'The school tracks and promotes pupils’ regular attendance and punctuality. Most pupils attend school regularly. When pupils do not attend as often as expected, the school works with families effectively to support them. Staff help them to understand the impact of low attendance on pupils’ outcomes.' Ofsted 2025

5 Foundations of Attendance

The Strategic Approach 

We adopt the 5 Foundations of Effective Attendance Practice framework, this is modelled on the work of Professor Katherine Weare. The emphasis is on developing a school culture and climate which builds a sense of connectedness and belonging to ensure all children can attend school and thrive.  The approach ensures we prioritise building solid working relationships with children / parents prior to any escalation. 

The staged approach we use ensures we identify triggers early that can lead to poor attendance issues such as; mental health issues, lack of trust, communication and relationship breakdowns and the possible lack of networking opportunities both internal (in-school) and external (external agencies). The Foundations framework has most recently been reviewed by the Department for Education.  The Foundations framework received an excellent report following the four-day review. 

“The Foundations approach is an excellent example of best practice; there are very clear and detailed systems and procedures in place to manage absence and attendance consistently”.  (Michelle O’Dell DFE Attendance Advisor March 2022)

The 5 Foundations of Effective Attendance Practice – a whole school approach

Values: Belonging, Connectedness and Curiosity

Vision: A support-first, whole-school approach to improving attendance which is human-centered and relies on building strong, relational connections and environments within the school community.

A proactive and preventative strategy involving everyone taking responsibility to foster a positive culture change that prioritises student well-being and engagement.

A collaborative effort which addresses underlying issues allowing schools to create an environment where attendance improves through support, understanding, and shared commitment to each student's success.

We expect every child to attend school every day, and be punctual every day, so they can learn to the best of their ability.  The attendance of children at school is a legal requirement and is taken seriously by the school.  For information from NHS about common illnesses and if children can still attend school, click here. Our Attendance Policy can be found below.  You can also read here the 'Working Together to Improve School Attendance' from the Department for Education, including what parents' responsibilities are 'As a parent, you are legally responsible for making sure your child gets a suitable fulltime education', as well as clicking on the link below to read the ODST Attendance Statement for all schools.

Attendance is monitored daily by our school Attendance Lead, and phone calls will be made in the first instance where concerns begin to emerge around attendance, including late arrivals.

Any planned absence from school must be requested in advance and we expect such requests to be for exceptional circumstances only. We define ‘exceptional circumstances’ as extreme, unplanned family emergencies, where all efforts to support school attendance have been considered in the first instance.

Absence request forms are available from the school office, or below, and must be completed in full and returned for the attention of the Headteacher. Please note that holidays are not authorised during term time under any circumstance.  For information about school attendance from the Department of Education, please click here and for information from Oxfordshire County Council, please click here.  We expect routine medical appointments, including dental, to be taken outside of the school day.

Penalty Notices

From August 2024, under the new national penalty notice framework, all schools are required to consider a penalty notice when a child has missed 10 or more sessions (5 days) for unauthorised reasons.

The fine will be £80 per child, per parent if paid with 21 days, rising to £160 per child, per parent if paid within 28 days.  Please see the FAQs for parents below for more details.