Attendance Policy (and Local Procedures for Bellerbys College Cambridge)

Attendance Policy (and Local Procedures for Bellerbys College Cambridge) Effective From: 12/03/2018 Last revision: 07.03.18 Attendance Policy_Cambridge_March 2018 1

Procedure: Attendance Policy and Local Procedures at Bellerbys College Cambridge Synopsis: Policy Owner: Relevant to: The purpose of this procedure is to outline how Bellerbys College Cambridge monitors and manages the attendance of students Director of Student Services All Students Teaching and Support staff Residential/Security staff Next review date: August 2018 Related Study Group Documents: Attendance Policy Missing Student Policy Date(s) modified/reviewed: February 2018 Mary Memarzia Updated to reflect current practice and process Attendance Policy_Cambridge_March 2018 2

Contents Policy 1. Purpose 2. Scope 3. Policy aim 4. Attendance 4.1 Minimum attendance levels 4.2 Teacher responsibilities 4.3 Residence staff responsibilities 5. Raising concerns 6. UKVI Reporting 7. Maintaining records 8. Absence and Attendance codes Local Procedures 1. Daily Attendance Procedure 2. Authorising Absence 2.1 Unplanned Absence 2.2 Planned Absence 3. Monitoring Weekly Attendance 4. Actions, Sanctions and promoting good attendance 5. Roles and responsibilities Appendix 1 Disciplinary Procedures for Absence All Students Attendance Policy_Cambridge_March 2018 3

1. Purpose The purpose of the attendance policy is to ensure that staff are fully aware of their responsibilities for attendance and absences in relation to the statutory requirements detailed within the Education Act 1996 and the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2013 (amended 2016). The policy also links to the Education (Independent Schools Standards) Regulations 2014. As absence is a safeguarding issue, this policy is also guided by the Keeping Children Safe in Education, September 2016 and Working Together to Safeguard Children, March 2015 and gives due regard to the DfE advice documents: School Attendance, Departmental advice for maintained schools, academies, independent schools and local authorities, October 2014, and Children Missing Education: statutory guidance for local authorities, September 2016. 2. Scope This policy applies to all teaching staff with responsibility for maintaining registers. It also applies to every staff member, regardless of role, as part of their safeguarding and child protection responsibilities. 3. Policy aim The aims of the attendance policy are to: Provide clarity on the college s expectations of student attendance Ensure that teaching staff are aware and action their statutory responsibilities for registering attendance and absences Ensure that all staff are aware of the links between absences and the Missing Person Procedures Ensure that the UKVI obligations and responsibilities are maintained Please refer to local attendance procedures for clarity on attendance monitoring. 4. Attendance 4.1 Minimum attendance levels The College aims to ensure that all students attend college regularly and punctually so that they are able to take full advantage of the educational opportunities available. Unauthorised absence is discouraged as it leads to educational disadvantage and may place students at risk. The College is required to maintain two separate registers of its students: An Admissions register, known as the College Roll, and An Attendance register Procedures are in place to ensure that instances of unauthorized absence and lateness are Attendance Policy_Cambridge_March 2018 4

followed-up, and where it is appropriate, these will result in disciplinary action. 4.2 Teacher responsibilities The college has a statutory duty under the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2013 (amended 2016) to maintain a register of all students attending the college. For the purposes of the attendance policy, it is the teacher s responsibility to maintain these registers. All registers need to be completed at the start of the lesson and at least within 15 minutes a start of each lesson. Please refer to the full list of absence and attendance codes. Teachers should report absences as per the local attendance procedures. Failure to maintain a register will result in action under the Global Staff Code of Conduct. 4.3 Residence Staff responsibilities There is an expectation under the National Minimum Standards (NMS 15.5 and 16.6) that the whereabouts of all students under the age of 18 years is known. The Residence Staff should have procedures in place to monitor and report the whereabouts of all boarding students. 5. Raising Concerns Any concern, including repeated or prolonged absence, should be reported to the Designated Safeguarding Lead or their Deputy. The Designated Safeguarding Lead or designated member of the welfare team is available to offer advice and support to the student if required. If the absence results in the identification of a serious safeguarding concern then the Local Authority Children s Services team should be contacted as per the Child Protection Policy. 6. UKVI Reporting In the event that a student is absent for more than 10 consecutive contact points, then the UKVI will be informed and this may result in the student s study sponsorship being withdrawn. 7. Maintaining records The College s attendance register is kept by means of a computer and/or a hard copy register and is backed up in the form of an electronic copy not less than once a month. Each of these additional copies is retained for three years after the end of the college year in question. Copies of all actions taken in respect of Unauthorised Absence are to be recorded and retained for three years after the college year in question. Student attendance records are included in their half and end of term reports. If no reason for absence (N) is first entered and this is later corrected (ideally within two weeks) to the appropriate symbol, in this case only, overwriting is allowable on the electronic Attendance Policy_Cambridge_March 2018 5

