Attendance
Every school, by law, has to register pupils twice a day; first thing in the morning at the start of the school day, and again in the afternoon session. If a pupil fails to attend or arrives late, they can be marked as an absence for that session.
If a pupil of compulsory school age is absent, the register must show whether the absence was authorised or unauthorised. Only the school can approve the reason for absence.
Authorised Absence
Where a pupil is absent due to sickness and is genuinely unable to attend school, then the school, after being informed, may authorise a child's absence.
It is important that you phone the school or come into the office if your child is going to be absent at the start of the day. You will receive a phone call from the office if you do not inform us, as it is our duty to ensure your child is safe. If we cannot make contact with you then you may receive a home visit from a member of staff.
In law, only the Headteacher can authorise a pupil's absence and may require additional evidence such as a letter from your GP or other medical proof particularly if your child’s attendance is already a concern and below 95%.
Unauthorised Absence
The law states that parents or carers must ensure that their child regularly attends the school where they are registered. Should your child fail to attend school regularly, legal action may be taken against you.
Examples of unauthorised Absence may be if your child does not attend because of:
- Going on holiday or travelling abroad
- Days off for birthdays, shopping trips
- Feeling tired
- Bad weather
- Non urgent appointment
- Parent is too unwell to bring them to school
- Birthday
Langmoor Primary School will only grant a leave of absence for exceptional circumstances. A holiday or travelling abroad is not exceptional.
Lateness
At Langmoor we encourage children to come to school on time and ready to start their learning.
Why is it important to get to school on time?
School starts at 8.45 am every day. Children can enter the building from 8.40am so that they can put bags & coats away, ready start their lessons promptly.
Children who arrive late are greatly disadvantaged because they miss starting the day with their peers and the beginning of lessons. This means that they are often unsettled and confused about tasks. Their teacher will not always be able to re-explain work.
It is also very important that children establish good routines and habits in preparation for the rest of their lives. Punctuality is a life skill that they need to develop whilst they are young. It is essential that a child arrives at school on time to prevent disruption to their own learning, and that of others. We will continue to focus on this area with children through class work and school assemblies to practise punctuality skills.
We are required to monitor children’s punctuality and attendance. On-going lateness (after the class register has been taken) is classified as an unauthorised absence. We understand that there may be rare occasions when you are unavoidably late due to unforeseen circumstances. On these occasions, please make sure that you contact the school office to inform us when you will arrive.
High levels of unauthorised absences or poor punctuality can result in a referral to the Educational Welfare Service, or other agencies, which have a duty to investigate further and could result in legal action being taken.
If you are experiencing difficulties with punctuality and would like to talk to us about it, please make an appointment to do so.
Illness
If your child is too ill to attend school, please inform the office by 9:00am every day that your child is absent.
If your child experiences vomiting or diarrhoea, they must not come to school. Please allow a 48-hour period from the last time they are sick before returning to school.
What to do about other conditions
High temperature
If your child has a high temperature, keep them off school until it goes away.
Feeling anxious or worried
It's normal for children to feel a little anxious sometimes. They may get a tummy ache or headache, or have problems eating or sleeping.
Avoiding school can make a child's anxiety about going to school worse. It's good to talk about any worries they may have such as bullying, friendship problems, school work or sensory problems. You can also work with the school to find ways to help them.
If your child is still struggling, and it's affecting their everyday life, it might be good to talk to your GP.
Coughs and colds
It's fine to send your child to school with a minor cough or common cold. But if they have a high temperature, keep them off school until it goes.
Encourage your child to throw away any used tissues and to wash their hands regularly.
Chickenpox
If your child has chickenpox, keep them off school until all the spots have crusted over.
This is usually about 5 days after the spots first appeared.
Cold sores
There's no need to keep your child off school if they have a cold sore.
Encourage them not to touch the blister or kiss anyone while they have the cold sore, or to share things like cups and towels.
Conjunctivitis
You don't need to keep your child away from school if they have conjunctivitis, unless they are feeling very unwell.
Do get advice from your pharmacist. Encourage your child not to rub their eyes and to wash their hands regularly.
COVID-19
If your child has mild symptoms, such as a runny nose, sore throat, or slight cough, and feels well enough, they can go to school.
Your child should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people if they have symptoms of COVID-19 and they either:
- have a high temperature
- do not feel well enough to go to school or do their normal activities
Ear infection
If your child has an ear infection and a high temperature or severe earache, keep them off school until they're feeling better or their high temperature goes away.
Hand, foot and mouth disease
If your child has hand, foot and mouth disease but seems well enough to go to school, there's no need to keep them off.
Encourage your child to throw away any used tissues straight away and to wash their hands regularly.
Head lice and nits
Once treatment has started, there's no need to keep your child off school if they have head lice.
You can treat head lice and nits without seeing a GP.
Impetigo
If your child has impetigo, they'll need treatment from a pharmacist or GP, often with antibiotics.
Keep them off school until all the sores have crusted over and healed, or for 48 hours after they start antibiotic treatment.
Encourage your child to wash their hands regularly and not to share things like towels and cups with other children at school.
Measles
If your child has measles, they'll need to see a GP. Call the GP surgery before you go in, as measles can spread to others easily.
Keep your child off school for at least 4 days from when the rash first appears.
They should also avoid close contact with babies and anyone who is pregnant or has a weakened immune system.
Ringworm
If your child has ringworm, see your pharmacist unless it's on their scalp, in which case you should see a GP.
It's fine for your child to go to school once they have started treatment.
Scarlet fever
If your child has scarlet fever, they'll need treatment with antibiotics from a GP. Otherwise they'll be infectious for 2 to 3 weeks.
Your child can go back to school 24 hours after starting antibiotics.
Sore throat
You can still send your child to school if they have a sore throat. But if they also have a high temperature, they should stay at home until it goes away.
A sore throat and a high temperature can be symptoms of tonsillitis.
Vomiting and diarrhoea
Children with diarrhoea or vomiting should stay away from school until they have not been sick or had diarrhoea for at least 2 days (48 hours).