Attendance
Making sure that your child attends school regularly and on time is a very important part of the learning process.
Please see below the policies that we follow as set out by the Local Council and Department for Education. If you have any worries or concerns over your child's attendance due to sickness or any other reason please do not hesitate to contact Zoe McGuigan or another member of staff who will be happy to help you.
Attendance Policy Hertford Schools
A recent Department of Education Report proves there is a consistent and clear link between poor attendance at school and lower levels of achievement at the end of Keystage 2 and Keystage 4 (Department of Education, March 2016)
“Poor attendance can disrupt a pupils own learning and that of other pupils. It has a damaging effect on a child’s education and most of the work missed while a child is off school is never made up. Pupils who attend school regularly are likely to leave school with more qualifications and increased access to employment opportunities than children with persistent absence.” Every School Day Matters, Brighton & Hove
- At Hertford Infant and Nursery school, the Staff and Governing Body give a high priority to ensuring good attendance habits are established from the very beginning of a child’s school life.
- As a school we define good attendance as consistently over 95%. (Children with underlying medical conditions or who experience a severe illness are maybe exempt from such a definition)
- Due to the young age of our pupils it is the parents and carers who have the responsibility for their children’s school attendance. The school is committed to working in partnership with parents/carers to raise awareness of the importance of regular attendance and good punctuality and to support parents/carers to improve the levels of attendance and punctuality when there are concerns.
- The school adheres to the Brighton and Hove City Council Code of Conduct when taking decisions about issuing fixed penalty notices to parents for their child’s poor attendance or unauthorised absence.
- We are committed to actively promoting Early Help and promoting multi-agency support for vulnerable children and their families. When children are supported to attend school punctually and on a regular basis, they take an important step towards reaching their full potential, and are given the greatest opportunity to learn new things and develop their skills.
But what if my child is ill?
Of course children are ill on occasions and when this is the case we readily accept that being at home is the best place to be.
Children can’t help being ill and as a school we want all our children to be well and healthy to able to learn happily and confidently when they are here. However this traffic light system is a really useful guide to help you to decide when to send your child to school and when to keep them at home.
This advice has been taken from www.nhs.uk.
RED
STAY AT HOME
Raised temperature (of over 37.5)
Rashes can be the first sign of many infectious illnesses such as chickenpox and measles. If your child has a rash, check with your GP before sending them to school.
Vomiting and diarrhoea. Children can return to school after 48 hours.
AMBER
TAKE ADVICE
Headaches. A child with a minor headache does not usually need to be kept off school.
If the headache is more severe or is accompanied by other symptoms such as raised temperature or drowsiness, then keep your child at home and consult your GP.
GREEN
COME TO SCHOOL*
Mild cough
Mild cold
Sore throat (unless accompanied by a raised temperature)
Feeling tired
*We will contact you if your child deteriorates during the school day.
If your child is too unwell to attend school...
1. Please phone the school absence line on 01273 552931 ASAP to leave a message stating your child’s name, class and the reason of absence.
2. If we have no contact from you by 10am, we will phone to ascertain your child’s whereabouts and reason for absence.
3. You are not required to phone the school on each day of absence. Please call again if the absence continues to the end of the week or over a weekend.