Attendance at Betty Layward

Being here, every day, ready to learn

Being in school every day matters — not only for learning, but for friendships, confidence and the feeling of belonging that comes from being part of a class. Children who attend well settle more easily, keep up with their learning without having to catch up, and feel secure in the rhythm of the school day.

We know that getting everyone out of the door each morning is not always simple. Our job is to make school a place your child wants to come to and to work alongside you when things get difficult. This page explains what we aim for, what to do when your child is unwell, and how to reach us.

Our aim: 97%

We aim for every child to attend at least 97% of the time. It is a stretching target, and deliberately so — it sits above the national average for primary schools, and it reflects how much difference regular attendance makes to a child’s progress and happiness.

Percentages can be hard to picture, so here is the same thing in days. A school year is 190 days.

Small absences add up quietly. A child at 90% has missed nearly four weeks of learning without ever having a long spell off.

If your child is unwell

Please let us know by 8:45 am on each day of absence, using Studybugs or by telephoning the school office. If we have not heard from you, we will contact you the same morning to check that your child is safe.

If your child has a mild illness — a cold, a headache, a tummy ache that settles — they are usually better off in school. We will keep an eye on them and call you if they need to come home. Children should stay at home if they have a temperature, are being sick, or have had diarrhoea in the last 48 hours. 

If you are unsure whether to send your child in, please just ask us. We would far rather have that conversation than have you worrying at home.

Arriving on time

Arriving on time means your child starts the day calmly, with their friends, rather than walking into a lesson that has already begun.

If you arrive after the register has closed, please come to the school office so we can mark your child in and make sure they are counted for lunch. We record lateness, and we treat persistent lateness the same way as absence, but if mornings are a struggle in your household, tell us. We have helped other families work out a plan, and we can help with yours.

Requesting leave of absence

We cannot authorise holidays during term time except in genuinely exceptional circumstances. This is set out in law, and it applies to all schools.

If you need to request time away from school for any reason, please complete a Leave of Absence Request Form, available at the school office or downloaded from the website. 

There are two different forms:

• Pupil appointment request form- for absences due to appointments. Please attach evidence of the appointment when submitting the form.
• Pupil leave of absence form - for any other request for leave of absence.

Please complete and return the appropriate form to the school before the dates you are asking for. We cannot authorise leave after it has been taken.

• The form asks for the dates and the reason for the request.
• It needs to come from the parent the child normally lives with.
• Please give us as much notice as you can.
• We will consider the request and write to you with our decision.

Where leave is not authorised and a child is taken out of school anyway, the absence is recorded as unauthorised.

If attendance becomes difficult

Sometimes something bigger is going on — anxiety about coming in, a change at home, a health need, a caring responsibility, or something we may not know about yet. You will never be judged for telling us.

Come and talk to us early. We will listen, work out what is getting in the way, and put support in place with you. That might mean a meeting with your child’s teacher, a soft start to the day, a referral to another service, or help from Hackney’s attendance team. It will not mean you're left to manage it on your own.

Leave of absence forms can be found here:

Betty Layward Absence and Attendance policy can be found here:

Betty Layward Absence and Attendance Policy

Hackney Education attendance information can be found here: