Page 10 - Whitestone Primary School Prospectus

School Policy
Attendance and Absences
Good attendance is important and we request that parents / carers make every opportunity to ensure their children attend school whenever possible. This includes avoiding absences through taking holidays during term time and ensuring children are always in school when well enough to attend. Every absence means that children miss learning opportunities and this can result in gaps in their understanding which can make subsequent learning difficult.
Under the 1991 Pupil Attendance Regulations, every school absence must be accounted for by a satisfactory explanation. Please contact the school on the first day of your child’s absence. This can be done by means of a note from the parent or a telephone message or personal contact. If your child is absent for longer than 3 days you will need to contact the school again. Failure to provide a satisfactory explanation for absence will lead to that absence being classed as “unauthorised”. Regular absences which adversely affect attendance and learning will subsequently lead to the involvement of the Education Welfare Officer. We request that every effort is made to avoid making medical and other appointments during the school day. However where this is not possible, a written request in advance would be appreciated. Children will not be allowed to leave school unaccompanied during the school day.
If your child must take prescribed medicines in school, we require you to complete a ‘Request for School to Administer Medicine’ form available from the School Secretary or downloadable from our website. We will not be able to administer any medicines without this. Medicines that we administer must be those that can be taken by the child themselves (e.g. tablets or medicine). If circumstances relating to your child’s health alter at any time, please let us know in writing, in order for us to amend our records.
Late arrivals
We require all pupils to arrive in school on time. Children who arrive late to school must report to the office to sign in. As it is the law for children to attend school on time, we are obliged to keep a record of latecomers; repeated lateness will be monitored by both the Headteacher and Education Welfare Officer and parents will be contacted and invited to meet with school staff. If lateness is considered to be an ongoing problem, a visit to the home from the Education Welfare Officer will be arranged.
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