or more
  • When a pupil has been expelled
  • Inform parents of a decision to contact the Education Welfare Service when concerned about a pupil’s attendance

 Post holder

  • Make periodic returns to Tusla and notify Tuslas Educational welfare services and the relevant EWO of particular problems in relation to attendance and ensure support for the work of the EWO with students who have chronic attendance difficulties
  • Responsibility for attendance initiatives including certificates and prizes where relevant
  • Monitor attendance on Aladdin
  • Ensure that the Education Welfare Service is informed of where necessary –
  • Where a pupil is not attending school regularly
  • When a pupil has been absent for 20 or more days during the course of a school year
  • Attend Monthly meetings with Principal and HSCl
  • Notify parents/ carers via letter when child has reached days of absenteeism

Secretary

The School Secretary is responsible for the pupil early collection book

Staff

All staff have input into the implementation of this attendance policy

Teachers

Class teachers have responsibility for recording daily attendance and for inputting reasons for absenteeism on the Aladdin system when provided from Parents. It is the responsibility of teachers to:

  1. Provide a classroom climate and classroom management that support participation and engagement, especially with students who may be at risk of poor attendance
  2. Actively use the school’s attendance strategy to promote attendance
  3. Set high expectations for attendance and punctuality in their classrooms
  4. Ensure attendance data is recorded accurately on Aladdin
  5. Alert relevant staff if there are concerns about student absences
  6. Support students on return when they have missed periods of schooling
  7. Monitor pupils’ attendance and punctuality.
  8. Inform parents by text on Aladdin when a child has missed 10 days

The Home school Community Liaison Teacher ( HSCL) may:

  1. Support parents in their role to ensure regular and punctual school attendance
  2. Initiate links with other schools and relevant bodies on school attendance issues
  3. Engage with EWS and school completion around attendance
  4. Attend meetings with post holder and principal
  5. Parents and guardians are notified of the total number of days missed in the end of year report card

Parents/Carers

The Board of Management acknowledges the important role of parents/carers in the attendance of their children at school.  In line with Tusla’s guidelines for school (p.44), parents/ carers are expected to:

  1. Set high standards for their Child in relation to attendance and punctuality
  2. Engage with the school if there is a problem
  3. Ensure that their child regularly attends and arrives at school on time
  4. Avoid taking child on holidays during term time
  5. Contact the school immediately, if they have concerns about school related matters which may impact negatively on their child’s attendance
  6. Informimg the school, preferably in writing, of the reasons for absences from school
  7. Ensure, insofar as is possible, that children’s appointments( with Dentists etc.) are arranged for times outside of school hours
  8. Avoid early collection (sign out and reason to be documented in book in secretary’s office)

 Punctuality

  1. School begins at 8:50
  2. All pupils and teachers are expected to be on time
  3. The school will contact parents/guardians in the event of pupils being constantly late
  4. The Principal is obliged under the Education Welfare Act, to report children who are persistently late, to the Education Welfare Board

Strategies to Promote Good Attendance

The Board of Management is committed to providing a positive school atmosphere which is conducive to promoting good school attendance. In this regard the school will endeavour to ensure that:

  1. The school curriculum, insofar as is practical, is flexible and relevant to the needs of the individual child
  2. Promoting a school culture where every child feels valued, trusted and respected facilitating children to have a voice in schools matters
  3. The school calendar for each academic year is distributed the previous June to make parents/carers aware of school holidays, to avoid holidays being taken during term time
  4. Reward systens are in place to encourage and reward good attendance; These may include
  • ‘No Homework Voucher’ one month of attendance/Poster competition
  • Raffles ‘Be in to win’
  1. There is a consistent approach to homework throughout the school and students may be supported through attendance at ‘Homework club’
  2. All pupils can avail of a free lunch through the School Meals scheme
  3. Breakfast club
  4. Art, music, drama and sporting activities may be scheduled for times of the week when poor attendance may arise i.e Mondays/Fridays
  5. Programmes to support pupils in their social, emotional, and personal development are utilised. These may include:
  • Art therapy counselling
  • Incredible years ( NEPs)
  • School Completion Programmes
  • Holiday programmes
  • Social programmes
  • Junior achievement
  1. The school works in partnership with local bodies to promote good school attendance and promote equal access to learning opportunities for all pupils.These bodies may include:
  • Waterford Area partnership
  • Waterford Sports partnership
  • School Completion programme
  • Junior Achievement programme
  • BRILL
  • Bernandos
  • SWAY
  • Sacred heart family resource centre
  • Community guards
  • SHY Project
  • SETU
  • Brighter future club
  • Municipal library
  • Waterford corporation/ Mayors visit
  • Local clubs e.g Gaa, swimming etc
  1. Staff meet and greet with families in the yard every morning(Principal and HSCL
  2. Discussion about attendance at Parents’ Association meetings, annual parent- teacher meetings, class meeting at the start of the year and information meetings

Responding to Poor Attendance

The Board of Management of Scoil Lorcain BNS acknowledges that despite the best efforts of the school and of families, some children will need extra support to prevent patterns of poor attendance developing. The following are strategies employed by the school to respond to poor attendance:

  1. Working with groups of individual who may need additional support( Guidelines for schools, p.30)
  2. Tailoring whole school approaches to group or individual needs
  3. Engaging in early dialogue with every parent and students
  4. Using school led multi-agency support processes
  5. Referral to Tuslas Educational Welfare Service
  6. Attendance of individual pupils will be recorded on the Aladin computerised system daily
  7. Class teacher may alert parents by text message on Aladdin at 10 days missed to date
  8. The HSCL may visit or arrange to meet with target families around attendance
  9. At 20 days accumulative absence, a formal letter will be sent to parents informing them of the school’s statutory duty to inform the Education Welfare Service
  10. A formal meeting may be arranged between parents/carers, class teachers and post holder/|HSCL and Principal to address concerns
  11. Where the school has made all efforts to address attendance difficulties, the principal may seek assistance from the Education Welfare Service ( TUSLA)
  12. Where a referral has been made to EWS an attendance clinic may be offered with EWO

Approach to attendance concerns – TUSLA

The school must notify Tusla if a child is absent for 20 days or more, or where absences/patterns of absences give rise to concern.

Monitoring the Statement of Strategy for Schools’ Attendance

The Board of Management and the Principal will monitor the implementation of the statement of strategy for school attendance on an ongoing basis by doing the following:

  • Opportunities will be provided for staff to share experiences about how the strategy is working and to review progress towards attendance targets
  • The Principal will update on attendance levels at each Board of Management meeting, with reference to the school’s attendance targets

 Communication

This Policy will be communicated to staff and school community as appropriate and will be subjected to regular review. In accordance with the systematic cycle of review of policies adopted in Scoil Lorcáin BNS. It will be reviewed initially after one year and then every three years, in line with the DEIS Plan, unless there is a compelling reason to review it earlier

Review process

A formal end of year review of the statement of strategy will be conducted annually as part of the preparation of the Board of Managements annual report on attendance (as per section 21(6)(a)(b) of Education (Welfare) Act 2000 to Tuslas Educational Welfare services.

Reviewed and ratified by the Board of Management, Scoil Lorcain BNS, St Johns Park, Waterford City

Scheduled for review____________

Signed _______________________                                _______________________

                  Chairperson                                           Date

Evaluation

The Success of any attendance policy is measured through:

  • Improved attendance levels as measured through Aladdin computerised records and statistical returns
  • Happy confident well-adjusted children
  • Positive parental and staff feedback