Working together to improve attendance

At Lemington Riverside we understand that there is always reason behind declining school attendance and, when this happens, we want to work with our families to find solutions and improve your child's attendance. 

We have two dedicated attendance and welfare officers, Kim Cole and Emma McCartney, who are here to help families to overcome any barriers that may be impacting on your child's attendance. 

We constantly monitor every child's attendance at Lemington Riverside - if we become concerned that your child's attendance appears to be declining we will get in touch to discuss the reasons for this and how we might help you to get your child's attendance back on track.

NEWCASTLE CITY COUNCIL PROCEDURES

We work closely with our local authority, Newcastle City Council, on attendance and have an allocated Local Authority Access & Inclusion Officer, Gary Munday. 

The document below details the Newcastle City Council attendances procedures that are in place across schools in our city:

parent leaflet attendance changes.pdf

WORKING TOGETHER TO IMPROVE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE:

Working together to improve attendance All partners should work together to:

• Expect Aspire to high standards of attendance from all pupils and parents and build a culture where all can, and want to, be in school and ready to learn by prioritising attendance improvement across the school.
• Monitor Rigorously use attendance data to identify patterns of poor attendance (at individual and cohort level) as soon as possible so all parties can work together to resolve them before they become entrenched.
• Listen and understand When a pattern is spotted, discuss with pupils and parents to listen to and understand barriers to attendance and agree how all partners can work together to resolve them.
• Facilitate support Remove barriers in school and help pupils and parents to access the support they need to overcome the barriers outside of school. This might include an early help or whole family plan where absence is a symptom of wider issues.
• Formalise support Where absence persists and voluntary support is not working or not being engaged with, partners should work together to explain the consequences clearly and ensure support is also in place to enable families to respond. Depending on the circumstances this may include formalising support through an attendance contract or education supervision order.
• Enforce Where all other avenues have been exhausted and support is not working or not being engaged with, enforce attendance through statutory intervention: a penalty notice in line with the National Framework or prosecution to protect the pupil’s right to an education.