Absence from school

What do I do if my child is unable to attend school?

We ask that if your child is unable to attend school that a parent telephones school no later than 9:15am (The telephone lines opens at 8:15am) every day to explain the reason. (01952 387980)

The office staff will ask who is calling and what is the reason your child is off school. If your child is poorly the staff will ask what the symptoms are. This is done for many reasons such as monitoring in case we have several cases of sickness that we must notify the health and safety hub, for example.

Please do not email an absence to school as this is not accepted.

All the information you give us is recorded in the school register which is a legal document.

What to do if you are not sure your child is really poorly?

It happens, children are children!

If this is the case send your child to school but call the office staff so that they can keep a watchful eye on your child. If children are poorly, we will send them home.

What happens if a parent forgets to call school regarding an absence?

At 9:30am one of the office staff will try all the contacts you have provided for us to try and find out where the children are. This will be done by a telephone call or text messages.

If by 10:45am we still have not heard from the parents a final text will be sent out explaining that members of staff will come out to do a ‘safe and well’ check at the family home.

Following this if we still do not know why your child is absent from school, we may call the police.

Why do we do this?

We do this to make sure that you and your child are safe- no other reason. There have sadly been several safeguarding cases over the years with dreadful outcomes. In school our approach is ‘it could happen here’ and we will do everything we can to support families.