Scoil Naomh Anna

Attendance Policy

This policy was formulated by the principal and staff of St Anne’s N.S. on April 29th 2005.

Rationale: St Anne’s N.S. decided to review it’s attendance policy in accordance with the Education Welfare Act 2000.

Relationship to the characteristic Spirit of the school:
Our policy relates to the school’s philosophy and ethos as laid out in our mission statement i.e. the maintenance / nurturing of a harmonious environment for each child’s full potential to be developed with co-operation between staff, parents and pupils.

Aims
St. Anne’s School ideally hopes to achieve the following
To foster an appreciation of learning
To raise awareness of the importance of school attendance
To enhance the learning environment where children can make progress in all aspects of their development
To promote positive attitudes to learning
To ensure that the system of rules, rewards, and sanctions are implemented in a fair and consistent manner that encourage pupils to attend school
To comply with the requirements under Education Welfare Act 2000 / Guidelines from NEWB

Guidelines
Defining and recording non-attendance
‘A parent is obliged to cause a child between the ages of 6 and 16 to attend a national school or other suitable school, on each day that the school is open for instruction.’
The child’s attendance and non-attendance will be recorded on each school day in the school roll book and recorded in the Leabhar Tinreamh.

Procedure will be communicated to parents. The Education Act obliges parents of an absent child to notify the principal of the cause of absence not later than the third day of absence. Notes or record of non-attendance duly dated will be kept. School will report non-attendance matters to the NEWB where a pupil is absent for 20 days or more and where the principal is concerned about a pupil’s attendance. Parents will be informed if such an event is likely to arise. If the child is to be absent for part of the school day, the school will be informed in writing.



Whole school strategies to promote attendance:
Environment: as a school, and within the classroom, we create a safe caring and welcoming environment for our pupils and their parents.

Early intervention: new parents are informed of procedures in relation to attendance and the importance of attendance.

Late arrivals: 1. Understanding attitude by staff to occasional late arrivals.
2. Investigation of individual circumstances pertaining to consistent latecomers.

Persistent non-attendance: investigate reasons for regular non-attendance and offer strategies to parents where appropriate.

Recording attendance: attendance will be recorded in the end of year report.

Parents: parents will be made aware of the requirements of the school in accordance with the Education Act.

Communication with other schools: in the event of a child moving to another school, primary/post-primary, a record of attendance will be reported.

Strategies in the event of non-attendance:
The school shall inform the Education Welfare Officer in writing where a child is suspended, or expelled for six days or more in a school year, where attendance is irregular and when the pupil is removed from the school register.

Parents will be made aware of their statutory duties outlined in Education Welfare Act in relation to causing their children to attend school. ‘Don’t Let Your Children Miss Out’ leaflet for parents NEWB 2004.

Parents are aware of the school’s duties outlined in the Education Welfare Act in relation to reporting non-attendance of a child to the Education Welfare Officer, of the serving of a ‘school attendance notice’ by the Education Welfare Officer (following all reasonable efforts by the education Board to consult with the child’s parents and the principal of the school) on any parent they conclude is failing or neglecting to cause the child to attend the school and of the possible consequence of a successful case being taken against the parent (fine and/or imprisonment)?

Parents will be aware of their duty to inform the school of reasons for non-attendance, for each day / part of day of non-attendance. Notes from parents will be retained in the school for a period of one year. The school will also record non-receipt of such notes or if parents refuse to provide same. Teachers will report non-attendance of pupils to the principal. Principal will contact parents if non-attendance is of concern. Non-attendance will be reported to the Education Welfare Officer in writing.

Procedures in relation to the removal from Register / Transfer to another school. The principal may only remove a pupil’s name from the school register where they have been informed that the child has been enrolled in another school or where the Welfare Board notifies them that the child has been registered by it as in receipt of out-of-school education.

The Education Welfare Officer will be informed in writing of
Intended expulsion of a child
Notification from another school that the child has been enrolled in that school
Notification by the Education Welfare Officer that the child is in receipt of education outside the regular school system (e.g. home)
The child has enrolled in a special school.

Transfer to another school: where parents remove a child from a school the principal is obliged to give them, and the new school, a certificate stating the child’s record of attendances and absences from the school, of any problems in relation to attendance during the pupil’s time at the school, the last class the child attended, and any other relevant information pertaining to the child’s education, as he / she considers appropriate.

Transfer from another school: the principal of the school will inform the principal of the child’s last school attended, that the child is now registered in the school.

