Attendance and Punctuality

Attendance and punctuality

Regular attendance and arriving on time help pupils make the most of learning, friendships and everyday school life.

At Trinity, we want every pupil to attend regularly, arrive on time and be ready to learn.

Good attendance helps pupils keep up with their learning, build positive relationships and take part fully in the opportunities available to them. Families play an important part in helping children and young people develop these habits.

Is your child absent today?
Please contact the school by 8.00am on each day of absence, unless agreed otherwise.

Primary: 020 8325 4551
Secondary: 020 8852 3191
Email: admin@trinity.lewisham.sch.uk

Reporting an absence

If your child will not be attending school, please contact us by 8.00am that morning.

When reporting an absence, please tell us:

your child’s full name
their year group or class
the reason for their absence
their expected return date, if known
your name and relationship to the child

If your child remains absent, please contact the school again by 8.00am on each day of absence unless agreed otherwise.

If the school has not received a reason for absence, we may contact you to establish why your child is not in school.

Our attendance expectation

We expect all pupils to be in school for over 97 per cent of the time.

Every school day matters. Regular absence can make it harder for pupils to keep up with learning and can affect routines, relationships and their wider experience of school.

What attendance percentages mean

Attendance percentages can sometimes make the amount of school missed difficult to picture. The examples below show approximately what different levels of attendance can mean across a school year.

Above 97 per cent attendance

This means fewer than six days of absence across a school year.

This is excellent attendance and helps pupils make the most of learning, friendships and wider school life.

95 per cent attendance

This means around ten days of absence across a school year.

Regular absence can begin to affect learning, routines and confidence.

90 per cent attendance

This means around nineteen days of absence across a school year.

At this level, a pupil is missing almost a month of school. This can make it increasingly difficult to keep up with learning and school life.

85 per cent attendance

This means around twenty nine days of absence across a school year.

This represents a significant amount of missed education and may have a substantial effect on a pupil’s learning and progress.

If your child is unwell

We understand that children and young people will sometimes be too unwell to attend school.

If your child is absent because of illness, please contact the school by 8.00am on each day of absence unless agreed otherwise.

Where there is continued absence because of illness, the school may ask for medical evidence.

Medical evidence

Where medical evidence is requested, this may include:

an appointment card
a prescription
a hospital letter
other appropriate confirmation

This can help us understand the reason for absence and consider any support that may be needed.

Arriving on time

Being on time matters as well as being in school.

Arriving late can make the start of the day more difficult for a pupil and may mean they miss registration, worship, personal development or important learning.

Families can support good punctuality by helping pupils prepare their uniform, equipment, bags and travel arrangements in advance.

Medical and dental appointments

Where possible, medical and dental appointments should be arranged outside the school day.

If an appointment needs to take place during school time, please inform the school in advance and provide appointment information where requested.

Pupils should attend school before and after appointments wherever possible.

Holidays and absence during term time

Families should not book holidays during term time.

Absence during term time may only be authorised in exceptional circumstances.

If you need to request an absence during term time, please contact the school before making arrangements so that you can be advised about the appropriate process.

Monitoring attendance

We monitor attendance regularly so that concerns can be identified and addressed.

Where a pupil’s attendance becomes a concern, we may contact their family to discuss the reasons for absence and what may help improve attendance.

Where appropriate, the school may work with families and other services to address barriers to regular attendance.

If attendance becomes difficult

There can be different reasons why a child or young person begins to find regular attendance difficult.

If there is something affecting your child’s attendance, please speak to us as early as possible. Understanding what is happening gives us the opportunity to consider what support may be appropriate.

Supporting good attendance at home

Families can help by:

making regular school attendance a priority
maintaining consistent morning and evening routines
helping pupils prepare uniform and equipment in advance
making sure pupils arrive at school on time
arranging appointments outside the school day where possible
avoiding holidays during term time
contacting the school promptly when a pupil is absent
speaking to us early if something is making attendance difficult