Catch22 College: Attendance and punctuality policy

Catch22 reserves the right to amend this policy, following consultation, where appropriate.

Date of last review: January 2026

Date of next review: August 2026

What is the policy about?

Catch22 is committed to providing a full effective and efficient education to all students and embraces the concept of equal opportunities for all. We will endeavour to provide an environment where all students feel valued and welcome.

This policy sets out student and staff responsibilities at Catch22 Colleges for Attendance and Punctuality monitoring.

For a student to reach their full educational achievement, a high level of attendance is essential. We will consistently work towards a goal of 100% attendance for all students. We create a purposeful learning environment and use every opportunity to convey to students and their parents or carers the importance of regular and punctual attendance.

We consider attendance and its recording and monitoring a Safeguarding priority and ensure accuracy and immediacy in its registration and administration.

Who does this policy apply to?

All staff, parent/guardians and students.

College procedures

The academic day consists of two sessions – morning and afternoon. The whereabouts of all students during both sessions must be registered promptly (within the designated registration window) and accurately using the Catch22 register and attendance key table:

Registers must be marked at or near the start of each lesson. The register represents auditable evidence that teaching and learning has taken place. The completion of student attendance and punctuality record is a key aspect of statutory safeguarding duty and a mandatory reporting document. Therefore, it is essential that registers are marked accurately.

Only the Lead Teacher or a member of staff acting on their behalf can authorise absence.

The designated member of staff for registration and attendance calls will be Catch22’s attendance officers.

Lateness

This policy is designed to ensure that students are punctual and prepared for their lessons, while also encouraging proactive communication from both students and parents. Here’s a clearer breakdown of the key points:

• Late arrivals: Students who arrive more than 15 minutes after the registration period without notifying the site in advance will not be allowed to join the current session.
• Return at next session: These students will be required to return at the start of the next available session, based on their individual timetables. This could be after the current lesson, during the morning or afternoon session, or potentially not at all, depending on the schedule.
• Parental contact: Parents will be contacted if no prior notice is given for the late arrival. Information will be shared on when/if students can return to lessons that day.
• Encouraging communication: The aim is to encourage parents and learners to inform the site ahead of time to ensure better punctuality and readiness for lessons.

 Students arriving after the start of the academic day but before the end of the registration period will be treated for statistical purposes, as present, but will be coded as late before the registers close.

Students absent at the close of registration will be marked as absent for that session using the correct code to represent the reason of their absence. If the reason is unknown, then the absence must be recorded using the code ‘U’.

First day absence

Parents/carers will be expected to inform the college regarding a pupil’s reason for absence. If a call has not been received by 08:45, a member of staff will contact the parent/guardian to establish the reason for absence. If no contact can be made a message/voicemail should be left. If no contact can be established, this process should be repeated. If no contact can be established after multiple attempts, then emergency contacts should be called.

Where no contact can be made, the ‘Continuing Absence’ guidance should be followed, see below.

Absence notes

Comments regarding students’ absence received from parents/carers and/or made by staff regarding absence should all be recorded on the learner’s Contact Log, including all unsuccessful call attempts and messages. These notes will be used in reviews, proceedings and investigation as evidence.

Continuing absence

Absence longer than a day without parental contact will be treated as a matter of concern and a potential safeguarding issue. Contact will be made by the college and external agencies will be involved where necessary, for example if the learner is known to the Local Authority, has a Social Worker etc.

The college will risk assess absence for all students to determine the manner and time scale of response when a pupil is not at college without parental/carer contact. This assessment will take place during regular RAG/team meetings between Lead Teacher, Teachers and Recruitment & Progressions Officers at the college.

Frequent absence

It is the responsibility of the Lead Teacher, Recruitment & Progressions Officer, and administrators to identify patterns of absence. During team meetings, teaching staff should also bring forward any concerns or patterns of absence of the learners.

We recognise that some students are more likely to require additional support to attain good attendance, for example, those students with special educational needs, physical or mental health needs, and looked after children. We will build strong relationships with families, listen to and understand barriers to attendance and work with families to remove them.

Leave of absence in term-time

Only exceptional circumstances warrant a leave of absence. Colleges should consider each application individually taking into account the specific facts and circumstances and relevant background context behind the request; as Lead Teachers should only grant leaves of absence in exceptional circumstances it is unlikely a leave of absence will be granted for the purposes of a family holiday. If a leave of absence is granted, it is for the Lead Teacher to determine the length of the time the pupil can be away from school. Students should submit requests using the ‘Absence Request Form’, see appendices for template.

A welcome back

It is important that on return from an absence, all students are made to feel welcome. This should include ensuring that the student is helped to adjust to college’s daily routine; catch up on missed work and brought up to date on any information that has been passed to the other students.

Promoting attendance

We will use opportunities as they arise to remind parents/carers that it is their responsibility to ensure that their children receive their education. The college has systems to celebrate/reward excellent attendance which include weekly certificates, individual rewards and group rewards, and termly reviews.

Working in partnership with parents and carers

Our aim is to work in partnership with parents and carers to remove students’ barriers to attendance. We strive to establish good working relationships with the families of our students through good communication and regular meetings to address on-going attendance concerns. If necessary, we signpost our families to specialist support services who can work with us in a multi-agency approach.

Attendance targets – recording and monitoring

The Colleges will set attendance targets each year in line with Ofsted expectations. A system for analysing performance towards the targets will be established and the Lead Teacher will be responsible for overseeing this work.