system. An N is not allowed to remain indefinitely. 8. Absence and Attendance Codes The College operates a consistent approach to the registration of attendance using the following register marks: Register Mark Description Statistical Meaning Physical Meaning / Present Present Present for whole session L Last, arrives within 15 mins Present Late for session B Educated off-site Present Out for whole session D Dual registration Present Out for whole session F Individual lesson cancelled Present Out for whole session P Approved sporting activity Present Out for whole session V Educational visit Present Out for whole session W Work experience Present Out for whole session? Exam Present Out for whole session * Missed an optional tutorial session Present Out for whole session C Other authorised circumstance Authorised absence Out for whole session E Excluded Authorised absence Out for whole session H Family holiday agreed Authorised absence Out for whole session I Illness not medical appointment Authorised absence Out for whole session J Interview Authorised absence Out for whole session M Medical/Dental appointment Authorised absence Out for whole session R Religious observance Authorised absence Out for whole session S Study leave Authorised absence Out for whole session T Traveller absence Authorised absence Out for whole session O Absent Unauthorised absence Out for whole session U Late, arrives after 15 minutes Unauthorised absence Late for session A Left class and did not return Unauthorised absence Out for part of session G Family holiday not agreed or in excess of agreement Unauthorised absence Out for whole session N No reason provided Unauthorised absence Out for whole session X Non-compulsory school age absence None Not required to be in college Y Enforced closure None Lessons cancelled across college Z Not on roll None Not required to be in college Attendance Policy_Cambridge_March 2018 6

Local Procedures for Bellerbys College Cambridge 1. Daily Attendance Procedure Key personnel: Attendance Officer (AO), Personal Tutors (PT), Senior Tutors ( ST), Academic Director (AD) Director of Student Services (DSS), Houseparents (HP), Residential Supervisor (RS), Pastoral Administrator (PAd) AO has overall responsibility for the daily monitoring of attendance and reports to the Director of Student Services o Throughout the day, the AO receives phone calls and checks emails from students notifying the college of their absence, updating the college MIS (Progresso) o AO communicates information about absences to relevant staff eg subject teachers and Personal Tutors o AO monitors attendance registers and in the case of any anomalies or incomplete entries the AO visits the class to check, and completes the register accordingly. o Teachers are to notify AO by email if an Under 18 student is missing from their class within 10 minutes of the timetabled start of lesson and the AO will follow up immediately by calling and emailing the student. The Missing student policy is implemented if no contact is established within 2 hours. o Any student arriving after the register has been completed by the subject teacher, will be sent to the AO to collect a late slip. The Attendance Officer will then amend the mark in the register from absent to late. The student will give the late slip to the subject teacher. o AO will run a Registers not taken Report via Progresso at each day and send a reminder to teachers to complete registers. The HoF will be notified. o Students whose attendance requires particularly close monitoring will be placed on a Priority List. These students are contacted without delay in the event of an absence and problems in contacting a student on the Priority List are reported promptly to a member of SMT or to the Senior Tutor. o A detailed report on the previous day s absences is produced by the AO and circulated to the DSS and AD early the following morning. o Attendance data is discussed at the Multi-Discipline Team meeting each week and actions are agreed, in accordance with Appendix 1. Attendance Policy_Cambridge_March 2018 7

