If your child is absent, please telephone the school on the first day of absence and send a note with them on their return to school.

Regular and punctual attendance is necessary if your child is to settle well at school and learn satisfactorily. Please make every effort to ensure that they attend. It is now a government requirement that schools publish a record of attendance. Parents who do not inform us of reasons for their child's absence, or whose children are continually late, will receive letters from us requesting information.

If you have to take your child away on holiday, you should realise that it is likely to have an effect on the child’s progress. New legislative guidelines have been issued by the DfE stating that 'Head teachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances".  All applications for leave due to exceptional circumstances (which should be supported by documentation) should be made on the relevant application form and received in school, preferably 21 days before the leave is due to start. Leave should not be booked in advance of authorisation.

Should leave be taken without approval consideration will be given to the issue of a fixed penalty notice.  A fixed penalty notice can be issued to each parent for each child taken on holiday.  The fine for each penalty notice is £60 if paid within 28 days.  If not paid in that time, it increases to £120, and if it remains unpaid after a further 7 days then court proceedings are commenced in respect of each child.

If children are persistently late or continually absent without good reason, our Education Welfare Officer will be informed and will make home visits to clarify the situation.

Illness

If your child is unwell however, please do not expect them to cope with the school day. They should remain at home until they are fit.  If the doctor prescribes antibiotics for your child, please keep them at home for the first two days of the course of treatment, as some children suffer side effects to such medication.

We do not have the facilities to care for sick children.  In cases where we suspect illness, we contact you by telephone and children will be cared for until you arrive. Please ensure that we have up-to-date telephone contact numbers in case your child becomes ill in school and also in case of emergency, as hospitals are unwilling to administer treatment if a parent is not present. Minor accidents, i.e. cuts and grazes, are dealt with in school.

If your child returns to school after a bout of illness and has medication prescribed by the doctor which requires administration during the school day, please speak to Miss Sabrina or Miss Job in the office.  This is at the school’s discretion. Teachers and other staff have no obligation to give medicines to children at school. They will do so to cooperate with parents in the best interests of the child, but only on the basis that neither they, the school, nor the Local Authority will be held responsible for any problems which may result from their so doing. You will be asked to complete and sign the form to this effect. The medicine will be kept in the office for safe keeping.  Children are not permitted to carry medicines on their person.

Please see here for the official guidance, given to schools, regarding absence for infection control: Guidance on infection control in schools.