School Attendance and Engagement Team

Herefordshire Council is committed to working with schools and partners to improve attendance and punctuality across the county.

Regular attendance is strongly linked to positive educational, health and wellbeing outcomes. Evidence shows that missing education can have a significant impact on a child's development, wellbeing and future opportunities.

We are committed to promoting every child's right to a full-time, high-quality education. Regardless of their circumstances, needs or school setting, all children should be supported to engage in education, achieve their potential and thrive.

The School Attendance and Engagement Team works alongside all schools in Herefordshire to promote good attendance and ensure children receive the support they need to access education successfully.

Email Schoolattendanceandengagement@herefordshire.gov.uk

Supporting children with attendance issues

Herefordshire has an intervention approach to school attendance. Improving attendance Herefordshire graduated response document provides a guide to the actions to be taken when attendance is an issue.

Our attendance toolkit supports schools to promote high attendance through a robust whole-school approach that exceeds statutory requirements.

View the attendance toolkit

The toolkit should be used in conjunction with the attendance strategy and the Department for Education (DfE) Working together to improve school attendance along with the Summary table of responsibilities for school attendance.

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Stage 1: Attendance action - Universal

Attendance level is between 95% and 100% over a 6-week period.

Schools should engage positively with pupils and families, identify emerging concerns at the earliest opportunity, and work proactively to understand and address barriers to attendance through pastoral support, reasonable adjustments and signposting to appropriate services, preventing issues from escalating and reducing the need for more targeted intervention.

Children will usually be supported through the school's attendance procedures, including telephone contact, letters and informal meetings with parents.

Download attendance letter templates

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Stage 2: Attendance action - Universal plus (early concern)

Attendance level is below 90.1% to 94.9% over a 6-week period.

Children with attendance between 90.1% and 94.9% may require additional support to improve attendance and prevent further decline. This support may include Early Help intervention or the initial stages of attendance enforcement.

Responsibility for this level of intervention sits primarily with the school, although schools may work in partnership with external services to provide coordinated support for the child and family.

Useful links for supporting Universal plus

• Early Help
• Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) Inclusion Service
• Directory of Early Help Services
• Educational Psychology Team
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) referral
• Wellbeing and Emotional Support Teams (WEST) in schools

Enforcement

Absence during term time

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Stage 3: Attendance action - Targeted support (persistent absence)

Attendance level is between 50% to 90% over a 6-week period.

Children with attendance below 90% are classified as Persistently Absent (PA). At this stage, pupils require additional, structured support to improve attendance and move back above 90%.

This support may be delivered solely by the school or in partnership with external services. Interventions may include Early Help support or the initial stages of enforcement where appropriate.

Schools will be expected to evidence the support and interventions implemented to improve attendance.

Useful links for support

• Part-time timetable guidance
• Part-time timetable referral form
• MARF - Herefordshire Safeguarding Children Partnership

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Stage 4: Acute and complex - Targeted support (severe absence)

Attendance is below 50% over a sustained period.

At this level, schools must demonstrate that a comprehensive range of interventions has been attempted to address the severe and sustained absence.

Referral for LA attendance support

When interventions have been implemented and attendance remains below 50%, the school may complete an Attendance support referral (electronic submission only). The attendance support referral enables the school to request:

• Discussion at the Children Missing in Education (CMIE) Panel, or
• Consideration by the Inclusion and Engagement Panel for Section 19 funded provision

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Children Missing in Education (CMIE)

The CMIE Panel is a multi-agency, solution-focused forum chaired by Herefordshire Council, bringing together professionals from a range of services to consider how attendance and engagement can be improved.

The purpose of the panel is to review the interventions already undertaken, identify any barriers to attendance, and explore whether additional or alternative support may be available.

The CMIE Panel is not a referral pathway. Discussion at the panel does not result in automatic allocation of work to partner agencies, and panel members are not expected to take on direct casework as a consequence of a case being presented.

For full details see the Improving attendance Herefordshire graduated response document.

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Inclusion and Engagement (IAE)

Where a child has been unable to attend school for 15 days or more due to the same medical condition, and there is evidence from an appropriate healthcare professional confirming they are unable to access education despite the support provided, a referral should be made to the Inclusion and Engagement Panel.

The panel will consider the child's circumstances and review whether responsibility for providing education should remain with the school or whether alternative provision funded under Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 is appropriate.

Before making a referral, please refer to the Inclusion and Engagement Panel guidance and ensure all relevant evidence and supporting documentation are available.

Herefordshire education of children with medical needs policy

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Referral process

Complete an Attendance support referral (CMIE or IAE panel)

Referrals should only be made via this form.

If you need to add additional information to an existing referral please use the Update a CMIE or IAE referral for absence form with the reference number provided at time of referral.

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Notification of Pupil Absence: 15 consecutive or cumulative days absence using Code I only

Schools are legally required to notify the local authority where pupils are coded I (illness) and who the school has reasonable grounds to believe will miss 15 days consecutively or cumulatively because of sickness.

Notification of pupil absence form