Attendance Matters
Moments Matter, Attendance Counts
The government has launched a new national campaign to remind parents and carers of the importance of school attendance. You will be seeing it on tv, social media and hearing about it on the radio.
We regularly remind you of the importance of good punctuality and attendance and the negative 
impact poor attendance has on your child’s educational attainment and social and emotional development.
The NHS and the Chief Medical Officer say it is usually appropriate for parents and carers to send their children to school with mild respiratory illnesses, including general cold symptoms like a minor cough, runny nose or sore throat. Please refer to the following link for further information https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/
The times of the school day are as follows:
- Morning Nursery starts 8.30am and finishes 11.30am (15 hours per week)
- Afternoon Nursery starts 12.30pm and finishes 3.30pm (15 hours per week)
- Reception, Key Stage 1 (Years 1 & 2) and Key Stage 2 (Years 3, 4, 5 & 6) start at 8.45am and finish at 3.15pm (32.5 hours per week)
If your child is not in class when the register is taken they will be marked ABSENT. Registers are taken at the following times: Reception 8.55 am, Key Stage 1 and 2 8.50 am. Afternoon registers are taken at 1.05 pm.
It is important that your child attends school every day and arrives on time. If your child is ill, please inform the school by telephone on 020 8648 3561 or email school@malmesbury.merton.sch.uk on the first day of absence.
What is GOOD attendance?
96% attendance is recognised as good by the Government.
| 99 to 100% (Outstanding) | |
| 96% (Good) | 7 days or 35 hours of learning missed |
| 95% (Unsatisfactory) | 10 days or 50 hours of learning missed |
| 90% or below (Poor) | 19 days or 95 hours of learning missed |
Being late by a few minutes each day soon adds up. A child who is 15 minutes late every day also misses 10 days learning in a year!
What is the impact of absence on children?
- It makes it harder for them to reach their potential as a learner.
- They will feel frustrated because they don't understand the lesson when they have missed the previous one.
- Their friendships will become harder to maintain.
- They will miss out on lots of fun activities.
- The class with the best attendance each term wins a treat; if your child is absent when they could really be in school, they are letting their classmates down.
What can parents do to improve their child's attendance?
Show your child how much you value their education. Build a daily routine based on going to school every day and arriving well in time. This involves:
- ensuring children go to bed early at the same time every night without an electronic device.
- getting everything ready for school the night before.
- making sure your child gets up early every morning and has a healthy breakfast.
- asking your child about their school day.
Celebrate their achievements. Show them every day how important their performance at school is to you. In addition, book medical, dental appointments and holidays outside of school time. If your child has a local medical appointment, bring them into school first and return them to school after so they get their attendance marks.
What can parents do if their child says they don't want to come to school?
- Bring them in for the morning session and let the office know they are not feeling well. We can keep an eye on them and phone you if there is a problem.
- Make an appointment with the class teacher. Perhaps there is something worrying your child which makes them say they are unwell when they are actually fine.
- We can meet with you and your child to give them the same message: Every School Day Counts!
If a pupil is moving to a new school it is the responsibility of the parent/carer to speak to the school office and ensure the correct paperwork is completed. Failure to do so risks the child being classified as missing in education and reported to the local authority.
Healthier Together: for parents and schools to support children and young people’s health and their regular attendance at school.