Attendance Officer - Ms H Robinson
Attendance Champion - Mrs K Buckhurst
Our Commitment to Attendance and Wellbeing
At St Margaret’s, we are dedicated to providing every pupil with a high-quality, full-time education that supports their individual growth and helps them achieve their full potential. We strive to cultivate a welcoming and inclusive school environment where pupils, families, and staff feel valued, safe, and supported.
We recognise that regular and punctual attendance is essential for academic success and personal development. Our staff work in close partnership with families to encourage strong attendance habits and to address any challenges that may affect a child’s ability to attend school consistently.
Where attendance becomes a concern, we adopt a proactive and compassionate approach offering tailored support, guidance, and encouragement while working to resolve any underlying issues that may be impacting a pupil’s engagement with school.
Effective communication is central to our approach. We maintain open and constructive dialogue with parents, carers, and external agencies to ensure a shared understanding and coordinated support for every child’s educational journey.
Punctuality
Children may begin arriving at school from 8:45 a.m when the gates open, morning registration starts at 08:50 a.m . Any pupil arriving after 9:05 a.m. without prior agreement will be marked as late. The morning register closes at 9:05 a.m., and arrivals beyond this time unless previously authorised or due to exceptional circumstances, will be recorded as unauthorised absences.
Pupils arriving after 9:05 a.m. must enter through reception where an adult must sign them in and escort them to class. Similarly, if a pupil needs to leave school during the day, they must be signed out at the office to ensure accurate records are maintained. Registers are also taken when pupils return to class following the lunch break at 13:10pm.
If your child is absent from school, please follow these steps:
- Notify the School Daily Call before 9:15 a.m. on each day of absence with your child’s name and reason for absence. You may leave a voicemail or speak directly with office staff. We may follow up to confirm details for accurate register coding.
- Support a Prompt Return Encourage your child to return to school as soon as they’re well enough—even later in the day if appropriate.
- Provide Additional Information If requested, please supply any further details to support your child’s absence.
If your child is absent and we haven’t received a reason:
- We will call or text you daily until contact is made.
- If unreachable, we’ll contact emergency numbers, send letters, and may carry out a home visit for safeguarding purposes.
- If we continue to be concerned for any absences, we may contact the police to carry out a welfare check.
- If no contact is made by the tenth consecutive day (or sooner if necessary), we will refer the case to the Local Authority, and your child may be classified as Missing from Education (CME).
St Margaret’s Primary School expects all pupils to attend regularly. As such, any requests for term-time leave will be considered but only approved if the reasons and circumstances for that leave are exceptional and unavoidable. This decision rests with the headteacher.
If the absence is unauthorised, it could lead to further action being taken including a penalty notice being issued. To find out more, please follow The Department for Education for information here.
We have high expectations of all our pupils but also recognise that irregular school attendance is often an early indicator that a child needs additional support. While the most common cause of absence is illness, there can be underlying issues that are impacting a child’s ability or willingness to attend regularly.
Any barriers preventing regular attendance need to be identified as quickly as possible and resolved through collaboration between the school, the parents, and the child. We will work with our pupils and their family to understand the root problem and provide any necessary support.
For further information, please refer to our Attendance Policy.