King’s Leadership Academy Liverpool is an Inclusive Attendance school dedicated to child-centred actions and establishing a collective responsibility for attendance.
We follow the Inclusive Attendance Professional Development programme with all staff deepening their understanding of attendance support through accessing six bespoke Learning Modules.
Our Annual Inclusive Attendance 7-Month Development Programme keeps us at the forefront of educational change and ensures we regularly reflect on our approach and support for all children and families.
Our Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) ensures comprehensive attendance intervention for all children. The system comprises three Tiers:
Tier 1 provides a universal offering to all children.
Tier 2 involves early internal support and intervention.
Tier 3 is higher levels of support for children, young people and families who require access to external agency support.
The system incorporates staff, children, parents, and external agencies.
The process is completely aligned with Department for Education (DFE) guidelines.
Our approach promotes recognition of personal and collective achievements.
This approach fosters positive environments and develops intrinsic motivation.
Further details on our bespoke recognition-based system are available within the Attendance Policy.
School attendance is not merely a requirement but a fundamental pillar of education. It plays a pivotal role in shaping academic success, personal growth, and prospects, making it an indispensable aspect of any educational system.
The school has a duty to safeguard the welfare of all students. Any concerns about a child's attendance will be investigated promptly to ensure support for their well-being.
Unexplained or extended absences will trigger safeguarding procedures, which may include home visits and communication with relevant agencies.
Policies aligned with the Attendance Policy: Behaviour, Teaching and Learning, Safeguarding, Mental Health, SEND, and Pupil Premium.
Our dedicated Attendance Team are here to support both students and their families with individualised plans and interventions. We have attendance admin who oversee various year groups within the school for best placed support.
School works closely with an Educational Welfare Officer from Liverpool Local Authority who is committed to working in partnership with school and families to improve student attendance The RISE project across the Liverpool borough supports pupils at risk of persistent absence and families that feel further support and guidance is required. This is done through family support workers liaising with families and schools.
External support can be accessed through our attendance and safeguarding team or via the following resources:
www.kooth.com
www.youngminds.org.uk
Parents: parents play a vital role in ensuring school attendance by fostering a culture of punctuality and commitment to their child's education. Parents are responsible for ensuring their child's regular and on-time attendance, which not only supports their academic progress but also instils essential life skills. All absences should be reported daily to the attendance team before 8:30am via telephone and or atttendance@kingsliverpool.com
School: the school will play a critical role in monitoring and promoting attendance. This will be achieved through communication with parents, identifying and addressing barriers to attendance, and implementing necessary interventions to support students in their education.
Children: the role of children attending school is to actively engage in their education, demonstrate a commitment to learning, and adhere to the school's attendance policies. By attending school regularly and punctually, students not only benefit from their educational opportunities but also contribute to a positive and inclusive learning environment for themselves and their peers.
Consistent attendance is essential for their academic progress, social development, and preparation for future success, ensuring they make the most of the educational resources provided by the school.
External agencies: these agencies play a crucial role in supporting school attendance by offering specialised services and resources to address various attendance-related challenges. External agencies often collaborate with our school, and we signpost families to relevant services, including educational welfare officers, counsellors, and other local authorities’ teams. They provide additional support for students and their families, helping to tackle underlying issues such as health problems, social or behavioural difficulties, and other barriers to attendance. By working together, external
agencies and schools can identify and address these issues effectively, promoting improved school attendance and well-being.
As a school we are now required to: Inform the LA in every circumstance when deleting a pupil’s name from the admission register. Inform the LA of the pupil's destination school and home address if the pupil is moving to a new school.
All schools must complete an Exit form and submit to the CME@liverpool.gov.uk inbox.
All schools must provide information to the LA when registering new pupils, including the pupil's address and previous school.
If your child is leaving our school parents are asked to:
- Provide the attendance officer with comprehensive information about their plans, including, any date of a move, new address and telephone numbers, your child’s new school and the start date when known. This should be submitted to school in writing.
- If a pupil leaves and we do not have the above information, then your child may be considered a child missing in education. This requires schools and local authorities to carry out investigations to try to locate your child, which may include liaising with Children’s Services, the Police and other agencies. By giving us the above information, these investigations can be avoided.
Should you wish to Electively Home Educate your child. The above process must be adhered to remove your child from school. A formal notification of Elective Home Education must be received to the inbox attendance@kingsliverpool.com containing the name of your child and the date you intend to home educate from.
This will then be forwarded to the Elective Home Education team at Liverpool Council to receive confirmation of removal from roll. This department will then liaise with you as parents/guardians
regarding next steps.
School begins: 08:30am Daily
School ends: Monday – Thursday 15:35pm
Friday – 13:35pm
Parents and carers should make every effort to avoid taking students out of education for holidays or other extended leave during term time. The Academy will only authorise a leave of absence during term time where there are exceptional circumstances.
To request a leave of absence, parents/carers must make the request as soon as it is anticipated, in writing addressed to the Principal and, wherever possible, at least 4 school weeks ahead of the planned leave. Leave of Absence Request forms can be found on the school website and are available from our Attendance Team. A meeting must be attended by parents/carers with the Principal to discuss the decision made by the Academy. Evidence may be required to support any request for leave. Where a leave of absence is requested as above, the Principal will consider the specific facts and circumstances relating to the request. The decision:
• will be confirmed in writing
• is solely at the Principal’s discretion and
• is final.
Where permission is granted, the Principal will confirm the number of days and dates of absence which are authorised. If permission is not granted and the parents/carers proceed to take their child out of the Academy, the absence will be marked as unauthorised, and parents/carers may be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice or be subject to prosecution by the local authority.
Where a student is to be absent from the Academy without prior permission, the parent/carer should inform the Attendance Team at the Academy by telephone (0151 727 1387) via the Attendance Line on the morning of the day of the first absence. Absences may also be reported via (attendance@kingsliverpool.com). Parents/carers should let the Academy know when they expect the pupil to return. If the return date is not confirmed on the first day of absence, parents/carers must contact the Academy on each day of absence. On the day of return to the Academy, parents/carers must also provide written confirmation of the reason(s) for the full period of absence. This can also be done via email.
In cases of prolonged absence due to illness, the parents/carers may be asked to provide the Academy with medical evidence, such as a note from the child’s doctor. If this evidence is not provided, the absence may be marked as unauthorised.
The terms "Persistent Absence", "Risk of Persistent Absence" and "Severe Absence" are used to describe different levels of irregular attendance by students.
Here are their definitions:
Persistent Absence (PA):
Definition: Persistent Absence is a term used to describe a level of student absence from school that is a significant cause for concern.
Threshold: In England, a student is persistently absent when they have an attendance rate of 90% or
below. This means they have missed 10% or more of their school sessions. For most children during
the academic year this will amount to 19 days absence.
Risk of Persistent Absence:
Definition: The term Risk of Persistent Absence refers to a situation in which a student's attendance is at a level that suggests they are at risk of becoming persistently absent.
Threshold: While there is no specific threshold for Risk of Persistent Absence, it is typically used to describe students whose attendance is consistently below 95% but has not yet reached the 90% threshold for persistent absence. As the school communicates to parents in days, we identify 18 days to 12 days as risk of PA.
Severe Absence (or Severe Persistent Absence):
Definition: The term Severe Absence is used to describe the most serious cases of non-attendance.
Threshold: Focus will be given by all to pupils who are absent from school more than they are present (those missing 50% or more of school). These severely absent pupils may find it more difficult to be in school or face bigger barriers to their regular attendance and as such are likely to need more intensive support across a range of partners and potential flexible adjustments to support them further.