At Growing Minds Montessori Childcare we believe good attendance plays a fundamental role in supporting children’s educational achievement, well-being and in keeping children safer. Establishing regular routines for young children supports the settling-in process and enhances their sense of security and belonging. When a child has a part-time place, regular attendance is especially important.
This policy outlines the procedures to promote and monitor attendance and those that will be followed if a child is absent from the setting. We wish to create a culture where good attendance and punctuality is valued by all and so will work with parents to work together to remove barriers to attendance. We recognise that sometimes families may need extra support with attendance, therefore effective communication is essential between parents and the key person, who may be able to offer advice and support or referrals to other agencies who may be able to help, such as the health visiting team, portage or early help.
To promote good attendance, we will:
- Share our attendance expectations with parents prior to admission, including conveying clearly to parents that regular attendance and punctuality
- Is expected
- Is in the child’s best interest, and
- That unexplained absence will be investigated
- Keep records of attendance to enable monitoring and evaluation so that emerging patterns are addressed
- Foster a positive attitude to good attendance by quickly responding to children’s absence while also recognising and celebrating, ‘good’ and ‘improving’ attendance
- Target attendance where there has been an issue and aim to set in place strategies and techniques to support improvement.
Whilst attendance at nursery is not statutory, authorised absence will be granted in the following circumstances, where parents inform the nursey on the first day of absence or prior to the first day of absence:
- Illness of the child
- Illness of siblings or parents
- Bereavement
- Health services appointments
- Holidays, including extended visits to family overseas
- Religious observance
- Emergency or exceptional circumstances.
Monitoring attendance
Records of children’s attendance are accurately kept and regularly monitored to ensure that we can identify any potential problems and look for patterns. All managers and staff are alert to signs that children and learners who are missing might be at risk of abuse or neglect, and appropriate action is taken when children stop attending. While we are aware that attendance is not statutory, we recognise that non-attendance could be an indicator of other concerns. All managers and staff are particularly aware of the need to monitor groups such as those who are considered to be vulnerable learners.
Procedures to record, monitor and follow up non-attendance
Children are signed in on the nursery app as they arrive at nursery to record attendance.
Non-attendance:
- If a child is absent and we are informed of their reason for absence this will be recorded on the register
- If a child is absent without an explanation, and has not arrived within one hour of their booked arrival time, a message will be sent on the nursery app to the main carer(s) to establish the reason for the absence
- If there is no reply to the message, a telephone call (to priority and secondary numbers, e.g. home and work) will be made to the main carer to establish the reason for the absence
- If no contact is made, then we will follow this process:
- Contact any second main carer (to priority and secondary numbers, e.g. home and work)
- Contact the first emergency contact number
- Contact the second emergency contact number.
- If contact cannot be made by telephone call, a home visit may be carried out and a contact postcard will be posted through your door if there is no response
- If there continues to be no contact and there is cause for concern, the health visiting service and/or the Children and Family service will be contacted to ascertain if family support may be needed
- In more urgent cases, the police may be contacted to carry out a welfare check.
Leaving the nursery
If you decide to withdraw your child from the nursery, please see our Parent Contract and Terms and Conditions for notice periods. This will ensure that we remove your child from our systems and therefore will not expect them to attend.
If your child is transitioning to another early years provider or school, please provide us with the details of the new setting so that we can transfer essential information.
| This policy was adopted in | Date for review | |
| August 2025 | August 2026 |