Attendance Policy

At Little Phoenix Nursery we believe that regular attendance plays a fundamental role in supporting babies & young children’s emotional well-being and offers them the best learning opportunities.

Our aim is to create a welcoming environment and a culture where regular attendance is valued by all; communication with parents is prioritised and we will work together with families to remove barriers to attendance. Establishing a regular routine supports the settling-in process, it offers security and enhances their sense of belonging. When children attend part time this routine and regular attendance is especially important, our minimum booking pattern of two full days is in place to support this.

To promote good attendance we will:

Share attendance expectations with parents prior to admission, we will convey the benefits of regular attendance and of consistency in the length of a child’s nursery day:
- It is in the best interests of the child
- It supports inclusion and our daily routines
Keep records of attendance to enable monitoring and evaluation so that emerging patterns can be discussed
Foster a positive attitude to regular attendance highlighting the progress and development this supports for each child
Speak with families to discover the reason for absences so we may offer advice and support when needed, referring to other agencies who may be able to help, including the health visiting team, Portage or early help.

Recording, monitoring and follow up non-attendence

We have a duty within the Early Years Foundation Stage to follow up and to investigate any unexplained absence, when we do this the welfare of a child and their family is our primary concern.

We are aware attendance is not statutory; we recognise that non-attendance could be an indicator of other concerns, particularly amongst those considered to be vulnerable. Records of attendance are kept and regularly monitored allowing the nursery to identify potential problems and to look for patterns. All staff are alert to signs that babies and children who are missing from nursery might be at risk of neglect or harm, and that appropriate action must be taken [see Safeguarding Children and Child Protection Policy, and Procedures].

Registers are completed each day, recording arrival and departures, the name of those dropping off and collecting. If a child does not arrive within 30 minutes of their usual drop off time and no explanation is known, we will follow the non-attendance procedure:

a telephone call will be made to the primary carer as recorded on Famly
if no contact is made, we will telephone the other contacts in the following order:
- Second main carer:
  - home number
  - mobile number
  - work number
- Emergency contacts in order recorded at registration:
  - emergency contact number

If there continues to be no contact and there is a cause for concern, the health visiting service and/or the Children and
In more urgent cases the police will be contacted to carry out a welfare check

Leaving Little Phoenix Nursery

When the time comes for a child to leave, parent(s) should refer to the Parent Contract and Terms & Conditions for details of the notice period. A child will then be removed from the registers on a confirmed date and will not be expected to attend; this removes the need to follow the non-attendance procedure above.

If individual circumstances lead to a child not attending during the notice period and payment being made in lieu of this, parents must confirm the child’s last day of attendance and the circumstances leading to this decision to remove the need to follow the non-attendance procedures above.

Details of a new early years provider or school should be confirmed allowing the nursery to transfer essential information to them.