Attendance and Punctuality |
Regular and punctual attendance is a legal requirement and is essential if your child is to gain the most from our teaching. Whenever your child is absent we would appreciate a telephone call informing us of the fact. Our Learning Mentor, Mrs Heap, whose role includes supporting children that are regularly absent or late, will contact you on the first day of any absence if we have had no information from you.
Absence due to Family Holiday during Term Time
Parents must apply to the school for a Holiday form prior to booking a holiday. The request will be processed promptly and a decision made to either Authorise or Decline the application. This is decided on a points system based on the child’s attendance, how near the holiday is to school exams, and any previous holiday already taken. This system has been introduced by the Local Authority and all schools in the City have adopted it. Both the authority and the school believe that regular attendance is vital to a child’s education, and the Local Authority are now pursuing unauthorised holidays through the courts. (See Documentation – term dates.)
Absence due to Illness
In the case of contagious diseases, (Measles, Chicken Pox, Impetigo etc.), the child should not attend school until certified free from infection. Please note that all children attending school will be expected to participate in the normal school day, including P.E., games and outdoor playtimes. Obviously there will be occasional exceptions such as recovery from a fracture where very active behaviour would be unwise. If your child needs to be excused from PE, a note must be sent to the class teacher with an explanation and it should be made clear for how long your child needs to be excused from P.E.Medication
If your child is on prescribed medication which needs to be taken during the school day, please note that we cannot administer any medication in school unless you have filled in a comprehensive Healthcare Plan. As this is a large document, it is only really suitable when children need long-term medication for an ongoing condition. In most cases, your doctor should be able to prescribe medicine which needs to be taken three times a day – this will prevent medicine needing to be taken at lunchtime. In the exceptional case whereby a child needs medicine at lunchtime the parent should make arrangements to come into school to administer this.
Headlice
From time to time the problem of headlice occurs. If a member of staff suspects that a child has headlice you will be contacted immediately to remove the child from school so that the child can be treated. Please note it is important that all members of the family are treated. The school nurse no longer comes into school to check children’s hair and as the staff are not allowed to check, the responsibility now lies with parents and carers. We ask that you check your child's hair regularly and seek advice from the pharmacist regarding the most effective treatment. Your co-operation in this matter is appreciated.
Doctor/Dentist Appointments
If you need to take your child to the doctor's or dentist's etc. during the school day, please come up to school to collect your child from the office, it is important that you sign the child out so that we are able to account for the whereabouts of ALL children throughout the day.
Children will not be allowed to set off on their own.