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Attendance & Illness

Absences

It is important to encourage the habits of punctuality and good attendance. Please phone the school between 8:30 and 8:45am to report an absence, this should then be followed up with an email to admin@wheatcroft.herts.sch.uk to confirm the reason for your child’s absence. In cases of major illness or emergency, the school should be notified on the first day if the absence is likely to be prolonged.

Should you need to collect your child during the day for a hospital or dental appointment etc. an email in advance is required. All children arriving during the day must be taken to the school office and collected from there, not the classroom.

At the end of the year absences, lateness and holiday absences are recorded on your child’s written report.

Lateness

Obviously this is very undesirable but does sometimes happen. Always take your child to the school office where they can be signed in and marked in the register. If your child needs to go to the doctor or dentist during the day then again call at the office to collect your child. We hope you are normally able to take your child for appointments etc. after school or in the holidays.

Leave of Absence

Under current legislation imposed by the Department for Education, Head teachers are not permitted to grant leave of absence for any family holiday save in exceptional circumstances.  Any leave taken without approval will be marked as “unauthorised” on the child’s legal record of attendance.  If you need to take your child out of school for any reason there is a “Notification of Intended Absence from School” form available for your completion.  Unless the absence is of an urgent nature, this must be submitted at least 21 school days prior to the event for consideration.  Staff will not normally set work for this absence but will be happy to review a diary of the child’s holiday.

The Governing body have adopted the revised (2016) Hertfordshire guidance on attendance.  Pupils with more than 15 sessions of unauthorised absence may be liable for HCC to issue a penalty notice.  This can lead to a fine for each unauthorised session of absence for each parent or carer.

Infectious and contagious diseases

Below are listed some of the more common diseases and problems, with the recommended time children should be kept at home:

  • Chicken pox – when all spots have crusted over
  • Conjunctivitis – no need to stay off school but the school should be informed
  • Flu – until recovered
  • German measles – 4 days from appearance of rash. Please notify school so that pregnant women can be informed.
  • Headlice – Head infestations are quite common among children and can cause a great deal of discomfort and embarrassment. The well cared for, clean child is not immune. There are no School checks and parents are responsible for carrying out regular checks. We will however ask you to collect and check your child if we believe they have a presence. Hair treatment can be bought from any chemist and the child can return to school as soon as he or she has been treated. Please inform school so that other parents can be alerted. The school health nurse will give advice.
  • Impetigo – When lesions are crusted & healed or 48 hours after commencing antibiotics.
  • Measles – 4 days minimum from appearance of rash
  • Mumps – 5 days minimum until last of swelling subsides
  • Respiratory infections – Children with mild symptoms, such as a runny nose, sore throat or slight cough, who are otherwise well can continue to attend school. Children who are unwell or have a high temperature should stay at home if they can.
  • Sickness & diarrhoea – 48 hours from the last episode
  • Throat infections – Until the child is properly fit
  • Whooping cough – 48 hours after commencing antibiotics
  • Worms – Until the first tablet or dose of medicine is taken. Please notify the school so that other parents can be alerted.

The school office has a very comprehensive list of diseases and conditions from our Health Authority with the recommended periods that children should be kept at home. Please ask for further details.

We do tend to find that children sometimes return to school before an infection or problem is fully healed. Obviously we cannot cope with persistent coughs, temperatures etc. and would phone you to take a sickly child home. Please make sure that your child is fully able to participate in all usual school activities, and able to go outside for break times.

If your child has a longer-term problem e.g. broken leg or arm in plaster please contact the Headteacher to see if it is possible and practicable to return to school.

Deleted: For further information regarding Childhood Illnesses please follow the link on this webpage:

NHS – Is my child too ill for school?

Medicines

The school is not able to keep or dispense medicines (except for long-term disorders such as asthma, epilepsy etc.). The school will in certain circumstances supervise children taking their medication if you complete the appropriate form from the office. Please understand that this is not a right and Staff may not be happy to administer some medications. Parents are asked to complete antibiotic courses for children at home where possible. Doctors are normally able to modify dosage to work round the school day if you ask.

For children suffering from asthma our policy is that where possible the child carries their inhaler with them or it is kept within reach in the classroom, we are happy to keep another centrally. Parents are asked to discuss with us and complete a form giving full details of the procedures in administering any such medicines, e.g. Epi-pens for nut allergies.

Medicals

During their time at Wheatcroft, children are examined by the school nurse. There are also periodic examinations of sight, hearing, and teeth. If you are unhappy for these routine checks to be undertaken in school please inform the Office so they can provide you with the relevant contact in the School Health Service.

Pupil Attendance Documents: