Management Information Sheet
School Attendance Update
From September 2022 the Attendance Team will be implementing changes in the way that they support all schools in Norfolk in line with the new DfE guidance Working together to improve school attendance.
As outlined in the new guidance, the Attendance Team will provide the following core functions to all Norfolk schools free of charge:
Communication and advice
Our duty line will be the first point of contact for advice from an Attendance and Entitlement Officer. This service is for all schools to access advice and support regarding pupil specific concerns and whole school management of attendance. The Attendance Team will be available via the attendance duty line on 01603 223 681 or via email at csattendance@norfolk.gov.uk. A duty officer will be available Monday to Thursday from 9am to 5pm and Fridays 9am to 4pm during term time.
All schools will continue to have a named Attendance and Entitlement Officer in line with 'Working together to improve school attendance'. Your named officer's role will be to conduct your termly Targeting Support Meetings as well as facilitate and support the development of local attendance networks. Please utilise the duty line for all other communication to ensure we can provide you with a prompt response.
| Named Attendance and Entitlement Officers | |
|---|---|
| Steven Beales | North Norfolk |
| Katie Pelling | Kings Lynn & West |
| Stuart Dyer | Great Yarmouth |
| Tania Freeman | Norwich | Angela St. Hill | Norwich |
| Claire Dutton | South Norfolk |
| Teresa Crisp | Breckland |
| Christina Holyoake | Broadland |
The Attendance Toolkit is now universally available to all schools and the model policy has been updated to reflect the new guidance. We will build on the toolkit using feedback from attendance leads as part of the network meetings.
Networks
We will continue to host termly networks for all schools. In addition to support groups of schools, we will be introducing local attendance networking opportunities. The purpose of these networks will be to support groups of schools to come together to share good practice and collaborate on collective approaches to common practices to issues such as term time holidays. Your allocated AEO will provide further information on this development in the introductory webcasts they will be delivering in each locality.
Webcasts
We will offer and run a series of webcasts on key topics to ensure that key messages regarding practice are consistent and introduce you to our new streamlined processes regarding Fast Track. These sessions will be free of charge this term as follows:
AEO introduction webcast
Every school will have the opportunity to join one of our upcoming AEO introduction webcast that will be hosted by the named Attendance and Entitlement Officer for your area. These webcasts have been designed to inform you about the support you can expect from the Attendance Team this academic year and to discuss how each district would like to see how their local attendance network's function.
Please see table below for when your districts webcast will be delivered. You can book a place to attend via the NCC S4S Training and Events page.
| North Norfolk District | Tuesday 20 September, 11am to 12pm | Thursday 29 September, 1.30pm to 2.30pm |
|---|---|---|
| Kings Lynn & West District | Tuesday 20 September, 11am to 12pm | Thursday 29 September, 1.30pm to 2.30pm |
| Great Yarmouth District | Tuesday 20 September, 1.30pm to 2.30pm | Thursday 29 September, 11am to 12pm |
| Norwich District | Wednesday 21 September, 11am to 12pm | Thursday 29 September, 1.30pm to 2.30pm |
| South Norfolk District | Wednesday 21 September, 11am to 12pm | Tuesday 27 September, 1.30pm to 2.30pm |
| Breckland District | Wednesday 21 September, 1.30pm to 2.30pm | Tuesday 27 September, 11am to 12pm |
| Broadland District | Tuesday 20 September, 1.30pm to 2.30pm | Thursday 29 September, 11am to 12pm |
Fast Track
This webcast will brief attendees on the purpose and function of Fast Track, it will cover best practice when completing this legal intervention and highlight NEW changes made to the process.
| Fast Track | Thursday 22 September, 11am to 12pm | Monday 26 September, 1pm to 2pm | Wednesday 5 October, 11am to 12pm | Tuesday 11 October, 2pm to 3pm | Friday 21 October, 10am to 11pm | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Effective Planning to Address Poor Attendance
This webcast will brief attendees on the elements of effective plans designed to return a child to a suitable full-time education.
| Effective Planning to Address Poor Attendance | Monday 26 September, 11am to 12pm | Tuesday 4 October, 1pm to 2pm | Wednesday 12 October, 11.30am to 12.30pm | Thursday 20 October, 11am to 12pm | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Preparing a case for legal intervention
This webcast will brief attendees on how to prepare a complete Fast Track for consideration of prosecution. This session will highlight NEW changes made to the procedure that we have incorporated to support schools further with this process.
| Preparing a case for legal intervention | Thursday 29 September, 2pm to 3pm | Friday 7 October, 10am to 11am | Tuesday 11 October, 11.30am to 12.30pm | Wednesday 19 October, 11am to 12pm | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Targeting Support Meetings
In line with the new guidance, we will start to hold termly targeting support meetings in the second half of the Autumn Term. Your allocated Attendance and Entitlement Officer will contact you in September to arrange your termly Targeting Support Meetings and will agree these dates with you for the entire academic year. During these termly conversations you will be supported to analyse your data and identify pupils and cohorts at risk of poor attendance and agree targeted actions and access to services for those pupils. Further guidance about the format for these meetings will be provided in due course.
Multi-disciplinary support for families
Existing Early Help and safeguarding support and referral routes should be utilised as part of a staged approach to managing absence from school. During this academic year, the Effective Intervention workstream of the Attendance Strategy, will be working with a range of partners including schools to produce a graduated pathway for school-level and multi-agency responses to absence from school.
Legal intervention
We will continue to take forward legal intervention using the full range of measures available to the Local Authority in those cases where voluntary support has not been successful or engaged with.
Pupils with a Social Worker
The Education Safeguarding Team will continue to provide schools with lists of children with a social worker on a weekly basis using Anycomms+. Where a pupil has an allocated, social worker, schools should continue to inform the social worker of any concerns they have about the child's attendance at the earliest opportunity.
Parental responsibility measures attendance census for academic year 2021/22
Local authorities must complete the parental responsibility measures attendance census each September/October. We are required to submit details of the controls all schools have put in place in the previous academic year to help parents make sure their children attend school. Shortly this term we will be issuing a Microsoft form that we have designed to support you with this collection. Further details and the link to the form will be shared with you in due course.