Parents are expected to contact school at an early stage and to work with us in resolving any attendance problems together; this is nearly always successful. However, if concerns persist, school will use the following procedures and interventions, as required, to support parents in improving their child's attendance and/or punctuality:

- • calls and/or letters to make parents aware of school's concern • calls and/or letters to make parents aware of school's concern about their child's attendance.
- • to meetings to discuss concerns with our attendance lead and/or • to meetings to discuss concerns with our attendance lead and/or head teacher.
- • contracts to identify barriers to regular attendance, ways to • contracts to identify barriers to regular attendance, ways to overcome these and agree targets for improvement.
- • and reward schemes for individual pupils, if appropriate. • and reward schemes for individual pupils, if appropriate.
- • Early Help Assessment (EHA) process and/or referral to other agencies • Early Help Assessment (EHA) process and/or referral to other agencies and services, including School Nurses and Primary Mental Health Workers, if appropriate.
- • support from the local authority Pupil Attendance Support Team. • support from the local authority Pupil Attendance Support Team.
- • unauthorised absences, request legal interventions by the local authority, • unauthorised absences, request legal interventions by the local authority, such as penalty notices, prosecution or other attendance-related court orders.

At any stage, we may seek advice from our School Attendance Consultant.

#### 5.3 Pupils with medical needs who have difficulty attending school

Government guidance on supporting pupils at school with medical conditions (see appendix) emphasises the role of governing bodies in ensuring that pupils with medical conditions are able to fully access education in the same way as other pupils. A key element of this responsibility is reducing the amount of time missed by these pupils, whether their condition is short or long term.

School will work with parents and other relevant professionals to minimise absence for reasons of ill health. This may be in the form of specific support or resources used within school or by sourcing appropriate provision at another establishment. When education is to be provided at an alternative location, this should always be done via the use of a direction (please see section 6, below).

When a pupil has been absent from school for an extended period, the head teacher, the class teacher and other support services will work with the family to ensure that a smooth reintegration is achieved.

- 5.4 Pupils refusing to attend school

At John Cross, we believe that every child has a right to a full-time education, and we would not accept "school refusal" as a reason for non-attendance. In such cases, we will work with parents to identify the reasons why a child may be reluctant to attend school. We may request support from the Pupil Attendance Support Team and, with consent, make referrals to external partners such as the Children and Family Wellbeing Service, Primary Mental Health Workers, etc, as appropriate to try to ensure the correct support is secured for the child and their family.

- 5.5 Promotion of good attendance

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