Illness

My child is unwell today – what should I do?

Everyone is unwell at times and needs to stay at home to get better. However, parents and carers have a legal duty to ensure that their children attend school regularly and punctually in order to optimise their learning, achieve the best they can and get the most out of their school experience.  Failure to do so is an offence under section 444(1) of the Education Act 1996.

If your child is absent you must tell the school as soon as possible. You can do this by:

• Calling us on 01255 427073 on the first day of absence, and then each day that your child is absent. It is important to do this everyday so where know where your child is. We will make a note on our registers of when we spoke to you and what you said.
• Visiting the school office in person, where you can speak to a member of staff. Parents who have more than one child at the school use this method.

If your child is absent we will:

• Telephone you on the first day of absence. We may do this even if you have already called in and left a message. We will note down on our registers the time we made, or tried to make, contact with you, and the reason you gave for absence.
• If we do not hear from you on day two of absence and we are unable to get hold of any other named contacts, we will endevour to carry out a home visit. If you are not in then we will leave a note asking you to contact the school urgently.
• If we do not hear from you on day three and still can not get hold of any other contacts, then we will request a Police Welfare check.

If we are very concerned and worried about your child’s attendance because it is low, we will:

• Invite you in to discuss the situation with our Attendance Lead, Head of Inclusion or Headteacher;

Refer the matter to the Essex Education Attendance Officer (EWO) if attendance moves below 90%.