Attendance Policy

Introductory Statement:
This policy was formulated as a result of ongoing concerns in relation to the chronic attendance of a number of children in the school over a period of years. It was developed in consultation with the whole school community, in order to achieve the best outcome for the pupils in terms of reaching their full potential.

Rationale:
As a school we decided to review our attendance because

• It is a priority area identified by the whole school community
• It is a requirement under the Education Welfare Act 2000
• As a school community we are keenly aware of the link between school attendance and academic success
• Positive attendance habits begin early in a child's life, therefore we can develop a life-skill in the pupils which they will take with them into adulthood

Relationship to the Ethos of the school:
The Trustees of St Vincent's GNS are the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul. Their Ethos of caring for the most marginalised in society inspires all aspects of the work of the school community including:

• caring for the pupils' physical, spiritual and emotional needs
• nurturing a harmonious environment that children will feel part of and want to come to
• Valuing the potential of every child
• being genuinely interested in her welfare
• modelling co-operation between all members of the school community.

Aims:
By introducing this Policy Statement the school ideally hopes to:

• Foster an appreciation of learning
• Raise awareness of the importance of school attendance
• Identify pupils at risk of early school leaving
• Enhance the learning environment where children can make progress in all aspects of their development
• Promote positive attitudes to learning
• To comply with requirements under the Education Welfare Act 2000 and Guidelines from the National Education Welfare Board

Defining and Recording Non-Attendance:
For the purpose of this policy statement, we will use the fact that according to the Education Act 2000:

• a parent is obliged to cause a child between the ages of 6 and 16 to attend at a national school or other suitable school on each day that the school is open for instruction' as a basis for defining non-attendance.

Non-Attendance will be recorded in the following ways:

• The class teacher calls the roll and records the attendance/non-attendance of each child officially enrolled in the class each day that the school is officially open
• The Assistant Principal records the attendance of each class on a daily basis and calculates the weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly totals to be recorded in the 'Leabhar Tinnrimh'

In order to determine the best way forward staff reflected on a number of issues in relation to poor attendance:

• The causes of poor/chronic attendance
• The issues that poor/chronic attendance raises for us as a school
• School issues that may impact negatively on attendance
• The strategies that are currently in place to encourage/reward good attendance
• The preventative strategies that are currently in place in relation to poor attendance

The following findings were used as a starting point in developing a Policy into the future:
The causes of poor/chronic attendance:

• Parents of young children not bringing them to school
• Sickness
• Education not being a priority in the lives of parents who are struggling
• Taking the day off after: Dancing Competitions, birthdays, Mother's Day, Christenings, Weddings, Debs', Patrick's Day
• Shopping for Communion/Confirmation outfits
• Staying the weekend with parent who lives a distance away
• Early School Closings - Staff Meetings
• Bullying
• Avoiding Tests
• Lateness

The issues that poor attendance raises for the school:

• Frustration for the teacher
• Missing out on teaching the basic skills necessary in the Curriculum
• Unnecessary repetition of lesson material
• Time-wasting if attending Learning Support/Resource
• Missing out on socialising with other children
• Children with chronic attendance 'mitching' and not being missed immediately
• Small numbers on Mondays and Fridays
• 'Early Collection' of children resulting in children missing out on subjects they look forward to
• Attendance affecting academic progress
• Poor sense of structure/routine affecting their general demeanour in school
• NEWB rule re '20 days' being regarded as 20-day holiday entitlement
• No implications for parents if child is under six years of age - the first two years in school being crucial in terms of basic Reading/Writing/Language/Maths skills

School issues that may impact negatively on attendance:

• Homework
• Bullying
• Money - the pressure that parents may be under to provide for tours/trips/dressing up
• Half-days
• Attitudes of staff
• Attitudes of peer-group
• Learning difficulties
• Struggling with specific curricular areas

Strategies currently in place to encourage/reward good attendance:

