Any absence, even lateness, can badly impact a child’s learning – even being late for 5 minutes a day equates to over 3 days lost learning.

Attendance is monitored daily, in line with safeguarding policies and procedures. It is our responsibility, to ensure every child is accounted for each day. In the morning from 8:30-9:30am the office staff are very busy answering phone calls and helping parents at the front desk, please do be patient.

If your child is unable to attend school, please:

• Call the school office by 8:30am on your child’s first day of absence.
• Give details of students name and reason for absence.
• Leave a voicemail message or notify us via WEDUC/Reach More Parents.
• Please do not email the class teacher as they may not see the message in time.

If we do not hear from you, we will contact you directly on the first day of illness. If we are unable to reach you, we will attempt to contact the other names listed on your child’s records. Only a parent with parental responsibility can confirm an absence. If all attempts to make contact are unsuccessful, a welfare check may be conducted at your home address. If no one is available and we cannot establish the child’s whereabouts, the police will be contacted. This procedure is part of our safeguarding duty and ensures the safety of every child.

Due to this, please can you ensure your contact details are up to date. It is your responsibility to let the office aware if you have changed your number or are living at a new address.

Below are tables outlining the impact on lost learning time due to absence, medical appointments and part-time timetables. As you can see, even the smallest absence, can make a massive impact – particularly over time! The table showing this impact on achievement is a stark reminder of how important every minute of school is.

We know you understand the importance of children attending school. We really appreciate your cooperation and understanding in following these procedures. Safeguarding and supporting the wellbeing of all children remain our highest priority.

For advice on whether your child needs to stay off school due to illness, please refer to the NHS website https://www.nhs.uk/

If your child has a contagious ailment we recommend that you seek medical advice from your family doctor to determine when your child is able to return to school. The school refers to the Guidance of Infection Control in School and Other Childcare Settings document, published by Public Health England for such matters.

Please note that in any case of sickness or diarrhoea, it is recommended that your child is kept away from school for 48 hours from the last episode to minimise the risk of passing on to other children.

• Sickness Guide | PDF

Illness or accidents can occur from time to time while your child is at school and sometimes they are serious enough to require the assistance of parents or medical experts. It is therefore essential that you keep the school informed of any changes to your contact details. If your child becomes unwell or is injured whilst at school, we will make every effort to contact you. This will not be the case for minor bumps or scrapes. There may be occasions when your child becomes too unwell to remain in school so we will contact you to collect them.

Following amendments to the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 which came into effect 1st September 2013, Head Teachers are only allowed to grant leave of absence from school in exceptional circumstances. The decision as to whether any request is considered as ‘exceptional circumstances’ rests solely with the Head Teacher.

The fundamental principles for defining ‘exceptional’ are rare, significant, unavoidable and short; ‘unavoidable’ should be taken to mean an event that could not reasonably be scheduled at another time.

In considering whether or not to authorise a request for exceptional leave of absence in term time the Head Teacher will look at each individual case and only grant authorisation if the circumstances are truly exceptional. Additionally, any request should be made prior to the leave of absence and should be submitted to the school using the Request for Leave of Absence form. Parents/Carers may be asked to provide additional information/evidence or meet with the school to discuss the circumstances.

Parents/Carers will be notified of the Head Teacher’s decision at the earliest opportunity. It is important to know that fines will be issued for absence requests for children with a low attendance rates or without exceptional circumstances.

• Request for Leave of Absence in Term Time | PDF