Attendance

When your child is unable to attend school you must email info@stmargaretslee.lewisham.sch.uk or phone the school on 020 8852 3151 before 9am on each day of absence. We will always ask you for the reason why your child is unable to be at school so please include this in your email or phone message. If your child is unable to attend school for medical reasons it is important that we know the illness. In certain circumstances (e.g. impetigo or chicken pox) we will inform other parents, carers and staff. Where absence is persistent (your child has 90% attendance or less), supporting documentation may be requested. If your child is not in school, and we have not been notified, then the school will call parents to find out where your child is.

See the diagram at the bottom of the page for guidance on how long your child should be off school and which illnesses you need to inform the school about. 

If your child has suffered from vomiting or diarrhoea, the advice from the HSC Public Health Agency is that children should remain at home for 48 hours following their last bout of illness. This is to prevent infection spreading, such as Norovirus.

This should not be confused with regurgitating food, e.g. following eating quickly and then running around.  

It should also not be confused with psychosomatic vomiting when a child feigns sickness or induces sickness due to an underlying anxiety relating to attending school.

It is vital that classes make a prompt and effective start to the day. Teachers provide early learning tasks to settle the class before they begin to take the register. If children arrive late, this can disrupt the start of the lesson.

Our school day runs from 8.55am to 3.30pm. If your child arrives after 9am they will be marked as late. When you arrive late you should report to the school office. Each child should be signed in using our Inventry sign-in system. This ensures that an accurate record of late arrivals is made, for monitoring purposes.

We fully understand that on occasion you may be late due to unavoidable circumstances. For example, there may be a serious traffic delay or a one-off unforeseen event. Whenever possible, it is always better to inform the school by telephone when a child will be late. If your child arrives in school after 9.30am they will be given a U code which means your child has arrived after the school register has closed. This counts statistically as a half day unauthorised absence. Notifying a school of the reason for your child's absences does not ensure authorisation of the absence.

A pattern of late arrivals will be monitored by the Senior Leadership Team and may lead to the school referring the family for further support.

If your child has an appointment i.e. with a doctor, dentist or ophthalmologist, please email the school on info@stmargaretslee.lewisham.sch.uk prior to the appointment date. Please also inform the class teacher. Appointments should be arranged outside of school time whenever possible or, when there is no alternative, at the beginning or end of the school day to minimise the impact on your child’s learning.

Parents, you do not have the right to take your child out of school during term time. By law you must ask permission for your child to miss school. If you fail to gain the school’s permission you risk receiving a £120 penalty notice. 

If you would like to apply for permission for your child to be absent from school you must complete the form below and return it to the school for authorisation at least 10 school days in advance of the proposed leave.

Please note that we are unable to authorise any absence during term times for holidays, even in cases where children have families overseas.

If you are finding it difficult for your child to attend school regularly, please speak to Mrs Prentis or email on info@stmargaretslee.lewisham.sch.uk.  We have many ways to support good attendance, and we are always willing to have a conversation about any difficulties you may be facing in getting your child to school every day.