o Every week the AO reports attendance figures for the previous week to the Personal tutors, Senior Tutors, AD and DSS 2. Authorising absence 2.1 Unplanned Absence If students are unable to attend class for any reason, the college must be informed before 8.45am on each day of their absence. The college must be contacted by calling the main reception number or by sending an email to the dedicated email address: CambridgeAttendance@studygroup.com. Failure to follow the procedures described below may result in the absence not being authorised. In the event of a dispute over the nature of an absence, the final decision will rest with the AD or Principal. Students under the age of 18 living with a host family or private accommodation The host of these students is required to contact the college before 8.45am on each day of the student s absence. Students should expect the host to encourage them to attend college, and where appropriate seek medical advice. Students aged 18 and over living with a host family or private accommodation Either the host family or the student must contact the college before 8.45am on each day of the absence. Students should expect the host to encourage them to attend college, and where appropriate seek medical advice. Students living in Study Inn The student must phone or email the college before 8.45am on each day of their absence. Students living in Manor House The student must make the Residential Supervisor or Houseparent aware that they are unwell during morning wake up calls and they should see the Nurse during morning clinic at Manor house. Guidelines for authorising absence as a consequence of illness or injury: Students living in Manor House The Residence Supervisor or Houseparent can authorise the first day of absence, once they have seen and spoken to the student but any subsequent absence related to illness or injury should be referred to the College Nurse for face-to-face consultation. Students living in Manor House have access to the College Nurse every weekday morning via a drop-in clinic. After day one of absence students must see the College Nurse in order for the absence to be authorised. The College Nurse will only authorise absence if they have a face to face consultation with the student and deem the presenting illness or injury to clinically warrant time off college. Failure to see the College Nurse during drop-in clinics will result in non-authorisation of Attendance Policy_Cambridge_March 2018 8

absence. The College Nurse will not give retrospective authorisation for absence; this will be at the discretion of the Academic Director. Students living in private accommodation, homestay or Study Inn 1. Day One and Two Two days will allow adequate recovery from most minor illness/injury. Students absences can be authorised via normal channels for first two days of illness or injury. An offer is made to them to see the College Nurse. When the student is absent the local procedure for reporting absence should be followedfailure to do so will result in the absence not being authorised. The member of staff taking the call will try and ascertain the nature of the problem and check whether the student wishes to see the College Nurse. If the student does want to see the nurse, staff should ensure they know where to locate the medical room and assist them there if necessary for a face to face consultation. If the nurse is not immediately available the staff member should be email the nurse so they can follow up the request as soon as possible. If a student is too unwell to leave their room/bed then the College Nurse is to be informed via email and they will make arrangements to do a room visit. The College Nurse will not visit a student in Homestay or Private Accommodation, therefore staff taking these calls should ensure students are offered the choice of coming into College to see the nurse or visiting the GP. The College Nurse will not triage a student s condition over the phone. 2. Day Three Students can no longer be authorised without medical review by the College Nurse or other health professional. When the student is absent the local procedure for reporting absence should be followedfailure to do so will result in the absence not being authorised. When the absence call is made they should be informed by staff that because this is the third day of illness or injury the student needs to be medically reviewed, in order to check their health condition and for any future authorisation of absence to occur. Staff should ensure the student knows where to locate the medical room and assist them there if necessary for a face-to-face consultation. If the nurse is not immediately available the staff member should be email the nurse so they can follow up as soon as possible. If a student is too unwell to leave their room/bed then the College Nurse is to be informed via email and she will make arrangements to do a room visit. The College Nurse will not visit a student in Homestay or Private Accommodation, therefore staff taking the call should ensure students are offered the choice of coming into College to see the nurse or visiting a local GP. The College Nurse will not triage a student s condition over the phone. The College Nurse will only authorise absence if they have a face-to-face consultation with the student and deem the presenting illness or injury to clinically warrant time off college. The College Nurse will not give retrospective authorisation for absence; this will be at the discretion of the Programme Manger. Attendance Policy_Cambridge_March 2018 9

3. Day Four and Onward Students must continue to be medically reviewed. Escalation to Academic Director/ DSS is essential for ongoing management and GP referral should be considered if not already made. On a daily basis, the College Nurse should be consulted and a decision made as to whether the student should see the College Nurse or a GP. The College Nurse will advise appropriate action to take, including whether the Academic Director/ DSS now needs to be managing the ongoing absence. General Principles for College Nurse Authorising Absence The College Nurse will authorise absence when the absence: is short-term and as a result of uncomplicated illness or injury and when this procedure has been followed. relates to declared medical appointments. relates to a pre-existing declared condition. The College Nurse will not authorise absence when: This procedure is not adhered to. Absence is as a consequence of illness or injury that is unverified, or not deemed to be clinically significant, or exacerbated due to poor lifestyle or personal behaviour. In these instances the matter will be referred to the Academic Director or DSS. When illness or injury is recurrent/ ongoing and patterns of absence have been noted. In this instance the issue will be referred to the Academic Director or DSS for management. Absence will not be authorised in retrospect (except in extenuating circumstance, e.g. hospital admission). Procedure when a student needs to leave during the college day If a student who is present at the college needs to leave and will be missing timetabled commitments, the student must report to the College Nurse if they are taken ill. For all other reasons, the student must first report to the AO or SS team to justify the reason for leaving. 2.2 Planned Absence There are some circumstances when an absence may be planned. This could be for a university open day, an interview, and IELTS exam or an appointment at an embassy. For planned absences, students must complete and submit an Absence Request Form along with all required signatures and permissions at least two working days before the planned absence. Students should complete the form and sign it to agree to inform all relevant staff that they plan to be absence and that they will speak with their teacher and catch up on any missed work. The completed form should be taken to their Senior Tutor or the Academic Director who will decide whether or not the absence should be authorised. If they are under 18, they are also required to provide their parents permission. Attendance Policy_Cambridge_March 2018 10

