School Attendance Team

The School Attendance Team is a statutory team and works within a legal framework. It makes sure that schools and parents fulfil aspects of their statutory responsibilities in relation to the education of children and young people, particularly those relating to school attendance, exclusion and general welfare matters.

The School Attendance Team is a pupil centred team that supports parents, carers and schools to ensure that children and young people are able to access the educational opportunities available, to help them develop to their full potential, free from abuse.

School Attendance Officers provide support, advice and guidance to parents/carers, children and young people on issues relating to educational provision, exclusion, or problems that may have an adverse affect on attendance, progress, attainment, or their emotional well being. The focus of intervention for the service differs from pupil to pupil. The team has four core areas of work - School Attendance, Behaviour (including exclusions), Children in Need (including child protection) and juvenile employment.

To secure its responsibilities in the core areas of its work, the team works in partnership with schools and maintains close working relationships with a variety of statutory and voluntary services. The School Attendance Team is a specialist team, providing social and community work skills, expertise and techniques, together with a specialist knowledge of the educational system. To meet responsibilities, the team has a range of objectives within its core areas of work. Objectives:

• To support school improvement through promoting regular attendance at school as a pre-requisite to raising levels of achievement for pupils.
• Undertake the council's statutory duty under the Education Act 1996 and the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 in relation to school attendance and exclusion, ensure the implementation of Circular 10/99 - Social Inclusion: Pupil Support and the Pupil Registration regulations.
• Work with identified young people through school, parental, self, or other agency referral who require support to access their education due to problems relating to attendance, exclusion, disaffection or any other social circumstances.
• Assist in fulfilling the obligations placed on the Education Service under the Children Act 1989 in relation to Child Protection, the Children in Need Assessment Framework, Education Supervision Orders and Children in Public Care.
• Fulfil the Council's statutory duties in relation to child employment under the Children & Young Persons Act 1933 (as amended), the Children (Protection at Work) Regulations 2000 and Bury Council Byelaws.

If you cannot find the information you are looking for here, please email the School Attendance Team.

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