Our First Day Response Procedures

Dear Parents/Carers,

Good attendance is vital to your child’s success at school. I would, therefore, like to remind you of your legal responsibilities as parents and the requirements involved to ensure success for your child. On-going poor attendance is a factor often linked to low levels of academic success and could also affect future applications for jobs or college places. Many pupils have difficulty maintaining friendships if they have long or numerous periods of absence.

The school’s minimum target for attendance is 92% and, to put this into perspective, 90% attendance in a school year is equivalent to missing 19 days of school or 114 lessons.

It is a parent’s legal responsibility to ensure their child is in school. Ongoing unauthorised absence of 15 sessions or more could lead to a Penalty Notice being issued, which is a fine of £60 if paid within the first 21 days and £120 if paid within 28 days. If the fine is not paid within 28 days parents could be prosecuted for their child’s poor attendance.

If your child is too ill to attend school, please contact us on the first day of absence (and on each subsequent day of absence) that your child is unwell.

There are several ways you can contact school to report an absence:

• Telephone:01518327602 press option 1
• Email: [email protected]
• Email: [email protected]

On return to school, your child should bring a letter explaining the illness.

If you would like to discuss your child’s attendance, please contact Mrs Docherty on 0151 832 7602 and she will be happy to talk with you and if required arrange a meeting.

For your convenience we have enclosed a leaflet which covers all essential points. Please keep this in a safe place to refer to when needed.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs Kate Docherty
Headteacher

Rivacre Valley Primary School First Day Call Procedure

Registers taken promptly

• Attendance lead listens to absence calls, reads absence messages on Studybugs and check school comms messages
• Registers collated, lates, absence calls - produce the list of children absent with no explanation (these will be N marks on SIMS)
• Any discrepancies will be chased up in school
• Send school comms (texts and emails), if no response start first day calling for children absent without explanation, call everyone on the contact list until you get an answer. Leave messages if there is a voicemail option
• If there is an overseas ring tone a check is made with class teacher’s and the Head teacher to see if there has been any contact for holiday authorisation
• If no replies at all consider whether any children have additional agency support, such as a social worker, contact them.
• Speak to any family members in school to ask about the child’s whereabouts
• Call the contact list at least twice and send out another set of school comms at PM registration if we have not had any communication
• Make a prompt home visit if we have concerns
• If you cannot get an answer from the home visit refer to children's services  / Police and request a welfare call