Reporting absence
If your child is absent, please telephone the school as soon as possible on the first day of absence and let us know. The school telephone number is 020 8669 3978.
If you do not report an absence, you will firstly receive a text message, if we do not receive a response the school office will work through your child’s contact list in an attempt to get a response and to establish a reason for their absence.
Routine medical or dental appointments should be made outside school hours or in the holidays. If appointments during school are unavoidable, school should be notified in advance and the absence should only be for the duration of the appointment. Your child should attend for the rest of the day. An appointment card or letter to support your child’s absence will be required.
Holidays in term time are not permitted. Legislative guidelines issued by the Department for Education in November 2006 state that ‘Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances,”. All requests for leave due to exceptional circumstances (which must be supported by documentation) should be made to the Head of School, via letter or email. Leave should not be booked in advance of authorisation.
Any term time leave without approval is likely to be issued with a penalty notice. The fine is £60 if paid within 21 days of issue of the Penalty Notice, increasing to £120 if paid after this date, but within 28 days of issue. A penalty notice is issued to each parent in respect of each child not attending school.
Illness
Please ensure that we have up to date telephone contact numbers in case your child becomes ill in school and also in case of emergency.
If your child either vomits or has diarrhoea they must not return to school until 48 hours after the last incident. If your child has a contagious illness, please follow medical advice as given regarding time off school. The school follows the Health Protection Agency guidance when responding to a child who is ill or infectious.
Further information can be found on our policy page, here.
Tips to Support Good Attendance
We understand that life for some parents can be demanding and getting your child to school every day on time, can become an uphill struggle.
To help, here are some simple steps to make the morning routine less stressful:
- Find a time that works for you as a family to complete homework and reading.
- Try packing schoolbags the night before.
- Ensure you have a good bedtime routine, tiredness can make the mornings tricky.
- Getting children to school in time to meet friends in the playground prevents this.
- Set the alarm at the same time every morning.
- Make time for breakfast so there is no stopping at shops where children can get sidetracked on the way to school.
- Have a notice board or calendar at home for special trips or activities. This will help you and your children to be prepared.