At Feltham Hill, our vision and ethos is about developing the whole child. A key part of this is helping children feel safe, settled and ready to learn – and that starts with being in school, on time, every day.

We want every pupil to attend regularly and arrive punctually. Children who attend well are more likely to feel happy and confident, build strong friendships and make the progress they are capable of.

When pupils miss school or arrive late, it can be harder for them to settle back into routines. This is especially true for young children, who rely on familiarity and consistent daily structure to feel secure and to thrive.

As leaders, we encourage families to aim for 100% attendance wherever possible, and to book appointments outside of school hours wherever they can. 

We will share our attendance procedures with families during our curriculum meetings, which are held each autumn term. For children who are new to Early Years, this information will also be covered during induction meetings in June/July.

All parents new to the school will be sent a copy of our Attendance Policy. This is also available on our website and is reviewed annually.

Ms Sargeant, our Attendance and Welfare Officer, will contact you on each day your child is absent if we have not been informed of the reason for absence. Where needed, Ms Sargeant will follow the school’s attendance procedures and will meet with parents to offer support in helping their child attend school regularly and on time.

It is important that parents know and follow our daily routines for reporting absence and supporting good punctuality.

Morning routine and punctuality

• Our school gates open at 8.35am and close at 8.50am.

• Children enter through their class doors, so they are welcomed by a familiar, friendly face.

• Class doors are open from 8.45am–8.50am.

• Registers are taken from 8.50am–8.55am.

• Learning across the school begins promptly at 8.55am.

If you arrive after 8.50am and the gates are locked, you must bring your child to the school office. You will sign them in electronically and your child may receive a late mark.  Children arriving after the register has closed will be recorded as unauthorised absence (U).  Repeated late arrivals after closure directly affect attendance percentages.

Please remember: arriving late means your child misses the start of learning and may find it harder to catch up. Being late can also make children feel worried or anxious as they enter once routines are underway.

Reporting absence

Parents must report their child’s absence every day until they return. Please telephone the school office and select the option for reporting absence, or send an email.

If we have not been informed, Ms Sargeant will contact you. This is part of our safeguarding procedures and ensures your child is safe.

Parents are expected to report their child’s absence every day, by calling or emailing the school office. If we have not heard from you, Ms Sargeant will contact you to ensure your child is safe (this is part of our safeguarding procedures).

Attendance leadership and roles

• Miss Sinclair is the school’s Attendance Lead, with a strategic overview and vision for attendance.

• Ms Sargeant, our Attendance and Welfare Officer, is responsible for:

  • the day-to-day attendance processes

  • 4-weekly and termly monitoring

  • managing the school’s attendance procedures

The school has clear procedures (including sanctions where appropriate) aimed at improving individual pupils’ attendance by reducing absence.

How we monitor and manage attendance

We formally monitor attendance every 4 weeks. Ms Sargeant reviews attendance for individual pupils and updates Miss Sinclair. We use this information to decide when to begin school attendance procedures.

If a pupil’s attendance is below 95%, the family will begin our school procedures.

Please note: attendance information may be shared in terms of sessions rather than days and will include authorised and unauthorised absences.

Our graduated attendance procedures

Stage 1 – Initial Concern (below 95%)
Parents/carers of pupils with attendance below 95% will receive an Initial Concern Letter. This will show:

• current attendance percentage

• authorised absence

• unauthorised absence

You will be offered a meeting with Ms Sargeant to discuss any barriers to attendance and any support that may be needed.

Stage 2 – First target (after 4 weeks)
After 4 weeks, if attendance remains below 95%, a first attendance target will be set and reviewed after a further 4 weeks.

Stage 3 – Parent/pupil contract and second target
If, after the next 4 weeks, the first target is not achieved, Ms Sargeant will meet with parents/carers to agree additional support. A parent/pupil contract will be drawn up and a second target will be put in place.

Stage 4 – Extended target (if needed)
If the second target is not achieved, Ms Sargeant will speak with parents/carers and an extended target may be put in place to give additional time for improvement.

Stage 5 – Referral to SASS
If the extended target (or second target) is still not achieved, Ms Sargeant will make a referral to Hounslow’s School Attendance Support Service (SASS).  Miss Sinclair will be informed as the Attendance Lead and Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). Any safeguarding concerns will be included within the referral to ensure appropriate support is in place.

Recognising improvement

At any stage, if attendance improves, Ms Sargeant will acknowledge and praise the improvement with parents/carers and the child.

Attendance procedures will be responsive and graduated.  Where attendance deteriorates or patterns are clear, we will not wait for a full monitoring period before escalating to meetings, targets and support. Parent meetings and the Parent/Pupil Contracts will be used early to identify barriers and put support in place.

Working closely with Hounslow to reduce persistent and severe absence

To reduce persistent absence (missing 10% or more of sessions) and severe absence (missing 50% or more of sessions), schools are expected to work closely with their local authority and follow the updated national attendance guidance and legal framework (in force from 19 August 2024). 

