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Attendance

What to do if your child is ill

Lots of parents have contacted us asking what to do in different situations. Below is a basic guide to follow. However, please also check out the latest NHS advice if you are unsure.

You can contact the NHS by calling 111 or going to their website at: 111.nhs.uk
 
Regular school attendance is crucial in raising standards in education and ensuring that every child can have full access to the school curriculum and reach their potential.

Eckington School will strive to promote an ethos and culture which encourages good attendance and where each student will feel welcomed, valued and cared for.

Eckington School has high expectations of all students in order to achieve the vision of ‘Outstanding Achievement for All’.

Illness

If your child is unable to attend school due to illness, parents and carers should:

The Attendance Team will send an email and text message at 10.30am to the parent or carer to alert them to the child’s absence from school, if a reason has not already been given. The Attendance Team will follow up with a phone call home if attendance is a cause for concern or if a reason has not been provided by the parent or carer. The absence will be classified as unauthorised until a reason is presented or if medical evidence has been requested but not provided.

Request for term time leave

Eckington School does not authorise holidays during term time due to the impact they have on students' learning. Family holidays taken during term time will be categorised as an unauthorised absence. Eckington School supports the Derbyshire County Council policy and procedures regarding term time leave requests. Request for term time leave should be submitted to the Attendance Team 10 days in advance to enable the school to consider the request. The form can be downloaded from the bottom of this page.

Medical appointments

We encourage parents and carers to make all medical appointments outside of school hours. If this cannot be avoided, students should attend school prior to or immediately after the appointment. The Attendance Team should be informed of the medical appointment prior to the date. Medical appointments are counted as absences and it will affect the student's overall attendance.

Religious observance

Eckington School recognises and celebrates many different religions. Schools must treat absence as authorised when it is due to religious observance. The day must be exclusively set apart for religious observance by the religious body to which the parents belong. Where necessary, schools should seek advice from the parents' religious body about whether it has set the day apart for religious observance.

Parents and carers please note that although the absences are authorised, it is still counted as an absence on the student's attendance certificate. Within school, we make sure students are not unfairly affected by this absence regarding rewards for 100% attendance. However, the school's attendance register is a legal document, and therefore the absence must be recorded.

Parents and carers must inform the school prior to the religious observance days if the student will be absent from school. If we have not been informed prior to the date, we will follow our absence procedures to identify the reason for the student's absence from school.

Participating in a supervised sporting activity

We recognise that students at Eckington School have exceptional skills and talent. We want to support our young people to participate fully in training for sporting activities. Any requests regarding student participation in sporting events during the school day must be requested in writing, with evidence of the event to the Headteacher. This includes any adjustments to the time of the school day for example, students leaving school early to participate in sporting activities.

Punctuality

Students are encouraged to be on the school site on time to start the day at 8.30am.  Students arriving after 8.35am will receive a sanction dependent on their arrival time.