Section 30 of the 1980 Education Act places a duty on every parent / carer of a child of ‘school age’ to ensure that their child attends school regularly.  Attendance must be recorded twice a day, morning and afternoon. Regulation 7 of The Education (School and Placing Information) (Scotland) Amendment, etc. Regulations 1993 requires each child’s absence from school to be recorded in the school register as authorised or unauthorised, as defined by the Scottish Government.

At the start of each school session, parents / carers will be asked to provide contact details including at least one emergency contact number.  Parents / carers are required to inform the school if these contact details change during the course of the year.

Absence Procedures

If your child is absent from school:

• Please telephone the school from 8.30am to inform office staff that your child will be absent on that day. The absence will immediately be logged on our computer system.
• On return to school please send a note explaining your child’s absence. This will be recorded and retained as part of our monitoring procedures.
• If your child is in school A.M. and is absent P.M. please telephone the school and inform office staff that your child will be absent that afternoon.
• The absence will immediately be logged on our computer system.

Please note

If your child is absent from school and you have not telephoned the school office, staff will access the main contact number provided for your child. A text message will be sent to this mobile. Please telephone the school office when you receive this message, to inform us of your child’s absence and to reassure staff that your child is safe. If we receive no response to this text message then all other emergency numbers will be attempted. To ensure child safety, police will be contacted if all attempts to locate the child have been exhausted.

Monitoring Attendance

• Your child’s attendance will be monitored in school on a monthly basis.
• At certain times during the school session, you will receive a print-out showing actual and possible attendance.
• If there is cause for concern, you will receive a letter from school alerting you to the issue, which hopefully can be resolved.
• Unexplained absences, which impact on the child’s learning, can result in the pupil being referred to the Reporter of the Children’s Hearing.

If your child is likely to be absent from school for some time please inform the school by letter or telephone.  When your child returns to school, following an absence, a note should be sent to the teacher, confirming the reason for absence.

Please note – If you request permission for your child to attend an appointment during school hours, you must collect your child from the main office.  You will be asked to record the date, time and reason for removing your child from school.  When your child returns to school the return time will be recorded in our register. This information is kept for our records.

Please note, no child is permitted to leave the school building, unattended, during school hours.