Attendance and Completion policy – Leadership programmes

Section 1: Overview  

1.1 Purpose and general principles  

1.1.1 Frontline and your organisation want to maximise the impact from each place on the programme. As a result, Frontline expects leaders to attend and engage fully with all aspects of the programme. This policy therefore applies to all leaders who have completed their programme enrolment form. 

1.1.2 Absences can negatively impact a leader’s ability to engage with all elements of the programme and to develop effective social work leadership practice. Frontline therefore monitors leader attendance and engagement for the programme’s duration, so that staff can support and provide early intervention to leaders who may be experiencing difficulties. 

1.1.3 Frontline recognises there may be exceptional circumstances which mean that a leader is unable to attend or complete required elements of the programme. Leaders should contact business,development@thefrontline.org.uk to raise any concerns or issues. Each occurrence will be considered on a case-by-case basis and the most appropriate approach set out in Section 2 of this policy will be followed.  

1.1.4 In order to complete the programme, the following minimum attendance requirement must be met:  

• Residentials: Frontline places particular emphasis on compulsory attendance at residentials across both days of each, as this is where leaders learn the core curriculum and where they form integral working relationships with their cohort.

• Leadership diagnostics: Leadership diagnostics are a core part of a leader’s development and will be used within coaching sessions, so it is a compulsory element of the programme, and it is essential it is completed within the set timeframes.

1.1.5 For all other elements, a minimum attendance/completion of 80% should be achieved to complete the programme as a whole.

1.2 Responsibilities  

1.2.1 This policy is owned by the Programme Manager, who is responsible for its implementation.  

1.2.2 Frontline is responsible for:  

• establishing and communicating clearly the attendance and completion requirements of the programme to leaders 

• notifying leaders of all scheduled residentials and workshops in advance of their occurrence to help in the meeting of this expectation 

• monitoring the attendance and engagement of leaders and maintaining appropriate records for reference 

• where a member of Frontline staff, identifies concerns with a leader’s attendance and/or engagement, they will aim to intervene and support leaders, as per the processes set out in section 2.4 

• when making decisions about the adequacy of a leader’s attendance and/or engagement, Frontline will consider the circumstances of the individual alongside the requirements of the programme 

• when minimum attendance requirements are not met, to report concerns to the leader’s organisation (after consultation with the Partnerships team) and when all interventions have failed to improve attendance, may enter discussion around withdrawal from the programme (Definition in section 3 of this policy.) 

1.2.3 Leaders are responsible for:  

• consistently and proactively engaging with requirements associated with all elements of the programme 

• ensuring they have an understanding of the programme commitment and where uncertain, to seek clarity from a relevant member of staff 

• notifying Frontline of intended absence(s), according to the process described within this policy 

• responding to requests from Frontline teams in a timely manner 

• raising as early as possible with Frontline staff any challenges/difficulties being faced that are impacting upon their ability to meet the attendance and engagement expectations 

• monitoring the number of absences they have taken, and to be conscious of this with relation to expectations for their attendance for the remainder of the programme 

• catching up on missed learning where at risk of falling under 80% attendance for relevant elements (see Section 2.3 for further information on this) 

• maintaining up-to-date contact details with Frontline and checking the learning platform regularly for information.

Section 2: Procedure  

2.1 Reporting absences 

2.1.1 Absences for residentials and workshops should be reported to the programme team at business.development@thefrontline.org.uk and should be ahead of the date of delivery where practicable.   

2.1.2 Absences for coaching sessions should be reported to the leader’s coach directly at least 24 hours prior to the booked session. Should a session be cancelled within 24 hours, this will be classed as a spent session and will impact a leader’s attendance record.  

If a coach is absent or cancels a coaching session, this will not impact a leaders attendance record and should be reported to business.development@thefrontline.org.uk. The session will be rescheduled at the next available opportunity. 

2.1.3 If a leader’s intended absence is determined to be without reasonable cause (including but not limited to, sickness, bereavement, caring responsibilities, Ofsted visit), Frontline will normally contact the leader. It is expected that this will result in an agreed outcome and actions for support in relation to the absence.  

2.2 Attendance tracking 

2.2.1 For in-person residentials, Frontline will ask leaders to register their attendance via a QR code that will be provided on the first day and signposted to them. It is the responsibility of the leader to make sure they log their attendance for in-person residentials.  

2.2.2 For online workshops, Frontline will monitor participants’ attendance via Zoom usage reports. Leaders will be asked to display their full name; the programme team will update Salesforce with attendance. 

2.2.3 For peer-led practice sessions, Frontline will track engagement.  

2.3 Catching up on missed learning  

2.3.1 Where leaders are at risk of falling under 80% attendance for the elements listed in section 1.1.4, other than coaching, they must catch up on missed learning. They should do this via the resources available on the learning platform. 

In general this would include reviewing the slides and notes available from a session and then submitting a form to confirm completion of catch up, including a reflective log. This will be sent out by the programme team to the leader.  

2.4 Managing absence and engagement concerns  

2.4.1 Where a leader is either absent without notifying relevant staff (see 2.1.1 and 2.1.2), has not provided a satisfactory explanation of their absence, or where there are emerging or continuing concerns around their level of attendance and/or engagement, they may be subject to several steps of intervention, within which attendance and engagement concerns will be explored alongside possible mechanisms of support.  

2.4.2 Where a singular unexplained absence has occurred for a compulsory programme element, leaders may be contacted by Frontline for an explanation. If a leader does not provide a satisfactory explanation for the absence, Frontline may progress the matter to the below stage(s) outlined in 2.4.4 – 2.4.7.  

2.4.3. For emerging concerns around a leader’s attendance and/or engagement with other elements of the programme, they will receive a communication from the programme team, reminding them of Frontline’s expectations and to ascertain whether there are any reasons for this change, and to offer support. 

2.4.4 If the situation does not improve sufficiently, this will be brought to the attention of the Frontline Partnerships Team who will communicate any concerns with a leader’s organisation to discuss an action plan and/or further support for attendance or engagement.  

2.4.5 Where a leader, without reasonable explanation, and without first discussing this with Frontline, does one or more of the following, Frontline may consider withdrawal from the programme when an individual: (definition in section 3)

• does not attend compulsory elements of the programme without prior notice and agreement 

• attendance/completion falls below 80% for additional elements of the programme – in the absence of exceptional circumstances 

• fails to respond to multiple communications 

2.4.6 The decision to deem a leader withdrawn must be agreed by the Head of Business Development, Programme Manager, Partnership and Placements Manager, in consultation with the organisation. 

2.4.7 If a leader wishes to appeal the decision, they can do this via business.development@thefrontline.org.uk, through which a meeting with the Programme Manager and/or Head of Business Development will be arranged. If not satisfactorily resolved, a complaint can be issued in line with our complaints policy.  

Section 3: Definitions 

Withdrawn Leader will be removed from the programme. This will include losing access to residentials, online workshops, coaching, the learning platform and all other elements of the programme.