Contact details

At the start of each school session, parents will be asked to provide contact details including at least one emergency contact number, including where possible, a number that will accept a text message. Parents are required to inform the school if these contact details change during the course of the school year.

Absence

Parents and carers are asked to inform the school if a pupil is unable to attend from the start of the school day on the first day of absence. Failure to do so will result in school staff accessing all contact numbers provided for the child and may result in the school sending a text message. In terms of child safety, police will be contacted if all attempts to locate the child have been exhausted. Pupils will be marked as unauthorised absence if no contact is made.

Parents/carers are asked to inform the school by letter or telephone if their child is likely to be absent for some time, and to give the child a note on his or her return to school, confirming the reason for absence. This should be handed into the school office.

Every effort should be made to avoid taking family holidays during term time as this both disrupts the child’s education and reduces learning time.

Your child’s Pupil Support Teacher investigates unexplained absence and the authority has the power to write to, interview, or prosecute parents, or to refer pupils to the Reporter to the Children’s Hearings if necessary.

Registration takes place in the school every period. Each teacher takes the class register and sends the information electronically to the main office.

Pupils arriving late to school should report to the main office.

Authorised absence

If your child requires permission to be out of school, they must bring in an Appointment Card or Parental Note confirming the date and appointment time. They should come to the foyer area at morning interval when senior management will be available to authorise permission. If it is an early morning appointment they can get permission the day before. Please also indicate if they are being collected or making their own way to the appointment.

EMA

Students in receipt of an EMA must attain 100% attendance in any week to receive payment for that week. Where the student is absent through illness a medical certificate must be submitted. In addition, self-certification forms are accepted for a maximum of 5 days sickness absence in the academic session. Any illness which would take the pupil over the 5 days self-certification would continue to require submission of a medical certificate.