Attendance and Medical Appointments

Excellent attendance is fundamental to an excellent education. Our Attendance policy (see the link below) follows the policy outlined by the Education Secretary, stating that children are not to be absent from school for holidays or other non-essential reasons during term time.  Only in exceptional or mitigating circumstances will an absence be approved. 

Illness

If your child is unwell and unable to attend school or absent from school for any reason, (including medical appointments) please phone the school on 01293 525 966 before 8.45 AM. 

We have an answerphone where you can leave a message before the office opens.  You can use the absence line option 1 or from 8.30 AM speak to a member of the office. 

If we do not receive any information from a parent / carer in the morning, we will ring parents / carers asking them to phone the school. If we do not hear from you we will pursue all contacts regarding a child’s absence as part of our safeguarding procedures.  Please leave a message by 8.45 AM each day of their absence.

If your child has either vomiting or diarrhoea, they should stay at home for 48 hours from the last bout of illness.  This is a recommendation from Public Health England to protect other pupils and staff. If a child is sent into school within the 48 hour period, we will contact the parents/carers and ask for the child to be collected from school.

Any absence can result in a loss of continuity for your child’s education and upset their balance of learning. As a school, we are required to provide details of all unauthorised absences to the Local Authority.  

Medical and Dental appointments

We ask that you please make every effort to avoid booking medical and dental appointments during school time.  Where this is unavoidable, parents/carers should put this in writing to the school office and attach a copy of the appointment card or letter before the date of the appointment. Please also include the time you will need to collect your child.  On the day of the appointment, please send a note to your child's class teacher with the time you will be picking your child up so that the teacher knows what time to send them to the office.  If your child will be late into school because of a medical or dental appointment, please phone the school (01293 525 966) on the morning of the appointment and leave a message on the absence line before 8.45 AM.  If arriving late, please ensure that your child is accompanied and signed in by an adult at the school office for safeguarding reasons.

Other Absences

Requests for absence during term time will not be authorised unless there is deemed to be an exceptional circumstance. Local Authorities have the power to serve parents with a Fixed Penalty Notice if a child has significant or repeated days of unauthorised absence.  

Being Punctual

School starts at 8.45 AM each day. It is important for your child to be on time if they are to get the most out of their education. Being late is disruptive for your child but also for all the other children in the class.