Attendance Policy

Plans and Policies

Attendance Policy

Statement of Strategy for School Attendance

Name of School	Scoil Naomh Áine
Address	Rathgarogue, New Ross, Co Wexford
Roll Number	16023B
The school’s vision and values in relation to attendance	Scoil Naomh Áine is committed to providing a learning environment that will foster all children’s learning and encourage them to attend school every day the school is open unless they have a valid reason such as illness. We encourage the active learning of each child at his/her own pace and to his/her full potential. We strive to provide a well ordered, caring, happy and secure atmosphere where the intellectual, spiritual, physical, moral and cultural needs of the pupil are identified and addressed. Scoil Naomh Áine promotes excellence in teaching and learning. Each child’s attendance is viewed relative to his/her home situation and a holistic approach to improving attendance will be implemented. We strive to understand any barriers to attendance which families may face and aim to support pupil engagement and attendance in this way.
The school’s high expectations around attendance	In Scoil Naomh Áine, we expect that pupils attend school everyday unless they have a valid reason such as illness. In so far as possible, we aim for full attendance from our pupils.
Summary of the main elements of the school’s approach to attendance: Target setting and targets The whole-school approach Promoting good attendance Responding to poor attendance	Target Setting and Targets To improve attendance rates from 95% to 96% All teachers will record reasons for absence on Databiz and retain notes from parents and medical certificates in a file in their classroom. All teachers will record late arrivers and early leavers on Databiz. All parents/guardians will sign early leavers and late arrivers in and out of book in office. To review targets annually and facilitate continued good practice. The Whole School Approach All teachers will promote good attendance and monitor absences in their classrooms. We will highlight good attendance at the end of each term: Christmas, Easter and Summer. The classroom teacher will give children with no absences a certificate. Parents/Guardians will receive a copy of the school calendar in June for the following school year. Parents/Guardians will be encouraged to take holidays during planned school closures. We encourage pupils and parents/guardians to arrive in school punctually. Promoting good attendance We will publically and positively reward children who have excellent attendance each term. Teachers will highlight the importance of good attendance. Teachers will positively encourage children with poor attendance to attend more regularly. We will promote good attendance through communication with parents at parent teacher meetings, through our newsletter, induction/open nights and school booklet etc. Responding to poor attendance Letters are mailed to parents when their child has missed 15 days. In accordance with the Education Welfare Act 2000 we report all absences over 20 days at the end of each school term. Where a child has a substantial amount of unexplained absences or where we have cause for concern in relation to absenteeism cases are referred to the EWO. Our class teachers and SET team seek to ensure that children who may be experiencing learning difficulties are actively supported and encouraged with appropriate teaching. Homework is tailored to the individual needs of these pupils.
School roles in relation to attendance	Elaine O’Connor the acting principal and Karen Murphy the acting deputy principal have overall responsibility for school attendance. The attendance rate of each year is reported to the BOM at the end of the school year. In school management will lead the review of and the implementation of the school's attendance strategy and closely monitor progress and evaluation. Teachers and Staff Teachers monitor attendance and punctuality of pupils by ensuring that attendance is recorded at 10:55am. Teachers will support pupils on their return when they have missed periods of schooling.
Partnership arrangements (parents, students, other schools, youth and community groups)	Parents/Guardians will receive a copy of the school calendar in June for the following school year. Parents/Guardians will be encouraged to take holidays during planned school closures. We encourage pupils and parents/guardians to arrive in school punctually. All parents/guardians will sign early leavers and late arrivers in and out of book in office. When a child returns to school following an absence they will receive a green absence report slip which their parents/guardians will complete and sign indicating the reason for absence. Teacher will record unexplained absences on Aladdin as unexplained. Pupils who take holidays during term time will be marked absent. Children must give their parents the green absence slip and parents are responsible for returning it to the teacher promptly.
How the Statement of Strategy will be monitored Review process and date for review Date the Statement of Strategy was approved by the Board of Management	The statement will be reviewed by the whole staff during Croke Park planning time. It will be monitored directly by the Principal and Deputy Principal. This policy will be reviewed and updated every year. Next review will be in October 2019. 5th September 2018