Missing a few days of school here and there may not seem huge, but research shows that it has a significant impact on children’s learning. Children who miss a substantial amount of school can fall behind their peers, and struggle to catch up.
We encourage parents and carers to send their children to school whenever possible, however if they have sickness or diarrhoea, please keep them at home for 48 hours of being symptom free. If a child is off for a week, we would expect them to have seen a doctor and may ask for evidence of an appointment or medicine prescription. Medications can be administered in school to enable children to attend, please come to the school office to arrange this.
If your child is unwell, you must call the school office by 9.00am to notify us of their absence. You must call to report each day of their absence.
If we do not have regular contact from parents of an absent child, this will become a safeguarding issue. We will call all contacts on our lists and we may carry out a home visit for a welfare check.
You are encouraged to make children’s medical appointments outside of school hours, if possible. If this is not possible, we ask that parents provide the school with evidence of appointments (at least 48 hours notice where possible) in order that we can discuss with you.
According to the law, parents do not have an automatic right to take their child out of school during term time as it is considered that any absence from school will disrupt your child’s learning. Any leave that is taken without the Headteacher’s permission may result in the Local Education Authority issuing a penalty notice of up to £120 per parent, per child. If you wish to apply for a leave of absence for your child, please complete a Leave of Absence Request Form and return to the school office at least 7 days before the first day of absence.
At Orsett we want to celebrate the attendance of every individual while celebrating collective achievements too. We understand there may be valid reasons why a child cannot attend school and always bear this in mind when monitoring attendance.
We celebrate attendance in the following ways:
