What should I do if my child is too ill to attend school?

Parents must notify us before 8.40am, by phone or email, on the first day of illness with the reason for the absence, which must include brief details of symptoms.

What should I do if my child has had sickness and/or diarrhoea?

Please keep them at home for at least 48 hours after the last attack of sickness and/or diarrhoea.

Inform the school as above.

Administering medicines in school

• Only prescribed medicines can be given at school.
• Always ask your GP if it is possible to prescribe doses so that your child does not need a dose during the school day.
• If your child does need to take a prescribed medicine during the school day, please collect a letter from the school office and complete it to authorise the school to administer the medicine in school.  No medicine will be administered without the parent's written consent.
• All such medicine must be:
  • In the original package as prescribed
  • Brought to and collected from the office each day by an adult
  • Clearly labelled with the child's name and dosage.
• No child may keep medication on their person or in their bag.
• If a child refuses to take their medicine, school staff will not force them to do so and parents will be informed at the end of the day.

Absence for any other reason

If your child is absent for a reason other than illness, the above procedure needs to be followed and an explanation of the reason for absence must be provided. 

Attending a medical or dental appointment will be counted as authorised if the pupil’s parent/carer notifies the school in advance of the appointment and provides evidence of the appointment such as a letter confirming the appointment.

However, we encourage parents/carers to make medical and dental appointments out of school hours where possible. Where this is not possible, the pupil should be out of school for the minimum amount of time necessary.

The pupil’s parent/carer must also apply for other types of term-time absence as far in advance as possible of the requested absence.