Our school has an assigned School Attendance Support Officer (SASO) from Hounslow who liaises with Ms Sargeant. Our SASO is Kelly Whisker. 

In line with Department for Education guidance, Ms Sargeant and the SASO meet termly to review cases of persistent and severe absence, agree next steps, and reduce barriers to attendance. The SASO may also meet with parents/carers to explore what help might be needed to support a child to attend school regularly. 

Referrals to Hounslow School Attendance Support Service (SASS)

If a second or extended school attendance target is not achieved, Ms Sargeant will make a referral to Hounslow’s School Attendance Support Service (SASS). Hounslow’s SASS works with schools and families, and also monitors referred children (including where attendance is 90% and below and where unauthorised term-time leave has been taken). 

Any safeguarding concerns will be included within the referral to ensure families are supported and children are safe. 

Following a referral, the SASO will first review the evidence provided by the school to ensure that appropriate school-led attendance procedures, targets and support have already been implemented. The SASO will invite parents to a Local Authority attendance meeting to discuss the barriers to attendance, identify any support required, and provide appropriate signposting. During the meeting, an attendance target will be set, and parents will be advised that if the target is not achieved and the relevant legal thresholds are met, they may be at risk of receiving a penalty notice.

Enforcement action, including penalty notices or prosecution, is only considered where statutory thresholds are met and where attendance has not improved despite appropriate intervention and support. This should be reflected clearly to avoid giving the impression that penalties follow automatically after referral.

Penalty notices and fines (national rules from 19 August 2024)

Under the national framework, all state-funded schools must consider a penalty notice in individual cases where a pupil reaches the national threshold: 10 sessions (usually 5 school days) of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10 school weeks. 

Enforcement action depends on meeting specific legal thresholds, including prior warning letters, the number of authorised sessions and defined timeframes.

Penalty notices for school absence are now:

• £80 if paid within 21 days, rising to £160 if paid within 28 days (per parent, per child). 

• A second penalty notice for the same parent and child within a rolling 3-year period is charged at £160 (no £80 option).

• There is a national limit of 2 penalty notices per parent per child within 3 years (after this, the local authority may consider alternative legal action). 

Term-time Leave 

The Headteacher will only grant a leave of absence during term time where a request meets the specific circumstances set out in the 2024 School Attendance Regulations. These include:

• taking part in a regulated performance

• a temporary, time-limited part-time timetable agreed by the school

• exceptional circumstances, considered on an individual basis

Any leave of absence is granted at the Headteacher’s discretion, including the number of days that may be authorised.

If term-time leave is taken and recorded as unauthorised, this may contribute towards the threshold for legal intervention, and the case may be referred to Hounslow’s School Attendance Support Service (SASS) in line with local authority procedures.

Please note that attendance registers, including records of unauthorised absence, must be retained for a minimum of six years.

It is our expectation that all school staff, including teachers, monitor their class attendance alongside Ms Sargeant (Attendance and Welfare Officer). Staff are expected to identify and report any emerging patterns of absence. For example, pupils who are frequently absent on the same day each week or who arrive late regularly.

Teachers are often the first point of contact with parents/carers at the classroom door. If a child has been absent, the class teacher may ask for the reason for absence so that the school can maintain accurate records and offer support where needed.

Promoting good attendance

We use a range of strategies to promote good attendance, with a strong emphasis on praise and positive reinforcement.

• Weekly celebration: Each week, during Birthday Assembly (with parents in attendance), we award Class Stars to any class achieving 95% attendance or above.
  (Class Stars form part of the school’s behaviour policy and contribute towards class rewards.)

• Attendance Bear: Each week, the two classes with the highest attendance are awarded the Attendance Bear, which remains in their classroom for the following week.

• Own clothes reward: The winning classes are also invited to wear their own clothes on the following Friday.

• 100% Attendance Certificates: All pupils who have 100% for the year and for the term receive a certificate in celebration.

Keeping families informed

Attendance information is published weekly in the school newsletter, including the overall attendance percentage and the winning classes.

The Department for Education (DfE) requires all schools to monitor, analyse and publish attendance data.

Each term, we compare our attendance data nationally and against Hounslow local authority figures. This information is published on our school website.

Attendance data is analysed for different groups of pupils, including:

• pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN)

• pupils eligible for Pupil Premium (PP)

• boys and girls

School leaders use this analysis to identify trends, target support and evaluate the impact of our attendance strategies. Leaders aim for:

• overall attendance above national averages

• attendance for identified groups above national averages

• persistent absence levels below national averages

This approach ensures that attendance is closely monitored, inequalities are addressed, and all pupils are supported to attend school regularly.

If you are unsure in the morning whether your child is well enough for school, please send them in. Children often feel much better once they arrive, settle into routines and see familiar faces.

If your child is not well enough to remain in school, we will of course contact you straight away.