Any request to take your child out of school during term time must be made by completing the Leave of Absence form (below) which should be forwarded to Mrs Curtis. All holidays will be classed as an unauthorised absence. Please be aware that if your child has more than 4.5 days of unauthorised absence within a 6-week period you may receive a Fixed Penalty Notice. Parents whose children are absent due to holidays over this threshold will receive a written warning before the Fixed Penalty Notice is issued upon their return from holiday.

Mrs Curtis can in very exceptional circumstances grant a leave of absence for your child, and permit the absence to be authorised. A holiday however, is not deemed an exceptional circumstance.

Request for Leave of Absence

If your child is unwell please contact school to let us know that they will not be in leaving a reason for the absence, before the start of the school day. It is really important that you contact us, as with many of our children walking or biking to school we need to ensure that they are safe. If we have not heard from you by 9.30 am, we will follow county procedure to contact you to establish why your child is not in school. You must contact school on every day that your child is absent due to illness. 

I am sure you can understand that within the school environment contagious diseases and virus's can spread easily. It is to protect your child that procedures, such as keeping your child at home for 48 hours following sickness and diarrhoea, are enforced. We will do our best to notify parents if there are any nasty bugs doing the rounds at school, though understandably coughs and colds are to be expected.

If your child returns to school with antibiotics, these cannot be given to your child unless you complete a medicine form. One can be downloaded and printed or alternatively you can obtain one from Mrs Ford in the school office. We cannot give any medicine within school, without a signed medicine form. Calpol can only be administered within school if it has been prescribed by a doctor, over the counter Calpol can not be given (unless your child is in Reception). Medicines will be kept either in the fridge or the locked medicine cabinet in the medical room, which ever is appropriate. 

If your child has a chronic medical condition, such as Asthma, again a medicine form will need to be completed for the medicine to be on site. Asthma inhalers are kept with the child, and they can access them as necessary. The children are encouraged to self administer as is age appropriate, but all are supported in doing so. We have children with a range of health needs are staff are very experienced in administering medicine as is necessary within school. 

If your child does have a medical condition or health need it is important that you let us know so that we are aware of any specific needs or concerns and can monitor as is appropriate. Parents should complete a Health Care Plan sharing this information, including steps to take in an emergency. This form can be downloaded and printed or alternatively can be obtained from Mrs Ford in the school office. 

It is essential that you notify school of any allergies, especially if the child requires an Epi-pen. They should have an Epi-pen on site and staff are trained to administer them.

Children whose hair is longer than shoulder-length, should have it tied up to help prevent head lice. If cases of head lice are found in school, we would ask via the newsletter to be more vigilant in checking your child's hair. However, we would always recommend checking you child's hair on a weekly basis.

• Health Care Form.doc
• Medicine Administration Form

Key Stage 1

Children in KS1 should be brought onto the school site by an adult unless alternate arrangements have been agreed by Mrs Curtis. Children should not be left to wait alone, and the parent/carer should wait and see them safely inside. Class doors, where children enter are opened at 8.55 am and children should be inside and ready to start the school day by 9.05 am. 

If children are having difficulties transitioning from school to home, having parents lingering on the playground can make this more distressing for the child, so we respectfully request parents leave the site promptly once their child has entered their class. 

Key Stage 2

The morning bell for KS2 is rung at 8.55 am, at which time all the children should walk calmly into their classrooms through their class doors.

If your child is late please do not try to bring them in through the double doors at the back of KS2 nor through their classroom door. They should be brought to the main school entrance. All children arriving after 8.55am will be marked late on the register.

Repeated lateness

The start of the day is a very important time in the school day. As well as missing registration, your child will miss the initial input from the teacher regarding that mornings lesson. When your child then arrives the teacher is then required to repeat this with the children interrupting the class and disrupting the flow of learning. 

Repeated lateness can have a significant detrimental impact on your child's learning. Therefore, if this appears to be starting to happen we will contact you to work with you regarding the reason and if we can offer any support. However, continued lateness, without valid explanation is not acceptable and may have significant consequences.

We would strongly urge you that whenever possible you make any appointments for your child outside of school hours. However, we are realistic and understand that sometimes this is just not possible. If you do not to make an appointment for your child during school hours, i.e dentist or GP, please try to get them as close to either the start or end of school if possible. 

If your child does have an appointment during the school day it is imperative that you let school know that you will be collecting them early to take them to an appointment.