The Management of the Prime Tuition adopted this policy on 24th July 2021 & It will be discussed annually by the management and will remain applicable for Prime Tuition until the management notifies the Institute for any changes to the policy. It should be read in conjunction with the Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy and Grievance Resolution Policy and Procedures.
This Policy has been agreed by the management, Staff and Pupils of Prime Tuition. It represents our commitment to striving for 100% attendance, which is achievable, as this is achieved by many children annually. It sets out the principles, procedures and practice the Prime Tuition will undertake. Strategies, sanctions and possible legal consequences of poor Attendance and Punctuality are also detailed, as well as rewards for, and benefits of good attendance. This policy will be reviewed, amended as necessary and published annually in accordance with current legislation and guidance.
The Management, Department Supervisor/Head of Department and staff will use all possible opportunities to promote the importance of good attendance and punctuality.
Requests for absences during term time will only be exercised in the MOST EXCEPTIONAL circumstance with the proviso that verification and valid evidence can be provided.
Understanding types of absence coding Every half-day absence from Prime Tuition must be classified by the Prime Tuition as AUTHORISED or UNAUTHORISED. Therefore, the information about the cause of any absence is always required, preferably in writing (parents are asked to fill in one of our forms in the office). Medical evidence may also be required in the form of a copy of a prescription, GP note, home office, hospital, and dental appointments etc. Types of absence that are likely to be authorised are serious illness warranting hospitalisation, medical or dental appointments which unavoidably fall in Prime Tuition time, as well as serious accidents and emergencies.
Examples of types of absence that are not considered reasonable, and which will not be authorised under any circumstances are:
Colluding with your child’s reluctance to attend is likely to make the matter worse. Transferring the blame on to others without valid reasons is also not a healthy approach, as it does not address the real root cause of the problem. Working in partnership with the Prime Tuition usually derives the best outcomes.
1. New registers/enrolment are taken all days, once at the start of the Tuition Mon-Friday start at 4:30pm-8:00pm but registers remain open until 8:30pm. And Sat-Sun start at 9:00am-5:45pm but registers remain open until 6:15pm. Within these mentioned time a child can be enrolled and other times, it is not possible. Registers are also taken again during the afternoon session during lunch break or any other break times within the stipulated time.
2.The first lesson Mon-Friday attendance registration period will start at 4:30pm and end at 6:30pm. After 4:30pm a child is classified as late for first lesson. The second lesson Mon-Friday attendance registration will start at 6:40pm and end at 8:40pm. After 6:30pm a child is classified as late for second lesson. During weekends Sat- Sun first lesson attendance registration period starts at 9:00am and end at 11:00am. During weekends after 9:00am a child is classified as late for first lesson. Second lesson attendance registration period starts at 11:15am and end at 01:15am. During weekends after 11:15am a child is classified as late for second lesson. Third lesson attendance registration period starts at 2:00pm and end at 4:00pm. During weekends after 2:00pm a child is classified as late for third lesson. Fourth lesson attendance registration period starts at 4:15pm and end at 06:15pm. During weekends after 4:15pm a child is classified as late for fourth lesson All enrolled students are expected to observe good attendance within their stipulated time frames in both first and second lessons or all four lessons during weekends.
3. Only the Supervisor/Head of Department or designated member(s) of Prime Tuition acting on the Supervisor/Head of Department’s behalf can authorise absences. If there is no known reason for the absence at registration, then the absence will be recorded as unauthorised, until a satisfactory reason is provided. If the reason given is not satisfactory in the Tuition Centre’s view, and/or evidence of the reason cannot be provided, the absence will be coded as an Unauthorised absence. Absence notes received from parents/carers will be kept for the remainder of the academic year; or longer if there are concerns that require further investigation or legal action. If a pupil is persistently late the Supervisor/Head of Department and Prime Tuition will arrange to meet with the family as soon as the pattern is identified- to ascertain the reasons for lateness. If the lateness is down to bad habits then the relevant authorities will be infomed.
4. First time Absence Contact Parents are expected to notify the Prime Tuition if their child is unable to attend for any unavoidable reason, such as illness. If the Prime Tuition does not receive notification through the absence reporting portal: Report a Leave (Refer to APPENDIX 2 FOR FORM COMPLETION) our software will auto text or one of Prime Tuition representative will telephone the student’s Parent/carer/guardian on the first day of absence, to try to ascertain the reason for the absence. If no good reason is given the absence will be deemed unauthorised. First day contact will be carried out as early as possible in the Prime Tuition active day, to notify parents whose children may have set off for Prime Tuition(as some of them may travel on their own), but may not have arrived, as expected. If there are any accidents or emergencies within the Prime Tuitiont hen the Prime Tuition will take any needed action necessary inclusive of calling the parents.
5. Second time Absence Contact If the child is still absent on the second time without contact from the family, a telephone call will be made to the home. The family may be asked to come into Prime Tuitionfor a meeting. If it is found there was illness or emergency parents will be asked to bring in the needed proof or paperwork to verify the reasons for the absence.
6. Continuing Absence ProceduresIn the event of an absence of two weeks without contact from the family, all lessons will be terminated, and 4 weeks fee will be charged.
7. Frequent/Persistent Absence Procedures Regular checks of the late and class registers’ will be made to identify pupils with a pattern of absences and lateness that may lead to Persistent Absence (PA), that is to say absence of 15% or more in a half term. The Prime Tuition management will be notified/ responsible for identification of any emerging concerns, and putting in place actions for each pupil of concern. Initially the Prime Tuition will try to resolve the problem with parents/carers, but if the pattern continues the Prime Tuition will not continue the services for such student or students.
8. Consequences of Poor Attendance /Punctuality For pupils whose attendance and/or punctuality fails to improve, after a range of interventions and support measures have been tried by the Tuition Centre, the ultimate consequences may be one of the following:
9. Children who Cease to Attend without Prior Notification (CME) Procedures for trying to trace children who cease to attend without prior notification are covered in detail in the CME Policy and Procedures. However, if, after ten days continuous absence to Prime Tuition has been unable to ascertain the whereabouts of a pupil, or their whereabouts cannot be traced, they will be removed from the Prime Tuition roll register.
10. Non starters Pupils who are allocated places but fail to start are also treated as CME. If the Prime Tuition has been unable to contact the family during a ten-day period after their expected arrival, they will no longer can attend the agreed places and may be offered different time slots or days.