A child's time in school is very important as it impacts upon the following:

• their learning
• their friendships
• their self-esteem and confidence

it is, therefore, vital that every child attends school every day.

Our attendance target is 96% for the coming year. We really want to meet this.

If your child has only 90% attendance it means they miss:

• one half day each week
• nearly four weeks each school year
• over one school year in a school career

At Argyle we monitor the attendance of every child in the school. Working in partnership with the Pupil Attendance Service in Camden, we will work with and support those children and their families who are not attending school without sufficient reason.

If your child is not able to attend school, we ask you to phone the school as soon as possible on the first day of absence to let us know why they won't be in.

At the end of each term children with at least 96% attendance receive a certificate. At the end of the year all children with 100% attendance for the year receive a prize.

Punctuality

Timekeeping is also important in the education of your child. If your child is persistently late they are missing out on important learning opportunities at the start of the school day.

All children should be in their line at 8.45am, aim to be in the playground at 8.40am.

Extended Leave

From September 2013 the Headteacher no longer has the authority to authorise absences for the purpose of taking a family holiday except in exceptional circumstances. We therefore ask parents and carers NOT to book holidays during term time. If however you believe there are exceptional reasons why your child needs to be absent from school you need to make your request in writing to the Headteacher stating the dates and the exceptional reasons for the absence. You may be asked to provide evidence of the emergency.