Attendance

The strategies we have employed has seen a overall trend of improvement in attendance for all pupils and PA's.

We are constantly assessing which strategies are most effective; we look to refine these further and address those which may be not as effective.

We analyse this data carefully to identify groups and/or individuals who may need extra support from our Attendance Officer and EWOS's to improve attendance.

Attendance Strategies

Daily Attendance Meeting

Each morning 9:15am, our Attendance Team meet to analyse the day's attendance and punctuality. During this meeting, home visits are planned and actions to support targetted children to get back into school are made. Our PA children are split into five categories:

PA Categories

1. Current PA: A pupil who has dropped below 90% in the current academic year

2. Historic PA: A pupil who was below 90% in the previous academic year

3. Persistent PA: A pupil who is below 90% for the current and previous academic year

4. Potential PA: A pupil who has been identified as in danger of falling below 90% in the current academic year

5. PA Success: A pupil who has been a PA in the past, but has improved attendance and is not classed as a PA

At our meeting, we look at each child's situation and decide upon what actions to take out. We aim to make a home visit to all PA pupils who are absent on the first day of absence. We will also call all pupils who are absent on the first day of absence. If a pattern of absence emerges, our class teachers will call home to discuss the education that the pupils are missing. 

Impact

Our new Attendance Team was brought together in Autumn 2020. It has helped us keep track of isolating children, and gain a forensic knowledge of our PA pupils and PA successes. Our Inclusion Officer and Attendance Officer have built up excellent relationships with our parents during home visits and phone calls, and we are experiencing improved attendance for non Covid absences compared to 2017/18 and 2018/19.

Example of success:

Our attendance officer, Mrs Molloy identified the  day after Mothers' Day as a traditional day of poor attendance for our school.

So, in 2021 we attempted something new. To celebrate the excellent attendance in the previous week or 97%, we planned an, "Attendance Celebration" afternoon, in which pupils took part in activities that celebrated the importance of attendance. We also planned a surprise treat for each pupil. which was a visit by the extremely popular ice cream man, Mr. Traviso.

The strategy give us an uplift of approximately 40 pupils in comparison to 2019, and was a real success. Moving forward, we will be making sure this day becomes a strength rather than a weakness. 

Attendance Team

Headteacher - Mr. A. H. Reidel

Assistant Headteacher - Mr. J. Gouldbourne

Inclusion Officer - Mrs. P. O'Donnell

Attendance Officer - Mrs. M. Molloy

Attendance Badges

Bronze and Silver Badges: 100% Attendance for a whole term

Pupils with 100% attendance for one term win a Bronze Badge that they can wear for the rest of the rest of the year. Pupils who succeed in completing two terms with full attendance will win a Silver Badge they can wear alongside the Bronze Badge!

Gold Attendance Badge: 100% attendance for the full school year

Children who have 100% attendance for the whole year will be awarded a Gold Badge—this is to signify they have completed a full year in school without a day off. These badges can be worn for the entirety of the next school year.

Weekly Attendance Raffle

At the end of each week, pupils with 100% attendance for that week will be entered into a class raffle—the winner receives a £5 gift voucher for Liverpool One!

Half Termly Class Competition

At the end of every half term, the class with the best attendance in a year group will get to choose their attendance treat.

The Golden Ticket

In each phase, children with full 100% attendance for the whole year will be entered into a special raffle  a chance to win a Golden Ticket—a ticket that pays in full for a  school residential—to skiing or Barcelona! For Year 6 pupils, we will contribute towards the first residential in high school!

Support

We are currently working closely with SIL to put in place various support strategies for when we return to school which have been tried and tested in other schools. We believe these will improve the attendance of groups and individuals significantly.

Punctuality

Strategies

The Late League

Each week classes 'compete' within their year groups to see who can have the fewest lates. The class with the fewest lates get 4pts, second gets 3pts, 3rd gets 2pts, and 4th gets 1pt.

Over the course of a half term these weekly points are accumulated to decide the winning class in each year group. Winning classes are given an amount to spend on their reward and have to agree, as a class, what it will be.

Winning classes have chosen pizza afternoons and ice-cream treats as well as donating some of their amount to charity.

Drop Off

School opens for some pupils at 8.15. This is aimed at families who need the option to drop their children off at school earlier than normal. Pupils go to their year group area and can take part in reading and other 'catch up' activities.

Informal Entry

School opens for Year 3 and 4 pupils at 8.30am. Pupils can go to their classes at this time and take part in reading and 'catch up' activities.

Year 5 and 6 pupils can enter school from 8.40am.

This has provided a calm and seamless start to the day, with no time lost before lessons start at 8.55am.

Data

We have seen a significant improvement in punctuality since introducing the 'Late League' and as a result a significant drop in the amount of valuable learning time lost.

We analyse this data carefully to identify individuals and patterns which the Attendance officer and EWO's follow up to provide extra support to those with poor punctuality.