Illness
If your child is ill and cannot attend school, you must let us know before 9am that day by emailing admin@roundwoodprimary.herts.sch.uk or calling the office on 01582 460756. Please keep us informed each day that your child is absent from school, unless discussed with the school office. Do not forget to cancel your child’s Relish school meal if they are not in school.
If your child has sickness or diarrhoea, in line with the Health Authority’s recommendation, you must keep them at home for 48 hours after the last bout of illness. Please see the attached poster for advice on different illnesses and attendance.
Shoud I keep my child off school checklist poster (publishing.service.gov.uk)
Children should not bring medicines into school. If your child should need to take medicines during the school day, we are happy for a parent or nominated person to come to school to ensure correct dosage is received (but please report to the school office). If a child needs antibiotics 3x per day, we would ask that you do all doses at home. If they need more frequent medication, please contact the school office and complete a medication form in order than staff can administer medicine.
If your child has an accident or becomes unwell and is clearly unable to continue to stay at school, we will always contact you or the person nominated by you.
Respiratory infections including COVID
We always follow the latest advice regarding self-isolation and COVID. From April 2022, this has been
- Children and young people should not attend if they have a high temperature and are unwell.
Children and young people who have a positive test result for COVID-19 should not attend the setting for 3 days after the day of the test.
People with symptoms of a respiratory infection including COVID-19 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Lateness
Punctuality is an important life skill, which children need to learn and have modelled to them. Children who are late are disrupting not only their own education but also that of their classmates.
Our school gates are open from 08:25. It is expected that all children arrive at this time so that they can get into school, hang up bags and coats and are ready for registration by 8.30am.
Fifteen minutes after the close of registration a late mark becomes an unauthorised absence. The register will officially close at 8.45am. Arrival after this time a child will be coded “U” which statistically counts as an unauthorised absence.
Where persistent lateness gives cause for concern further action may be taken. In the first instance this will involve a discussion with the parent or carer followed by a letter home if the situation does not improve.
Did you know that 5 minutes late each day adds up to 3 lost days of learning time each year!
Every school day counts!
Request for leave / Absence during term time
As you will appreciate, the school’s view has to be that during term time the priority is education.
The school therefore has a default policy that absences will not be granted during term time and will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances. The fundamental principles defining ‘exceptional’ are rare, significant, unavoidable (an event that could not reasonably be scheduled at another time) and short. The school’s attendance data, which includes authorisation of leave, is monitored by county and we are held to account for the decisions that we make. The school therefore tries to be consistent in the application of the guidelines we are provided with. The National Association of Headteachers (NAHT) produced some guidance regarding the authorisation of leave:
- If an event can reasonably be scheduled outside of term time then it would not be normal to authorise absence
- Absence during term time for holidays/vacations is therefore not considered an exceptional circumstance
- Absences to visit family members are also not normally granted during term time if they could be scheduled for holiday periods or outside school hours. Children may however need time to visit seriously ill relatives
- Absence for a bereavement of a close family member is usually considered an exceptional circumstance but for the funeral service only, not extended leave
- Absences for important religious observances can be taken into account but only for the ceremony and travelling time, not extended leave. This is intended for one-off situations rather than regular or recurring events
- Schools have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for students with special educational needs or disabilities. Families may need time together to recover from trauma or crisis
We thank you for your support and understanding regarding term time absence requests.
If you wish to request a ‘leave of absence’ for your child / children you must contact the Headteacher via admin@roundwoodprimary.herts.sch.uk detailing the reasons for your request. This will then be reviewed and a decision made as to whether the leave is authorised.