Attendance at School in D&G
Dumfries and Galloway Council is committed to ensuring the best possible future for all our children and young people. We recognise the importance of attendance in ensuring all our children and young people reach their full potential.
This website has been created to provide guidance and support around attendance and late coming for parents/carers within Dumfries & Galloway.
Is my child too ill for school? – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
School Attendance Factsheet for Parents
If your child is struggling with school attendance you should always speak to their school in the first instance.
Attendance Procedures in Dumfries & Galloway
It is the responsibility of parents/carers to ensure that their child/children attend school. For the safety of all children it is important for you to telephone the school office at the start of the school day advising that your child will be absent. Absences are recorded in class registers and frequent or irregular absences not supported by a valid reason, will be notified to parents/carers and the matter may be referred to the Attendance Support Team. If possible, please try to make dental/medical appointments out with school hours. However, if this is not possible, please inform the school in writing with a letter or an email and arrange to collect your child from school.
Dumfries & Galloway Term dates
Healthy Guidance for Going to School
Keep Your Child Healthy and In School
Unexplained Absences / Lateness.
Parents/Carers are asked to ensure that:
- The school is informed if the child or young person will be late.
- Any genuine absence is notified to the school by telephone before 9am on the first day of the absence without fail, and that further calls, before 9am, are made on every subsequent day of the absence. The school may contact you by phone if there are any concerns about a child’s absence.
- Contact telephone numbers, whether for home, for parents/carers at work or for other emergency contacts, are kept up to date and are generally numbers where a response will be received. This is particularly important with mobile phone numbers. Please update your child’s school if you change your mobile number. This is essential as the school may need to contact you if your child is ill.
- The school is kept informed of the absence and the likely return date.
- Any planned absences are officially notified to the school, in writing, in advance.
- School would be informed before 1.15pm if a child was not returning to school after lunch
because of becoming unwell over that period. - Latecomers report to the school office on arrival at school
Staff will ensure that absences are checked everyday and follow up the whereabouts of any child for whom we have no explanation. Due to the amount of extra work involved and necessity of having the correct information we would ask you to make note of the above requirements and ensure that you follow through the procedures to ensure the safety
of all our children.
Absence from School
In primary schools, Pupils who need to leave school during the school day must be collected by a named contact confirmed with the school office. They must also report to the school office on their return to school.
In Secondary Schools, Pupils who need to leave school during the school day are required to sign out at the school office and provide their reason for leaving. They must also report to the school office on their return to school. The school requires a written notification of any absences. The school requires a notification of any planned absences, and this can be provided several ways: to the school office, the child’s register teacher or their pupil support teacher by a letter, phone call or email.
Supporting Your Child to Attend or Get Back to School
