Cathedral ATTENDANCE POLICY including EYFS

Policy Statement For the welfare, health, and safety and educational benefit of all pupils, Lichfield Cathedral School registers pupils in all years of compulsory school age, including Sixth Form. Lichfield Cathedral School requires regular attendance and the presence of pupils is checked daily at the start of the morning session and again at the start of the afternoon session. This attendance register is a legal document subject to the (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 in respect of both inclusion in, and deletion from the register. Lichfield Cathedral School is committed to ensuring that the attendance register is maintained in accordance with these regulations. For this reason Form Tutors/Teachers must ensure the register is filled in properly in accordance with the procedures in this document. This policy applies to all members of our school community, including boarders and those in our EYFS setting. Lichfield Cathedral School is fully committed to ensuring that the application of this Attendance Policy is non-discriminatory in line with the UK Equality Act (2010). Further details are available in the school’s Equal Treatment Policy document. Lichfield Cathedral School seeks to implement this policy through adherence to the procedures set out in the rest of this document. This document is available on the school network and to all interested parties on request from the school offices and should be read in conjunction with the following policies and documents: Missing Pupil Policy, timetable for the school day.

Aim The School is committed to a positive policy of encouraging pupils to attend school regularly. The school will work with parents and pupils to secure this aim. The other purpose of this attendance policy is to ensure that there is an efficient system, known to all, for ensuring that pupils who should be attending the School have registered twice daily, or a reason for non-attendance is known to the School.

Taking the Register Pupils of compulsory school age must have their attendance registered twice per day. It is the practice of this School to register all pupils including boarders. The register is taken and updated twice daily at the start of morning and afternoon sessions, and this takes place within 30 minutes of the start of the session. In addition, all teaching staff check every class to ensure that all pupils are in attendance and record this on the school information system, PASS. The School office is informed immediately if a child is missing at any stage. The register records the following: • whether the pupil is present, absent, or attending an approved educational activity; [An approved educational activity is defined as: - one taking place off the school premises; - approved by a person authorised by the Head; - supervised by a person approved by the Head; - of an educational nature, including work experience, field trips and educational visits, - an approved sporting activity; - reviews with prospective employers, or for a place in another School or ; and - link courses where pupils attend another school for part of their time, or franchised pupils receiving part of their education off-site at another location while remaining on roll and under school supervision (e.g. sick children being taught at home, Sixth Form being taught a subject elsewhere).

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Lichfield Cathedral School ATTENDANCE POLICY including EYFS

• the nature of the approved educational activity (for a pupil of compulsory school age); • whether the absence is 'authorised' or 'unauthorised'; and • the reason for absence, using a prescribed code.

Process The register is completed by each Form Teacher (Class Teacher at Longdon). Attendance is recorded on the School’s electronic management system (WCBS PASS) so that records can be accessed where required by form, by year, by whole school or by individual. At the Lichfield site registers are taken and recorded on PASS each lesson change.

Responsibilities The Governing Body will: • approve the policy and any proposed changes; • receive reports from the Head; • review the working of the policy in the light of the Head's report; and • ensure that the policy is promoted and implemented throughout the school, and is known by parents. The Head will: • monitor attendance; • monitor progress; • ensure that strategies are in place to promote and implement the policy throughout the school; • determine (in collaboration with the Head of , Head of and Form Teachers) whether to authorise any proposed absences requested, or absences which have taken place for which no request was made; • notify parents as appropriate that if a pupil of compulsory school age fails to attend regularly his/her parents commit an offence; and • initiate with appropriate staff strategies to improve attendance should this be required. The Head of Junior School will: • oversee the attendance arrangements; • work with Form Teachers to ensure the efficient running of the system; • make periodic checks of the registers to monitor pupil absence; • make regular checks on absence notes and the reasons for absence; • ensure that unaccounted for absences are followed up; • deal with issues of inadequate registering; • keep the Head informed of the progress of the policy; and • advise the Head on any strategies that could be initiated or improved. Year Group Heads will: • support Form/Class Teachers as necessary; • contact parents over pupil absences where appropriate; • contribute to discussions on the efficiency of the system in Pastoral Group meetings; and • liaise with the relevant Section Head over training needs. Form/Class Teachers will: • promote regular attendance as a central part of the school’s ethos;

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Lichfield Cathedral School ATTENDANCE POLICY including EYFS

• ensure that pupils are registered accurately; • ensure that pupils bring absence notes; • pass absence notes swiftly and efficiently to the Palace Reception (Lichfield) or the Head’s PA at Longdon; • follow up cases of unaccounted for absence or unacceptable notes; • inform the Head of Year or Head of any signs of sustained absence; and • inform the Head of any possible underlying problems which might account for absences. Subject Teachers (Lichfield)/ Specialist Teachers (Longdon) will: • check the attendance of pupils at their lessons; and • immediately inform the relevant person (Class Teacher at Longdon; School Office at Lichfield) of any pupil who is absent without notification. Pupils (according to their age) are required to: • attend regularly unless they are ill or have an authorised absence • if possible inform the school of their absence on the first day of unexpected absence; • bring an explanatory note signed by parents on the day of return to school; • discuss with the Form/Class Teacher any planned absences well in advance (e.g. a family holiday) understanding that the school policy does not normally allow for holidays during term time; • where absence is unavoidable, remind parents to write requesting leave of absence.