The Colleges will use PICS CRM system for keeping the attendance records and regular monitoring will be carried out by the Lead Teacher and designated staff. The Lead Teacher or designated staff member will provide regular updates to the Senior Leadership Team on a termly basis in the following areas:

• punctuality;
• attendance (including authorised & unauthorised absence);
• vulnerable group attendance comparisons;
• impacts of attendance and punctuality interventions undertaken by the College

Escalations stages

Expectations of student attendance and punctuality

The core expectation is for all students to strive for 100% attendance and punctuality.

The attendance escalation process will commence, when a student’s cumulative attendance falls below 90% or when there is a negative trend in a student’s attendance and punctuality. The Recruitment & Progressions Officer should meet with the student and establish a two-week plan using the standardised ‘Improvement Action Plan’ (see appendices).

The student, including the parent/carers, will be formally notified via a letter detailing the current attendance and punctuality data and the expected improvements required.

There will be multiple escalation stages if attendance does not improve. Learners and parents/carers will receive a letter at each escalation stage.

This policy is related to Attendance and Punctuality, failure to show improvement in attendance and punctuality can initiate escalation in line with Disciplinary procedures, whereby students may be at risk of exclusion. This policy works alongside Catch22’s Behaviour & Code of Conduct Policy. If conduct-related issues arise, escalation stages for attendance may be included as one of the Three Stages.

Reasonable adjustments must apply to targets and interventions where a student’s SEND status, underlying health condition and/or other vulnerability must be recognised.

Escalation (Stages)

Attendance Stage 1

This is initiated when a student’s attendance and/or punctuality is demonstrating a negative trend and there are no reasonable mitigating factors and/or cumulative attendance and/or punctuality has fallen below 90% in any element within the study programme.

• Recruitment & Progressions Officer will conduct a 1:1 ‘Attendance Intervention Meeting’, and record this on the learner’s Contact Log. Learner will be informed that their attendance and/or punctuality has activated the attendance management escalation process.
• As a result of entering Stage 1 status, the Recruitment & Progressions Officer will issue a Stage 1 notification letter to parents/carers, that reiterates the college expectations.
• Failure to demonstrate improved attendance and/or punctuality within a two week period will result in escalation of attendance management process.

If there is still no improvement in attendance and/or punctuality after monitoring, then Stage 2 of this policy will be implemented.

Attendance Stage 2

A student’s attendance and/or punctuality have not improved in line with the expectations as set within the Stage 1 two-week timescale.

A formal Stage 2 meeting will be arranged with the student, and parent/carer including, those identified as part of the students support network. This meeting will be chaired by the Recruitment & Progressions Officer and must be recorded on the learner’s Contact Log. Should the above management not be available then the Lead Teacher chair the meeting. The Chair of the Stage 2 meeting will issue a two-week Attendance Improvement Action Plan with improvement targets, which will be shared with the student and parent/carers. The staff member identified within the Attendance Improvement Action Plan, will be responsible for checking progress of Attendance throughout the monitoring period.

If there is no improvement in attendance within the monitoring period of two weeks, the student will immediately escalate to Stage 3 , the final stage of the Attendance Management process.

Where the student has demonstrated improvement and has met the targets set out within the Stage 2 , they will de-escalate to Stage 0. If a negative pattern of attendance and/or punctuality re-occurs within the same academic year, the student will escalate immediately back to their previous Stage 2 status.

Attendance Stage 3

A student’s attendance and/or punctuality have not improved and has not met the targets set out within the Stage 2 action plan meeting. A formal Stage 3 meeting will be arranged with the student and  parent/guardians. This meeting will be chaired by the Lead Teacher and recorded on the learner’s Contact Log.

Should the above management not be available then the Recruitment & Progressions Officer will chair the meeting. The Chair of the Stage 3 meeting will issue a two-week Attendance Improvement Action Plan with improvement targets which will be shared with the student and parent/guardian via e-mail.

The staff member identified within the Attendance Improvement Action Plan, will be responsible for checking progress of Attendance throughout the monitoring period. If there is a downward trend in attendance and/or punctuality within the monitoring period of two weeks, the student will immediately escalate to Stage 4 within the Attendance Management process. Where the student has demonstrated improvement and has met the targets set out within the Stage 3 Plan, they will de-escalate to Stage 0.

Attendance Stage 4

Where a student’s attendance and/or punctuality have not improved significantly over the Action Plan period, a student along with parent/carer, including those identified as part of the student support network will be formally invited to a ‘Risk of Expulsion’ panel.

Appeals procedure

A student who has reached Stage 4 within the Attendance Management process are at risk of suspension pending investigation, in line with the College Disciplinary procedures. Students who have been suspended have an opportunity to appeal the decision. All appeals must be submitted to the college  team within 10 working days of the exclusion. A Senior Operations Manager will review the record and may call the student for interview. Following conclusion of this process, the student will receive a final outcome of the decision in writing, within ten working days of receipt of the appeal.

The appeal outcome will be one of the following:

• Uphold the decision to permanently exclude the student from the College, or
• Revoke the permanent exclusion (with conditions)

Next academic year

Where a student has been on an Action Plan during the current academic year, they will revert back to stage 0 start for the next year of study.

Related policies

• Safeguarding Policy
• Behaviour & Code of Conduct Policy