• Daily 'Full Attendance Star' on classroom doors
• School Attendance Tree. Classes hang their class 'star' on the tree on days when they have full attendance. A matching 'star' placed on their classroom door
• Classes having 5 consecutive school days with full attendance are awarded a 'silver attendance star' to hang on the tree for a week.
• Classes with 10 consecutive school days with full attendance are awarded a 'gold attendance star' to hang on the tree for a week. Silver and Gold stars returned to hang in classrooms as a record of their achievement.
• At the end of the year, the class with most Silver/Gold stars will be rewarded as appropriate - perhaps with a trip/outing
• Monthly Full attendance certificates to Junior and Senior Infants
• Termly Certificates for 1st - 6th Classes
• End-of-Year trophies for Full Attendance/medals for 'Very Good' Attendance ie 3 -5 days missed
• Breakfast Club - Junior and Senior
• High-interest subjects on Mondays/Fridays
• Golden Time/Golden Tickets
• Care Team for children with poor/chronic attendance - to explore reasons and offer supports
• Star of the Week/Student of the month
• Special privileges - cooking etc for pupils with SEN
• HSCL visits prioritised at Junior level by coordinator
• Principal intervenes with parents of pupils with poor attendance
• Principal visiting classes periodically or spontaneously in response to 'Full Attendance' Star on classroom doors
• Teacher with POR monitoring attendance informing Principal about classes with 5 or more consecutive days' full class attendance. An announcement made over the intercom congratulating these classes
• Parents asked to bring 'Early Collection Note' for signature of Principal or Deputy Principal and return to class teacher to be held in Attendance folder in classroom
• Medical Certs supplied by parents to explain absences held in same folder along with written notes from parents explaining why their child was absent

Preventative strategies currently in place in relation to poor attendance:

• Positive reinforcement by all members of staff particularly in relation to those children whose attendance is poor
• Friendly/Supportive visits from HSCL coordinator to encourage good attendance and to encourage parents in their role
• Announcements on intercom to encourage classes with a number of full attendance days
• End-of-year trophies/medals that reward good attendance
• Photos taken for the school website of children holding their Full attendance certificates
• Golden Tickets
• Encouragement/motivation from class teacher on daily basis
• Interesting and engaging methodologies in curricular areas
• Learning needs of 'at risk' children addressed and catered for
• Warm and welcoming environment created in the school and classroom
• Approachable , sympathetic staff
• Food readily available and children arriving late greeted with an offer of Breakfast
• Brightly painted, clean child-centred building
• Clear routines and structures
• Pupils and Parents given a voice in appropriate policy development
• Children and Parents greeted each morning by name by smiling and welcoming staff
• Children escorted out of the school at home time with a smile and a positive message
• Teachers waiting behind with uncollected children/phoning home
• Issue of payment for school trips/tours minimised or subsidised so as not to put pressure on or embarrass families
• Sensitivity in terms of finances of families where more than one child attends the school
• Staff modelling working as a team
• Staff involved in Team projects on behalf of the children
• Children given a sense of 'belonging' by being valued as individuals
• Parents kept informed about their child's attendance - at yearly Parent/Teacher meeting and yearly written school report
• Targeting new parents to inform them of the importance of daily attendance in their child's progress - at induction meeting and again at Junior Infant parent meeting in October
• Sending texts to parents of important dates in the school calendar including re-opening dates
• Keeping in touch with parents of 'at risk' children by phone on days when children are absent
• Home Visits by the HSCL coordinator to encourage and promote good attendance

Communication with other schools/other providers:

• Principal makes contact with school from which a child is transferring to ask if there are any attendance issues
• Notification in writing sent to the Principal of the child's previous school that the child is now enrolled here
• Children transferring to another school: information in relation to attendance given through school report or report to Principal of next school
• Information re attendance of 6th class pupils shared as part of transition programme and to highlight pupils who may be at risk of early school leaving

Strategies in the event of non-attendance:
As a school we will do our utmost in terms of positive strategies to engage with children and parents around school attendance. However, in a minority of cases and for the good of the child and her future, it may be necessary to proceed in a different direction by involving the National Education Welfare Board, through its appointed officer.

Should all other avenues of engagement be exhausted, the following actions will be considered. In all cases the individual circumstances, pattern of attendance, medical history and family circumstances of the child in question will be kept in mind before a decision is made to proceed with the following actions:

• After 10 days of casual, unexplained absence, contact will be made with parents/guardian by the Assistant Principal by phone advising parents of the number of days the child is absent and discussing the reasons for this
• Parents will be advised that the maximum number of days' absence before an official report is made to the NEWB is 20 days
• After 15 days of similar absences, the Principal will make contact with the parent/guardian and make an appointment either to call to the home, if that is acceptable or to invite them to the school for a meeting
• Parents will be advised that if the child is absent on 5 more days, the NEWB will be officially informed
• After 20 days of similar absences, a referral will be made to NEWB officer in relation to concerns about the attendance of the child in question
• A letter will be written to parents advising them of the referral to the NEWB regarding their child's attendance and the school's obligation in accordance with the Education Act
• The school will continue to be supportive of the family in every way possible in order to encourage an improvement in the child's attendance

Success criteria:

• An increased awareness among pupils and parents about the importance of attendance
• Parents asking about the attendance rewards/certificates
• Pupils anxious to come in for their class 'full attendance star'
• Pupils valuing Attendance-linked prizes
• Increased yearly school attendance

Implementation date:
The policy will apply from 10th January 2011

Timetable for review:
The policy will be reviewed in January 2013