Annual Report
The Board of management will inform the Education welfare officer and the Parents’ Association of the level of attendance at the school for the school year. This will be achieved within six weeks of the end of the school year.

Implementation date
This statement will apply from September 2005

Ratified by the Board of Management.
Date; 28/09/2005

Code of Discipline and Behaviour

St. Anne’s National School is committed to helping its pupils grow maturely towards self-discipline and good behaviour and the pursuit of excellence in education within a supportive Christian environment.

School Policy calls for a positive approach to discipline. This should appeal to the children’s better nature and should encourage an acceptable standard of behaviour.

Home and school both play essential roles in the achievement of these standards, therefore co-operation between parents and teachers is vital.

School policy therefore emphasises GOOD conduct and is based on Respect for one’s self, for the family, for school staff, for fellow pupils, for the community at large, for property and for the environment.

Whole school approach to promoting positive Discipline and behaviour
In devising the code of discipline and behaviour consideration has been given to the particular needs and circumstances of this school. The aim is to ensure that the individuality of each child is accommodated while acknowledging the right of each child to education in a relatively disruption free environment.

Every effort will be made by all members of staff to adopt a positive approach to the question of behaviour and discipline in the school.

The school places greater emphasis on rewards than on sanctions in the belief that this will, in the long run, give the best results.

On the enrolment of new pupils in the school, parents will be asked to sign the school’s Code of Discipline. Upon reaching 3rd class, pupils will be asked to sign their own copy of the Behaviour Contract. An abridged version of the school rules will be available in school journals and pupils should be familiarised with these rules.

It is agreed that a high standard of behaviour requires a strong sense of community within the school and high level of co-operation among staff and between staff, pupils and parents.

The Board of Management fully supports the staff in the implementation of the Code of Discipline and Behaviour.

The overall responsibility for discipline within the school rests with the principal. Each teacher has responsibility for maintenance of discipline within his / her classroom which sharing a common responsibility for good order within the school premises. A pupil will be referred to the principal for serious breaches of discipline and for repeated incidents of minor misbehaviour.
a) Positive Strategies for managing behaviour
Good behaviour will be rewarded in the following ways.
Praise
Rewards – stars, badges
At assembly pupils are rewarded for good behaviour.
Records of good behaviour
Notes to parents regarding improvements
Classroom job privileges

b) Any one or a combination of the following strategies / sanctions may be used to show disapproval of unacceptable behaviour:
Reasoning with the pupil
Reprimand (including advice on how to improve)
Temporary separation from peers, friends or others
Loss of privileges
Prescribing additional work
Referral to principal
Communication with parents
Detention
Suspension – in conjunction with behavioural management plan, as per N.E.W.B. Development of Code of Behaviour Guidelines for Schools (2008).
Expulsion

Parents will be informed at an early stage of all instances of serious misbehaviour. Teachers will keep a written record of all such instances as well as record of improvements in the behaviour of disruptive pupils. Before resorting to serious sanctions e.g. suspension, the normal channels of communication between school and parents will be utilised.

Communications with parents will be verbal or by letter, depending on circumstances. The parents concerned will be invited to come to the school to discuss their child’s case. For gross misbehaviour or repeated instances of serious misbehaviour suspension will be considered. Aggressive threatening or violent behaviour towards a teacher will be regarded as serious or gross misbehaviour.

Where there are repeated instances of serious misbehaviour, the chairperson of the Board of Management will be informed and the parents will be requested in writing to attend at the school to meet the chairperson and the principal. If the parents do not give an undertaking that the pupil will behave in an acceptable manner in the future, the pupil may have to be suspended for a temporary period. Suspension will be in accordance with the terms of Rule 130(5) of the Rules for National Schools.

In the case of gross misbehaviour*, the Board shall authorise the chairperson or principal to sanction an immediate suspension, pending a discussion of the matter with the parents. Expulsion may be considered in an extreme case, in accordance with Rule 130 (6).

With parental consent an emotionally disturbed child will be referred for psychological assessment without delay. Help will be sought, also, from support services within the wider community e.g. community care services provided by Health Boards.
Ratified by the Board of Management.
*Gross misbehaviour may be defined as follows:
The student’s behaviour has had a seriously detrimental effect on the education of other students.
The student’s continued presence in the school at this time constitutes a threat to safety.
The student is responsible for serious damage to property. (See 11.4 pg. 73 Developing a Code of Behaviour: Guidelines for Schools).