Leave of Absence Leave can be granted only by the Head in exceptional circumstances. Parents will be expected to write giving plenty of notice. (Full details are given in the guidance for parents to be found under Appendix 1 below.) Exceptional circumstances are principally defined as those which are rare, significant, unavoidable and short.

Holiday Leave As an , LCS has shorter terms but longer days than the state sector, and parents are therefore discouraged from taking their child(ren) on holiday – however educational the visit might be – during term time. The School informs parents of the dates of term over a year in advance (see the School Calendar) in order that parents might arrange holidays without disrupting their child’s education. Parents will only be given permission by the Head for a child to be absent in exceptional circumstances. The application must be made by the parent (or person with parental responsibility) with whom the child normally resides, but the request may be brought to the School by the pupil. When making the decision whether the circumstances are exceptional, the Head will take into consideration : • the age of the child; • the time of the year proposed; • the educational needs of the child; • the views of all who care for the child/pupil; • the pupils previous record of attendance; • any SEN requiring reasonable adjustments; • needs of the families of service personnel; • the needs and circumstances of the family. If the pupil still goes on a holiday which has not been approved by the School it counts as unauthorised absence.

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Lichfield Cathedral School ATTENDANCE POLICY including EYFS

Short Term Leave The School can legally grant short term leave for family reasons. It is for the Head to determine the reasonableness. Dental and medical appointments are valid reasons for missing registration and constitute authorised absence. If the pupil leaves for an appointment after registering no absence needs to be recorded. The School may, exceptionally, sanction limited absence for young carers until other arrangements can be made. The Head will set a time limit for such absences in consultation with other staff. Taking a Pupil off the Register The Head will authorise the taking of a pupil's name off the register in accordance with the current Regulations (see Admissions Policy).

Monitoring and Review The Head will review the working of this policy with the Leadership Group and report as necessary to the governing body.

Publication This policy will be made available to all members of the school community through publication on the school website. Paper copies are available on request from the School Office.

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Lichfield Cathedral School ATTENDANCE POLICY including EYFS

Appendix 1: Guidance for Parents Introduction At Lichfield Cathedral School, we see education as a partnership between the family and the school. We are committed to providing the highest quality of education for your son/daughter, and we look to you to support this objective. All pupils are required to be in school at the times indicated for different ages of pupil as indicated each term in the School Calendar. Many pupils remain after School for the After School Club, Prep Club or to take part in extra –curricular activities under the supervision of a member of staff or visiting coach. Apart from boarders, pupils are normally expected to have completed all additional activities by 18:00.

School Bounds Day pupils and boarders are not allowed to leave the site during the school day, unless accompanied by a member of staff, for a trip, visit or sporting fixture, the dates of which will have been notified to you in advance through the School Calendar or in a separate communication. Students in Year 12 and 13 may leave the site at lunchtime but must sign out at Reception before doing so.

Absence A request for absence must be made in writing to the Head’s PA (or the Head of Junior School’s PA) at least seven days in advance (except in an emergency, as for illness, when parents are asked to telephone the school – Palace Reception or Longdon - before 09:00). Requests for exceptional absence (i.e. absence for days other than religious festivals, medical or dental appointments, visits to other , or for illness) should be sent to the Head before any travel arrangements are finalised and will be assessed in line with the 2015 regulations. As an independent school, LCS has shorter terms but longer days than the state sector, and parents are therefore discouraged from taking their child(ren) on holiday – however educational the visit might be – during term time. Please note that it is the School’s policy not to allow holidays to be taken during term. The School informs parents of the dates of term over a year in advance (see the School Calendar) in order that parents might arrange holidays without disrupting their child’s education. If your child is ill, please e-mail or telephone the school before 09:00 on the first day of absence. He/she should bring a letter signed by a parent on his/her return to school giving a reason for the absence. We will always telephone the home on the first day of an unexplained absence in order to make sure that there is no cause for concern.

Boarders Full details for boarders (boys aged 7 – 16 only) will be found in the Boarders’ Handbook. The School has only one boarding facility which accommodates a maximum of 24 boys. The majority of boarders are choristers in the Cathedral Choir, and special arrangements are made for them. Parents have a period of induction into this way of life whilst their son is a probationer in the choir. Full boarding is only required when a boy becomes a full chorister. All boarders are cared for by the Housemother and a team consisting of Matrons and Boarding Tutors. Together, they are responsible for your child during term, including ensuring that he is safely occupied outside normal school hours. We expect your son or daughter to live with you or his/her guardian when he/she is away from school on and at half term. We ask you to give written authority to the Housemother before he leaves the school to stay with another family.

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Lichfield Cathedral School ATTENDANCE POLICY including EYFS

Please telephone the School if your son is taken ill during an . He should bring a letter signed by a parent on his return to School giving a reason for the absence. We will always telephone the home if your son is late returning from an exeat. At weekends, boarders are allowed to go into town for a brief period without staff supervision. They must be given permission by the member of staff on duty on each and every occasion, and they must go in groups, determined according to age. For boarders, rules for absence are as for day pupils above, but for choristers, requests will also have to go to the Precentor and Cathedral Director of for their approval if the absence overlaps with a choral rehearsal, service or performance. Permission in this case is normally given only for close family weddings or funerals. Doc name Attendance Policy Authors Head

Version 10.1 Circulation Public document Last updated October 2015 Next review October 2017 date

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