What do I do when my child is ill?

If your child is ill, you must call school as soon as possible to let us know. There is an answerphone for you to leave a message if the line is busy. Please remember to give your child’s name, class, any specific symptoms / reason for absence. Please DO NOT report absence on Class Dojo.

Please note that for cases of diarrohea and sickness, your child can only return to school 48 hours AFTER the last episode (This is a Public Health England requirement).

What if they need an appointment?

Whilst we appreciate that medical appointments are difficult to organise, especially when they are of an urgent nature, we would ask that any routine appointments or check-ups be scheduled for out of school time where possible. This helps us manage time effectively in school and direct our resources where they can have the maximum impact on learning, rather than ‘catching up’.

How do I request time away from school (leave of absence) for my child?

The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013, govern all requests for leave within term-time. When considering such requests for a leave of absence, the school are obliged to act within the law.

The amended regulations removed references to ‘holiday’ and ‘extended leave’, as well as the statutory threshold of 10 school days. It is now clear that Head Teachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances relating to the application. If the leave is granted, head teachers are able to determine the number of school days a child can be absent for. 

The Government has not defined ‘exceptional circumstances’ as referred to in the 2013 regulations. It is for the Head Teacher to decide what he/she views as ‘exceptional’ and it is at their discretion if the circumstances warrant the leave to be granted.

The school can only consider Leave of Absence requests which are made by the ‘resident’ parent.

Each application for a leave of absence will be considered on a case by case basis and on its own merits.

Where applications for leave of absence are made in advance and refused, the child will be required to be in school on the dates set out in the application. If the child is absent during that period, it will be recorded as an unauthorised absence, which may result in legal action being taken against the parent(s), by way of a Fixed Penalty Notice.

Failure to make an application for leave in advance can also result in a Fixed Penalty Notice being issued to the parent(s).

We greatly appreciate parental support to reduce the total amount of days lost due to holidays.   We are committed to working in partnership with you to enable your child to reach their academic targets and to support their social development. For this to happen we need to keep individual attendance as high as possible - we all need to play our part.

Your child’s progress, both academically and socially, is our shared priority.

Please note that completed Leave of Absence request forms must be accompanied by a supporting letter giving full details of the request.  Thank you.

We happens if we’re late to school?

We have become aware of an increasing number of pupils who are arriving late for school. When pupils arrive late, they miss out on essential instructions given at the beginning of the lesson. This can significantly reduce achievement, regardless of academic ability. Children also feel awkward arriving to the classroom when everyone else is settled. Furthermore, when one pupil arrives late, it disrupts the entire class and the teacher, therefore, everyone’s education is comprised. School begins at 8.55am. The doors to school open at 8.45am.

It is a parent’s legal responsibility to ensure their children arrive at school on time. Please give yourselves plenty of time to travel, particularly to park your car safely.

If your child arrives late at school, he/she will have to be signed in and a parental explanation recorded. Persistent, severe or unexplained lateness can be classed as unauthorised absence and may be referred to the Local Authority. We will continue to monitor lateness and take action as necessary.

Minutes late per day / Equivalent of missing

5 Minutes 3.4 school days a year

10 Minutes 6.9 school days a year

15 Minutes 10.3 school days a year

20 Minutes 13.8 school days a year

30 Minutes 20.7 school days a year