The form should then be submitted to the Student Services team who will check permission has been received (for students under the age of 18) and inform the host family/manor House (if the student is under 18). The form will then be passed on to the Attendance Officer so that the correct codes can be entered on Progresso. If the form is not submitted on time, all signatures have not been completed or parental permission has not been received (for students under the age of 18), the absence will not be authorised. All forms and relevant documents will be uploaded to Study Global at some point during the academic year. 3. Monitoring Weekly Attendance Attendance reports are sent weekly to Personal Tutors, Senior Tutors, members of the Student Services Team. Personal Tutors will discuss absences with their tutees and actions will be recorded on the Action Log. Those students whose attendance is a cause for concern will be discussed at weekly MDT meetings and actions agreed. 4. Actions, Sanctions and promoting good attendance Senior Tutors will have responsibility for agreeing actions with the DSS or AD (see Appendix 1) and will include: Verbal warning leading to written warning Monitoring Report Contacting agents and parents to notify poor attendance/punctuality Attendance Panel Final warnings Exclusion from college Good attendance will be promoted through the positive behaviour strategies employed to promote positive outcomes for all students 5. Roles and Responsibilities Students are responsible for maintaining good attendance at the College and for following college procedures for notifying the college of their absence, whether planned or unplanned. They are informed of these procedures in Induction and through the student code of conduct. A reminder is also included in the Termly College Diary. Absence request forms are readily available outside the Student Services Office. All teaching staff are responsible for completing accurate registers for every class and for ensuring good attendance in their lessons, following up with students who arrive late or are absent and communicating attendance information with parents and agents through termly reports and as required. The Attendance Officer is responsible for monitoring and maintaining absence records and communicating absence data to relevant staff including Personal tutors, subject teachers, Senior Tutors, members of the Student Services team including, residence staff, the Nurse, Attendance Policy_Cambridge_March 2018 11

Visa Compliance Officer, and senior staff: Academic Director, Director of Student Services and Principal. The DSS works in conjunction with Senior Tutors and the Academic Director and Principal to have oversight of the Attendance Policy and Procedures. Attendance Policy_Cambridge_March 2018 12

Appendix 1 - Disciplinary Procedures for Absence All Students Students are expected to attend all of their timetabled commitments. Students that are absent shall be reported to staff that monitor attendance immediately after the register has been taken. The College will take the following action in relation to instances of Unauthorised Absence: Level of Absence Action To Be Taken Responsibility After first incident of unauthorised* absence Any further incidents of unauthorised* absence indicating a risk of falling below 95% attendance No improvement in unauthorised* absence and attendance falls below 95% No improvement in unauthorised* absence and attendance remains below 95% Student will be seen and reminded of this and consequences of further unauthorised absence. Any necessary referral to Student Services. Student will be seen and warned in line with Disciplinary Policy first written warning, action planning. Student will be placed on Monitoring Report for one week. Parents/ agents will be informed via standard letter. Student will be seen and warned in line with Disciplinary Policy second written warning, action planning. Parents/ agents will be informed via standard letter. Student will be seen and warned in line with Disciplinary Policy final written warning, action planning. Parents/agents will be informed via standard letter. Personal Tutor Senior Tutor Failure to address Expulsion Principal Attendance Panel Academic Director *(or high level of authorised absence or lateness) Any action taken in accordance with the table above shall be recorded by the responsible person on the student s file. The College will withdraw their sponsorship and report any students to the UK Home Office whose attendance does not meet the criteria required by the UK Visa and Immigration department. Attendance Policy_Cambridge_March 2018 13