Ethos
Within our inclusive ethos at Ladybrook Primary School, we believe in supporting good attendance at nursery. Children who attend the nursery regularly, arrive and are collected on time are more secure and better able to make the most of the learning and development opportunities that we provide. Research shows that regular take up of early education in a high quality setting has a long lasting impact on children’s social development and intellectual attainment throughout school and later life. (Research brief: The Effective Provision of Pre-school Education Project EPPE 2003)
We therefore view good attendance and punctuality as vitally important for the learning and well-being of all our children. Positive relationships with children and their families is key to achieving this.
Aims
To work in strong partnership with parents and carers to ensure that every child attends nursery regularly and is punctual.
To provide a safe and comforting routine when children arrive, throughout the session/s and again when children are collected.
To support all children and their families to establish good routines which will continue throughout their child’s education.
Government funded early years education places (including the universal and extended 15 hours entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds) are not subject to compulsory education laws which take effect from the start of statutory schooling at age of 5. However at Ladybrook we strongly promote maintaining high levels of attendance in order that your child can achieve the maximum benefit from their funded hours (and any additional hours which families may choose to take). We keep a register and record the time of arrival and the time of collection for each child and provide this information to the senior management team. The senior management and the staff team will monitor this information and any unexpected absences as part of our duty to ensure the welfare and safeguarding of all children. (EYFS Statutory Framework 2017)
We recognise that sometimes families may need extra support to maintain high levels of attendance and punctuality therefore good communication is essential between you and your child’s teacher. As part of this attendance policy we ask parents/carers to:
Provide up-to-date contact numbers and notify us of any changes of address or contact details.
Ensure that your child attends the sessions agreed in your contract with the setting
Notify the school by phone if your child is going to be late that day.
Notify the school by phone that their child is not able to attend, on the first day of absence and the reason for their absence. (Up to an hour following their expected time of arrival on that day if at all possible)
Contact the school if this absence is continuing i.e. later that day/session if your child will be absent the following day. In the case of lengthy absence keep the school well informed.
Staff will;
Follow up any non-notification in the event that a child is absent from nursery on the first day of absence by the end of that day.
Speak to parents/carers informally if a child’s pattern of attendance is low or if levels of punctuality are poor.
Support strategies that will enable good attendance and punctuality to be maintained.
In the case of a concern about the welfare and safety of child whilst not in attendance at the setting the child protection policy will be followed. This will be actioned for any child who is a Looked After Child (LAC) and for any children/families who are part of an Early Help Assessment and Team Around the Child process (TAC). Concerns about patterns of attendance in these cases will also be shared with linked Stockport Family health and social care professionals.
In the case of persistent patterns of poor attendance contact the Local Authority in terms of the possible withdrawal of the early education funding.
If you decide to move your child to another setting then please inform us as soon as possible so that we can take them off our register and notify the local authority in the case of funded early education places. We will also ensure that your child’s records and Learning Journey are forwarded to the new setting that they will be attending. This is essential to support the smooth transition of your child between settings and their well-being at this time of change.
PLEASE NOTE: The Local Authority does not allow movement between settings during a term time. If you decide to move your child to another setting for the start of a new term, then please inform us as soon as possible so that we can take them off our register and notify the local authority in the case of funded early education places.