You can run this development session for school staff to make sure your school has an effective registration practice. This session will help you raise awareness about the need for good record keeping.
Be confident in your system
To sustain high levels of attendance it is important to have clear and effective registration practice. This activity will give school staff the confidence to undertake their legal and pastoral duties in relation to attendance registration.
Show the Effective registration practice (PPT-204 KB) Attachments presentation to staff to introduce the activity. You may wish to add in some of your school’s data to show how well you are doing or how you want to improve.
- Activity 1 (15 minutes)
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Hand out copies of the absence codes that are used in registration. In groups, ask the staff to discuss and agree the absence codes for the following questions. Once staff have agreed which absence code can be used, discuss their answers and give the answers below. Explain that only the headteacher can authorise absence.
Questions
- A parent sends in a note apologising for her son’s absence but saying that she has been working and this was the only time she could take him for new school shoes.
- A learner advises you that he will not be in school next week because he is going to France on an outdoor activity week with his family.
- A learner has a local hospital appointment on Thursday at 2.30pm but does not attend all day.
- A parent phones in to say their child is ill. The register reveals the child has been absent due to illness every Wednesday for the last six weeks.
Answers
- Code O: unauthorised absence
- Unless the parent has requested and obtained permission for the holiday from the headteacher the code will be Code G: family holiday not agreed (unauthorised absence).
- The morning would be Code O: unauthorised absence. The afternoon would be Code M: medical appointment (authorised absence).
- It may be that the school accepts this reason, in which case the code would be Code I: illness (authorised absence). However, the school can discuss this with the learner and parent/carer, and at some point may make a decision that no further illness would be accepted without some evidence. The school may wish to offer an appointment with the school nurse.
- Activity 2 (20 minutes)
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Ask the group to discuss what it thinks the school policy is on:
- times for opening and closing registers
- holidays in term time
- first-day contact
- completion of morning and afternoon registration.
Allow ten minutes for discussion, then go through the school's policy and practice.
Spend the last ten minutes taking any questions and thanking participants.
