Absence
We have a statutory duty to keep a record of all unauthorised absences and to note these on each child's annual report. This is part of the national move to monitor and discourage truancy. The Department for Education now requires all schools to publish unauthorised absence.
Lateness also comes under this category. Registers will be closed at 9.00am each morning and children arriving after that time will be marked late. It is important that parents notify us of the reason for their child's absence as soon as possible, and by 9.00am at the latest, for each day that a child is absent from school. This can be done by using the link below, or by telephone to the school office.
Click here to report your child is ill and is not able to attend school.
Click here to complete a form relating to medical or dental treatment appointments - if possible, these should be made out of school hours. Please be aware you may be asked for confirmation of your appointment in the form of a hospital letter or similar.
Click here if you are requesting an absence for your child for 1 day, or part of 1 day, during the school term. Use this form if your child has a music exam or secondary school tour, for example.
Click here if you are requesting an absence for your child for 2 days or more during the school term.
Important Note:
As school holiday dates are published well in advance, it is severely detrimental to your child's education to take holidays during term time. Permission for absence during term time will not be granted except in “exceptional circumstances”.
If children are taken out of school without authority for 5 or more days (which do not need to be consecutive), parents will be liable to receive a penalty notice. Currently, the amount payable under a penalty notice is £60.00 per parent/carer per child if paid within 21 days. Thereafter, the amount increases to £120.00, if paid between 21 and 28 days. If the penalty notice remains unpaid after 28 days, the Local Authority will consider a prosecution in the Magistrates' Court. Please note that penalty notices are issued per parent/carer per child, so a family of two parents and two children will receive 4 penalty notices.
Illness
If your child has vomiting or diarrhoea they should not attend school until 48 hours from the last episode of vomiting/diarrhoea.
The school follows the Health Protection Agency guidance on preventing infection. The following document gives more information about whether you need to keep your child away from school if they have an illness or infection:
Infection Control in SchoolsNHS Guide - Is My Child too Ill for School
Children who are taken ill during the day are watched by the office staff and if very unwell, the parents or carer will be asked to take them home. We operate on the principle that children who attend school are well enough to participate in all school activities including swimming, PE and playtime sessions.
Medicine Management
• Name of medicine
• Dosage and timing
If a child refuses to take medicine, school staff must not coerce the child. The parent will be informed of the refusal.
More information about medicine management can be found in these documents:
Click here for medicine management information
Click here for guidance on infection control
Click here for non-prescribed medicine form
Click here for prescribed medicine form