Absences

It's good that the teachers remind us about the importance of not missing school

Year 4 Child (October 2022)

Absence Procedure

For safeguarding reasons, we need to be informed about every absence from school as soon as possible. You should contact us on the first day of absence (by 9:30am wherever possible) by one of the following ways:

• Telephone the school office on 0151 652 1278.
• Email the school office via schooloffice@christchurch-birkenhead.wirral.sch.uk

Where a child is absent without a reason, school will make every every effort to contact the family in the following ways: 

• Class teacher will send a message via the class SeeSaw account.
• School attendance officer will follow up with a text or telephone (including telephoning all named contacts).
• School attendance officer will complete a home visit if absence persists or school has ongoing concerns; if no response can be elicited, school may refer the absence to other outside agencies. 

It is important that we have the correct home and emergency numbers for every child. Please ensure these are updated whenever necessary.

Illness

Usually, your child will be well enough to attend school, even if they have minor ailments or illnesses. Wherever possible, please endeavour to send your child to school, as we have a large number of first-aid trained staff and we would NEVER insist a child stay in school if they become too ill.

If your child is too ill to come to school, please follow the absence procedure outlined at the top of this page in order to report  your child's illness correctly and advise school that they are unable to attend school. In cases of sickness or diarrhoea, please note children may not return to school for 48 hours after their last bout of illness.

It is always a worry when a child becomes unwell, but it is not always obvious how to care for them and whether you should keep them at home unnecessarily. You can now find handy NHS guidance on their website, which provides a list of common childhood illnesses and conditions from conjunctivitis to head lice, as well as symptoms, such as a high temperature and a sore throat and what these might mean. There is advice about what to do and when a child should return to education after being treated, to help you best decide whether to send your child to school or nursery as soon as possible. For further information, please click on the image to the left.  

If your child has suspected COVID-19,  strep A, scarlet fever or chickenpox, please follow the latest guidance below regarding how long they should remain at home. 

Appointments

Wherever possible, medical and dental appointments should be arranged out of school time. If your child has to attend a medical or dental appointment during the school day, an appointment card/text/message must be presented to the school office and not the class teacher. This will enable school to keep track of appointments centrally.

Leave of Absence

If your child will not be able to attend school, for a reason other than illness, a leave of absence form needs to be completed. Please note, in line with Local Authority and Government guidance, leave of absence in term time will only be considered in the most exceptional of circumstances. The principles for defining exceptional are: rare, significant, unavoidable and short, with unavoidable meaning an event that could not reasonably be scheduled at another time.

All applications for leave of absence must be made in advance on the leave of absence request form, which can be obtained from the school office, or found by clicking here. Each application for leave will be considered on a case-by-case basis. You may be asked to come into school for a meeting with the Headteacher to discuss your application further or asked to provide supporting evidence.

There is no automatic entitlement in law to a leave of absence in school time to go on holiday.

We understand that holidays are generally less expensive during term time but this does NOT count as an 'exceptional circumstance'. Taking holidays in term time will affect your child’s education and parents are discouraged from withdrawing their child from school during term time and we ask all parents to consider that any savings you may make by taking a holiday in school time are offset by the cost to your child’s education.

Please be aware that any period of leave taken without the agreement of the school, or in excess of that agreed, will be classed as unauthorised and should not be taken. If unauthorised absences are taken, parents are in breach of their legal duty to ensure that their child attends school full time and may be subject to a Fixed Penalty Notice or prosecution through the court.

For further information please click here.