Persistent absence and lateness will affect a child’s achievement and progress in school. Comprehensive research shows that there is a direct link between a child’s level of school attendance and their level of school attainment.

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As a parent it is your legal responsibility to ensure your child receives a suitable full time education. It is your responsibility that your child attends school each day and is on time.

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It is important to set the expectation of good attendance right from the beginning of school so children grow up with ‘good habits’

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If your child is absent from school you must inform the school, by telephone, e-mail or by letter, giving a reason for the absence.  Absences once reported are either authorised or unauthorised by the school.

Authorised absences would include time off for religious observance, medical appointments and genuine illness. Please note that the school has the right to ask for proof of medical appointments and confirmation from a medical professional if a child’s level of absence is above that expected for a usually healthy child.

Permission is not given for holidays in term time. Absences from school other than for illness or other educationally approved reasons will be ‘unauthorised’ and will appear on a child’s record accordingly.

Children are required to attend school. The Government’s target for attendance for primary school pupils is at least 96%. How does your child’s attendance compare with this target? The table below indicates how just a few days absence can result in children missing a significant number of lessons. It has been proven that children who miss a lot of school achieve less.

When a child arrives late at school, they miss important events like assembly, teacher instructions and introductions. Children also feel embarrassed at having to enter the classroom late.

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The table below indicates how frequent lateness can add up to a considerable amount of learning being lost. This can seriously disadvantage children and disrupt the learning of others. Please help children in your care to be punctual.

In school we encourage everyone to do their very best and come to school on time every day and we will be introducing the following:
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• We promote the importance of attendance through learning and assemblies
• We share your child's attendance at parents' evenings and in their annual report
• We expect regular attendance if your child is representing the school in sport, music or other activities
• We work closely with families where attendance is a concern, and support children returning after prolonged absence

Where possible, please arrange appointments outside of school hours. If this is unavoidable, please bring evidence — an appointment card, a prescription issued on the day, or a text reminder from the surgery.

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We will never ask your GP for a letter or ask you to share confidential medical records.

If your child's attendance falls below 90% — what the Government defines as persistent absence — we will contact you to discuss this. We review attendance at the end of each half term.

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If attendance remains persistently low, we will refer the matter to the Lambeth Local Authority Education Inclusion Team, who can issue fines and take legal action where required.

If your child is absent you must tell the school as soon as possible. You can do this by:

• Calling us on 0207 274 8374 on the first day of absence, and then each day that your child is absent. It is important to do this every day so we know where your child is. We will make a note on our registers of when we spoke to you and what you said.
• Visiting the school office in person, where you can speak to a member of staff. Parents who have more than one child at the school often use this method.

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If your child is absent we will:

• Telephone or text you on the first day of absence. We may do this even if you have already called in and left a message. We will note down on our registers the time we made, or tried to make, contact with you, and the reason you gave for absence.

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If we are very concerned about your child's attendance because it is lower than 96%, we will:

• Invite you in to discuss the situation with the Headteacher and our attendance lead.
• Refer the matter to the Lambeth Education Inclusion Team if attendance moves below 90%.

If one child is ill but it means you cannot bring your other children to school, the absences for those children who are not unwell will be unauthorised. It will be recorded as code O. Code O will go towards a penalty notice or court proceedings.

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The same applies if you as a parent or carer are unwell and cannot bring your children to school — the absences for any children who are not themselves unwell will be unauthorised.

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Parents and carers sometimes think they can authorise their child's absence — but this is not the case. Only the school has the authority to do this.

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If your child is away from school a lot due to illness, the school may decide not to authorise the absence. If our attendance staff think this is likely, they will contact you in advance to let you know that future absences due to illness will require medical evidence.

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If the absence is authorised it will appear as code I (illness) on your child's attendance record.

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If the absence is not authorised it will appear as code O — meaning a reason was provided but the school has chosen not to authorise it.

The school will not authorise any absence for a family holiday during term time. This is the policy of the school, the Trust, the local authority, and the Government.

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Taking an unauthorised holiday may result in a fine of £80 per parent, per child from the local authority. With 175 days of holidays and weekends each year, there is plenty of time to travel without missing school.

The Headteacher is the only person who can authorise exceptional leave. This covers:

• Religious observance — for important festivals such as Eid or Orthodox Christmas. Please give as much notice as possible.
• External examinations or public performances — evidence of the exam date or performance licence required.
• Secondary school induction days and entrance exams — evidence of registration and invitation must be provided.
• Wedding or funeral of an immediate family member — an invitation or order of service must be provided.

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To request exceptional leave, please complete the Exceptional Term Time Leave Request Form, available from the school office.