Ensuring regular attendance at school is a parent/carer’s legal responsibility (Section 7 Education Act 1996) and permitting absence from school that is not authorised by the school creates an offence in law.

What should I do if my child is unwell?

Not all illnesses need children to stay away from school!

If your child has started the day saying they don’t feel well, and have not been sick or shown a temperature, please bring them in! Sometimes the illness is related to a worry about something else, and we are better able to support your child if they come in and we can talk to them and reassure them.

We will always contact you if your child becomes unwell during the day!

If you are unsure whether or not to keep your child off from school, please telephone us for advice.

First day of illness

 Contact us by phone as soon as possible and tell us why. 01234 768271 

Second day onwards

• Continue to call each day to update us on your child’s recovery. (Very occasionally, we may be required to ask for medical evidence of a visit to the GP (e.g prescription/text message showing appointment). It all adds up …85% attendance = 30 missed days from school (or 6 weeks!)

What if my child has sickness and diarrhoea?

• Contact us by phone to tell us your child is unwell. Keep them at home for 48 clear hours.

What if my child has an illness and I am not sure if it is contagious?

• Please phone us for advice. Not all illnesses require the child to stay away, others state a short period of absence. 

If your child is absent and we haven’t heard from you we will telephone or email you because we have a duty to ensure your child’s safety as well as their regular school attendance. Please help us by making sure we have your most up-to-date contact numbers. Medical appointments. Please let us know if your child has a medical appointment and needs to be taken out of school. We may ask for a copy of the appointment letter.

Ensuring regular attendance at school is a parent/carer’s legal responsibility (Section 7 Education Act 1996) and permitting absence from school that is not authorised by the school creates an offence in law.

We request that parents:

• inform the school on the first day of absence;
• inform the school of any planned absences well in advance;
• support the school with their child in aiming for excellent attendance each year;
• make sure that any absence is clearly accounted for by telephone or e.mail on the first and subsequent days of absence, or by letter if a phone is unavailable;
• avoid taking their child out of school for non-urgent medical or dental appointments;
• only request leave of absence if it is for an exceptional circumstance.

It is important to be on time at the start of the morning and afternoon lessons. The start of school is used to give out instructions or organise work. If children are late they can miss time with their class teacher getting vital information, cause disruption to the lesson for others, and it can be embarrassing leading to possible further absence.

• The school day begins at 8.50 a.m. and all pupils are expected to be in school at this time. Morning registration is staggered between 8.35 a.m. and 8.50 a.m. A child will be registered late in the morning if they arrive after 8.50 a.m., the scheduled start of the day.
• Registration closes at 9 a.m. Arrival after the close of registration will be marked as a Late absence and coded  either L or U in line with the Department of Education guidance. These marks shows them to be on site, but is legally recorded as not arriving on time.
• If a child fails to arrive at school, and no prior knowledge is given to the school, then they will be recorded as Unauthorised and coded O in line with Department of Education guidance.
• All lateness is recorded daily. This information will be required by the courts, should a prosecution for non-attendance or lateness be necessary;
• If a pupil is late due to a medical appointment, they will receive an authorised absence, coded M. Please be advised that, where possible, all non-emergency appointments should be made outside of school hours or during school holidays.