Attendance news and updates

The Department of Education has re-published the School attendance guidance in August 2020 and have written an addendum to this guidance which replaces all temporary guidance documents on recording attendance during the outbreak. A quick guide - coronavirus absence from school is also available.

Action for all schools and local authorities

• Communicate clear and consistent expectations around school attendance to families
• Identify pupils who are reluctant or anxious about returning or who are at risk of disengagement and develop plans for re-engaging them
• Put measures in place for those families who will need additional support to secure pupil’s regular attendance
• Work closely with other professionals as appropriate to support the return to school, including continuing to notify the child’s social worker, if they have one, of non-attendance

Attendance expectation for academic year 2020-21

From the start of the Autumn Term 2020 pupil’s attendance will be mandatory and the usual rules on attendance will apply, including:
• Parent’s duty to ensure that their child of compulsory school age attends regularly at the school where the child is a registered pupil
• Schools to resume responsibility to record attendance and importantly follow up on absence
• The LA’s ability to issue sanctions, including FPN’s has been restored

How we intend to support you this term

For Autumn Term 2020/21 all schools have been designated an Attendance and Entitlement Officer. Your allocated AEO’s will be available to you at designated times throughout the week for pupil specific consultation and to advise on intervention.  
AEOs will be continuing with the targeted support with regards to those pupils who are classed as vulnerable pupils (those who are open to social care) and will be speaking to you weekly about any of these pupils who are not attending regularly and will advise accordingly. This is a continuation of the principals of VPAL work that the team undertook during lockdown and the second half of the Summer Term. We feel it is important you know which of your pupils are our most vulnerable and it’s important we as a LA know if they are attending so that together we can communicate with the allocated social worker to put a plan around that child to ensure regular attendance.

AEO	Email	District
Steven Beales	steven.beales@norfolk.gov.uk	Broadland
Claire Dutton	claire.dutton@norfolk.gov.uk	King’s Lynn and the West
Tracy Birkin	tracy.birkin@norfolk.gov.uk	Norwich (clusters CG06 & CG09)
Angela St. Hill	angela.sthill@norfolk.gov.uk	Norwich (clusters CG04 & CG03)
Christina Holyoake	christina.holyoake@norfolk.gov.uk	Breckland
Nadine Emeny	nadine.emeny@norfolk.gov.uk	Great Yarmouth
Teresa Crisp	teresa.crisp@norfolk.gov.uk	North Norfolk
Stuart Dyer	stuart.dyer@norfolk.gov.uk	South Norfolk