St Mary’s C.E. School expects all children to attend school regularly and to be on time.

Children should arrive at school in plenty of time ready for a punctual start of the school day. Parents should note that there will be no staff supervision in the playground prior to the start of the day. A staff member will be at the gate at the start and end of each day to ensure that all children leave safely but cannot be responsible for monitoring the safety of all children.

Absences:

1. Illness

Parents are asked to inform the school office via ParentMail as early as possible (but at the very latest the start of the school day) each day a child is unwell and will not be attending school. To protect both children and staff from the spread of infection, parents are asked to keep a sick child at home until he or she is fully recovered. A child who has been given antibiotics should be kept away from school for at least the first 48 hours of treatment. A child who has been sick or who has diarrhoea should also be kept away from school until the child has been clear of the problem for 48 hours.

2. Appointments

Medical appointments and requests for time off to take exams need to be kept to half a day for the absence to be authorised. Evidence should be provided.

The school requires pupils who have persistent absences due to illness, medical conditions etc to obtain confirmation of their appointment from the clinic. Please take the form below to your surgery, hospital etc and ask them to stamp it, sign it and return to any school office. There are also copies of this form outside every office.

LETTER CONFIRMING ATTENDANCE AT GP CLINICS SURGERIES DENTIST OR HOSPITAL

3. Holidays

The Headteacher and governors expect that there will be no requests for holidays during term time. The Headteacher may authorise an absence from school if there are exceptional circumstances. Exceptional circumstances may include:

  • The death or terminal illness of someone in the immediate family
  • Service personnel and other employees who cannot take leave outside term time at any point in the academic year.
  • Any request for leave of absence must be made in advance by the parent/carer the child normally lives with.

If permission is refused and a child is still taken out of school, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised. Forms are available on the website www.st-marys.richmond.sch.uk or outside the school office. Alternatively please email the Headteacher at headteacher@st-marys.richmond.sch.uk