Why is 100% attendance so important?

At St Margaret's C of E Primary School we know that 100% attendance is the key to a successful journey throughout school and into adult life.

It is every child’s right to access education in the UK and it is a parent’s legal duty to ensure that their child attends school on time, every day.

 
Our attendance officer:

Our attendance officer, Evie Freemantle, is responsible for overseeing and investigating attendance. We work in conjunction with Manchester City Council's attendance team.

If you have been unable to report your child's absence, Miss Freemantle will contact you on the first day. If contact is not made, this may lead to a home visit being made. This system is in line with our safeguarding procedures. 

If you have any concerns or queries about attendance, please contact Miss Freemantle or Miss Shaw via the school telephone number.

 

Arrival in the mornings

School starts at 8.45am for all children from Nursery up to year 6.

The school gates are closed at 9.00am and any children arriving to school after this time must report to the main office via the Withington Road gate. Please do not bring your children to the front office before 9.00am unless they are attending breakfast club.

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Registration/Late arrivals:

Attendance registers are taken at the start of the morning and afternoon sessions by the class teacher. If your child arrives after 9.00am they are classed as being late. If your child is late, they must report to the school office and sign in. If your child has been late on any day, this will be shown by an 'L' on their attendance record. If your child arrives in school after 9.30am, this is noted as an unauthorised absence and is marked as a 'U' in their attendance record for the morning session. This affects their overall attendance and means they have missed out on valuable learning time.

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What should I do if my child is ill?

If your child is unwell and not able to attend school, please let us know via the School Gateway app or ring the school office and select option 1. You should inform school of your child's absence before 9.00am. If your child is absent for more than three days due to a medical condition or illness, you will be asked to provide medical proof. This could be an appointment card, a prescription or the prescribed medicine. This can be sent to us via the school email (admin@st-maragarets.manchester.sch.uk) by simply taking a photo of the item and attaching it to the email.

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What should I do if my child has a medical appointment?

Whenever possible, please try to make any medical or dental appointments outside of the school day. At times, we understand that appointments may fall during the school day, on these occasions please inform the school office, in advance, of the time you will be collecting your child. It is vital that you let the office staff know first thing in the morning so that they can arrange for your child to be brought to you at the correct time. If staff are not made aware of this ahead of time, you may have to wait for a member of staff to become available to escort your child to the main office. Please bring your child into school before or after a medical appointment.

 

Holidays

Holidays should always be made outside of term time. Holidays taken during term time will not be authorised and will result in a Penalty Notice being issued, in line with Local Authority guidance.

 

Incentives

Pupils who achieve good attendance and punctuality are regularly rewarded and celebrated at St Margaret's. These rewards include certificates, stickers, postcards and prizes. 

We are running our Stars in the Jar competition in school for the best class attendance each week. 1st place will receive £5, 2nd place will get £2 and 3rd place will win £1. An added bonus of £5 will be given to the classes with 100%. At the end of the year, the winning class will receive this money and collectively decide what to do with it! 

We also have our Attendance Mascots, Archie and Halima.