Absences

It is important to encourage the habits of punctuality and good attendance. Please phone the school between 8:30 and 8:45am to report an absence. This should then be followed up with an email to office@wheatcroft.herts.sch.uk to confirm the reason for your child’s absence. In cases of major illness or emergency, the school should be notified on the first day if the absence is likely to be prolonged.

By law all children of compulsory school age must receive an appropriate full-time education (Education Act 1996). Parent/Carers have a legal duty to ensure their child attends school regularly at the school at which they are registered.

Lateness

Obviously this is very undesirable but does sometimes happen. Always take your child to the school office where they can be signed in and marked in the register.

Poor punctuality is not acceptable and can sometimes lead to irregular school attendance patterns. Good timekeeping is a vital life skill which will help children as they progress through their school life and out into the wider world.

Pupils who arrive late disrupt lessons and, if a child misses the start of the day, they can feel unsettled and embarrassed and risk missing vital work and important messages from their class teacher.

Leave of Absence

Under current legislation imposed by the Department for Education, Head teachers are not permitted to grant leave of absence for any family holiday save in exceptional circumstances.  Any leave taken without approval will be marked as “unauthorised” on the child’s legal record of attendance.  If you need to take your child out of school for any reason there is a “Notification of Intended Absence from School” form available for your completion.  Unless the absence is of an urgent nature, this must be submitted at least 21 school days prior to the event for consideration.  Staff will not normally set work for this absence but will be happy to review a diary of the child’s holiday.

We hope you are normally able to take your child for appointments etc. after school or in the holidays.  Medical appointments during the school day will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances. 

Authorised absences are morning or afternoon sessions away from school for a genuine reason such as illness (although you may be asked to provide medical evidence for your child before this can be authorised), medical or dental appointments which unavoidably fall in school time, emergencies or other unavoidable cause.  

For information regarding Childhood Illnesses please follow the link on this webpage:

NHS – Is my child too ill for school?