Attendance
A parent’s guide to attendance and punctuality
As a Council, D&G have provided additional Attendance Guidance within the Context of COVID-19 to schools, in order to support their work with parents however it remains your responsibility as parents to ensure that your child/children attend school regularly. For the safety of all children it is important for you to telephone the school office prior to/at the beginning of the absence. Absences are recorded in class registers and frequent or irregular absences not supported by a reasonable excuse, will be notified to parents and the matter may be referred to the Attendance Support Officers. If possible please, try to make dental/medical appointments out with school hours. However, if this is not possible please inform us in writing or by telephone of the appointment and arrange to collect your child from class.
Reporting an Absence
You can report an absence in one of four ways:
On the school app:
You can now report an absence through the app by completing the form provided in the app. This is a secure process requiring the signature of the parent/carer. Absence notifications will be checked by office staff each morning.
By email:
By telephone:
01683 222000
At the school office:
From 8am.
Unexplained Absences / Lateness:-
Parents are asked to ensure that:
1. The school is informed if the family are running late.
2. Any legitimate absence is notified to the school by 9am on the first day of the absence without fail, and subsequent on each day of the absence. Schools will contact you in writing with any concerns.
3. Contact telephone numbers, whether for home, for parents at work or for other emergency contacts, are kept up to date and are genuinely numbers where a response will be received. This is particularly important with mobile phone numbers.
4. The school is kept informed of the absence and the likely return date.
5. Any planned absences are officially notified to the school, in writing, in advance.
6. School would be informed before 1.55pm if a child was not returning to school after lunch because of becoming unwell over that period.
7. Latecomers report to the school office on arrival at school.
Staff will ensure that absences are checked every day and follow up the whereabouts of any child for whom we have no explanation. Due to the amount of extra work involved and necessity of having the correct information we would ask you to make note of the above requirements and ensure that you follow through the procedures to ensure the safety of all our children.
Absence from school
Pupils who need to leave school during the school day i.e. doctor/dentist appointments, are required to sign out at the school office and give their reason for leaving. They must also report to the school office on their return to school. The School requires a written notification of any absences.
You will find more information re Communicable Illness and recommended exclusion periods here:
Guidance_on_infection_control_in_schools_poster.pdf
