Absence Procedures and Attendance

Absence Procedures

Regular attendance is of course important if pupils are to benefit from the full range of educational experiences and opportunities on offer at Henry Tyndale and so we ask that children are only kept away from school for genuine reasons.

Obviously, however, if a pupil is not well enough to benefit from being at school, or if he or she is liable to infect another child or member of staff, then he/she should not be at school.

We have a number of children at our school who are vulnerable or at risk to infection and so we ask that you please ensure that Children who have any infectious illness are not sent into school. If you know in advance your child will not be coming into school, for hospital appointments etc. parents should ensure Transport are informed and school must be informed of the reason for absence.

In line with Government legislation we must ask that a note explaining the reasons for any absence be sent in when the child returns to school. In the case of protracted or repeated absence where we have not been informed of a reason, the school will first telephone for an explanation and if this is not forthcoming will ask the Educational Welfare Officer to call round.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank parents who in the vast majority of cases are already very good at keeping up effective communication between home and school and letting us know, reasons for absence as soon as they reasonably can do so.

Children and young people aged 18 years and under who have a positive test result

It is not recommended that children and young people are tested for COVID-19 unless directed to by a health professional.

If a child or young person has a positive COVID-19 test result they should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for 3 days after the day they took the test, if they can. After 3 days, if they feel well and do not have a high temperature, the risk of passing the infection on to others is much lower. This is because children and young people tend to be infectious to other people for less time than adults.

Children and young people who usually go to school, college or childcare and who live with someone who has a positive COVID-19 test result should continue to attend as normal.

This guidance is correct as of 14th July 2022 - People with symptoms of a respiratory infection including COVID-19 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)