Absence Procedures

Absence of your child must be reported to the school office. Please call and leave a message or speak to a member of staff.

Children suffering from sickness or diarrhoea must be excluded from the school for a minimum of 48 hours from the last episode of illness. This in line with the national ‘Health Protection for schools, nurseries and other childcare facilities’ from Public Health England.

Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-protection-in-schools-and-other-childcare-facilities

The link below is an exclusion table which explains if, and how long, a child would need to be away from school if they had a variety of common illnesses.

First-day Calling

It is really important that if your child isn’t in school for any reason that you contact us as soon as possible. If we have not been contacted as to why your child is absent by 9:15am, you will become part of our First-day Calling procedure.

What is First-day Calling?

If we have not received a message as to where your child is by the close of registers 9.15am, our office staff will ring down your child’s contact list to confirm the location of your child and reason for absence.

If no contact is made through the contact list, a risk assessment will be carried out and school may have to visit your home. You will be notified by email prior to the visit; should staff be unable to make contact at the property, a letter advising you of next steps will be delivered. Following the letter, if we have not had contact by the end of the school day, the Local Authority Children Missing in Education Team will be contacted.

Why is it necessary?

It is the schools legal responsibility to know where your child/children are between the hours of 8.55am and 3:15pm.

It is the legal responsibility of the parent/guardian to ensure your child/children attend school. If unable to attend for any reason, the school must be fully informed and absence is evidenced.

If you are having trouble with using the medical absence form provided, please email the office with the following information - 

Name of child - 

Class - 

Date of absence - 

Time out of school - 

Reason for absence - 

Proof (appointment card/letter/text) -  

Signature of parent/carer - 

Date - 

A parent’s guide to keeping kids healthy this school year

https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/08/a-parents-guide-to-keeping-kids-healthy-this-school-year/

Absences due to Covid

As you will know, there is no requirement to test and isolate any more.

It's important to minimise the spread of infection in schools and other education and childcare settings as much as possible. If your child is unwell and has a fever, they should stay home from school or nursery until they feel better and the fever has resolved.

Helping children to learn about the importance of good hand hygiene is also key, so practice regular handwashing at home with soap and warm water. Catching coughs and sneezes in tissues then binning them is another simple way to help stop illness from spreading.

Adults should also try to stay home when unwell and if you do have to go out, wear a face covering. When unwell don't visit healthcare settings or visit vulnerable people unless urgent.

Remember that flu vaccination is still available for all eligible groups and is the best protection against the virus. We have seen good uptake in older age groups but vaccination among young children remains low. Flu can be very unpleasant and in some cases can lead to more serious illness. Getting your child vaccinated protects them and others they come into contact with, and it's still not too late.

Gov press release: Back to school advice issued amid high levels of flu, COVID-19 and scarlet fever 02.01.2023.