Attendance

If your child isn’t well enough to come to school then please keep them at home: We will never expect you to send your child to school if they are not well enough to be here. It is important that you let the school know as early as possible if your child is not going to be in school. You can do this through the ParentMail App or by telephoning school on 020 8857 3909 and leaving a message or speaking to a member of staff. It is important that you do this each day your child isn’t well.  

If we do not hear from you, school will contact you as part of our safeguarding procedures. If we are not able to make contact with you, we may organise a home visit to your house. If no reason for absence is provided, the absence will be noted as unauthorised. 

When your child returns to school, please provide a note to explain their absence and provide any medical evidence you may have. 

At Montbelle we know that every second counts in learning and that children who attend school regularly and punctually achieve better than those who don’t. We make no apologies for having a clear expectation that children attend school if they are well enough to be in school and we expect children to be in school on time and ready to learn – we want every child to reach their full potential and we know that good attendance and punctuality is a big part of that!

We view good attendance as 96% and above – whilst it would be lovely for children to achieve 100%, we recognise that being unwell from time to time is part of growing up and we certainly do not expect children to be in school if they are not well enough to attend. 

We also know that days off school soon add up and that missing lessons means that children have lots of catching up to do. It can also mean that they find it more difficult to manage their friendships in school. One day off school is 5 hours and 25 minutes of learning time lost so regular attendance will give your child the best possible start in life.

We want to work with you to support your child’s attendance and punctuality so if there are issues that you think might get in the way of achieving good attendance and punctuality, please let us know. There are lots of ways that we can work with you and support you if we know there is a problem! Please be reassured that we will always follow Government and Public Health England advice in the event of any significant or reportable illness, such as Covid.

Our school doors open at 8.45am so we can all be in class and ready to begin learning with our class at 9.00am promptly. Your child’s class teacher will plan activities for the children between 8.45am – 9.00am so they are learning from the moment they set foot in school.  

If your child arrives after 9.00am, they will receive a late mark. If they are very late, this can result in an ‘unauthorised’ absence mark for the whole morning. Missing the first part of the day will also put your child at a disadvantage as they may miss important parts of learning as it starts. We do monitor punctuality as well as attendance and you will be asked to attend a meeting if punctuality is having an impact on your child's learning.

We do recognise that some children need time off for pre-existing medical concerns or may have an unforeseen episode of poor health requiring a longer absence. Individual cases requiring a bespoke approach to attendance monitoring will be discussed with our Attendance Officer, Mrs. Diane Le Voci who is employed by the Royal Borough of Greenwich. 

However, if your child’s attendance falls below a certain level you will receive a letter from school informing you about the Fast Track procedures. If your child is placed on Fast Track, you will be expected to provide medical evidence for any absence.  

If your child is absent regularly, without a proper reason, you could receive a fixed penalty notice or be prosecuted in court for your child’s non-attendance. 

We do not authorise any holiday during term time. Children attend school for 190 days of the year – this leaves plenty of time for holidays.  

If you have any concerns about your child’s attendance or punctuality, please speak to the school’s attendance officer, Mrs. Rouse in the school office or Mrs. Geden. You can also contact Mrs. Diane Le Voci on 020 8921 8507.