Reporting illness and absence

Absence

If your child is absent due to sickness, or any other reason, please telephone the school by 9am and leave a message on the absence line.

The school telephone number is 020 8669 7588. [Please do not send an email.]

The phone call needs to be made each day of your child's absence, unless the absence the absence has been agreed in advance, for example, if your child is going into hospital for an operation.

If you do not call the school to confirm why your child is not at school, we will follow our graduated response procedures which involves you receiving text messages from the school.

If you do not respond to the school texts, we regard this as a concern because we have not heard from you and we have no explanation for your child's absence.  We will therefore be concerned for your child's wellbeing and we will log our concern on our internal record system.

Illness

In cases where we suspect illness we will contact parents/carers by telephone and children will be cared for until you arrive. Please ensure that we have up to date telephone contact numbers in case your child becomes ill in school and also in case of emergency, as hospitals are unwilling to administer treatment if a parent is not present.  Minor accidents i.e. cut and grazes, are dealt with in school.

If your child either vomits or has diarrhea they must not return to school until 48 hours after the last incident.   If your child has a contagious illness, please follow medical advice as given regarding time off school.   The school follows the Health Protection Agency guidance when responding to a child who is ill or infectious.

If your child returns to school after a bout of illness and has medication prescribed by the Doctor which requires administration during the school day, a ‘medicine administered at school’ form must be completed.  This is at the school’s discretion.  Teachers and other staff have no obligation to give medicines to children at school.  They will do so to cooperate with parents in the best interests of the child, but only on the basis that neither they, the school, nor the Local Authority will be held responsible for any problems which may result from their so doing.   You will be asked to complete and sign the form to this effect. The medicine will be kept in the office for safe keeping.  Children are not permitted to carry medicines on their person.

Further information can be found on the policies page.