Illness and Absence
Procedure
If a child is ill, the parent must phone the school office on 01625 919610 before the end of registration (9:00am). If a child becomes ill at school, we will inform the parents as soon as possible. Children with certain contagious illnesses are not allowed to attend school, as advised by Public Health Guidelines. Please phone and check if necessary.
Appointments
Wherever possible, children should not be out of school for any reason other than illness. Routine dental and medical appointments should be made outside the school day.
Administration of medicines
If your child needs any medication whilst at school, please come to the main school office to complete and sign the medicine form. For further information, please read our Supporting Pupils with Medical Conditions policy on our Policies page
Asthma & Inhalers
If your child is asthmatic, please come to the main school office to complete and sign the asthma form so we can add your child to our register. Please ensure your child has an inhaler for use in school and that this is in date. For further information please read our Asthma policy in the Trust Policy section of our Policies page.
Unauthorised absences
In August 2024, the Department for Education released a new statutory guidance document for all schools and colleges Working Together to Improve School Attendance. This document, alongside guidance from our Local Authority attendance officer, informs our day-to-day practice to ensure all children come to school every day.
Unauthorised absences are defined as:
• Parents keeping children off school unnecessarily or without reason, including tiredness/late night and 'feeling unwell' without a specified reason given.
• Absences which have never been properly explained
• Arrival at school after the register has closed (children MUST be in school by 9:30am to avoid receiving a mark of UNAUTHORISED in the register)
• Absence due to shopping, looking after other children, or birthdays
• Absence due to day trips and holidays in term-time which have not been agreed. Holidays are not authorised and are not permitted during term time.
• Leaving school for no reason during the day
Persistent absence (PA) is defined as missing 10 percent or more of schooling across the year for any reason.
One full school day counts as 2 sessions (morning and afternoon). 10 sessions of unauthorised absence (see definitions above) may lead to you receiving a fine from the Local Authority.
We want to work with families to improve school attendance, and will always contact parents to offer ways to support them if their child's attendance drops below expected levels.
If you require a paper copy of any school policies or medical forms, please come to the school office and speak to a member of the admin team who will be happy to help.
