ABSENCE
Illness
If your child is going to be absent from school due to illness, please inform the school office before 9am in the morning. Let us know why your child is going to be absent, and when you expect them to return. If your child is off for more than one day, we must still be informed each day of your child's absence until they return to school.
Please note in instances of sickness and/or diarrhoea, please keep your child off school for 48 hours, timed from the last occurrence.
To report a child's absence, please email absences@mounthawke.org
Medication
We will administer prescribed medication to children if:
- They are handed in to the office with clear written instructions
- The medicine is labelled with the child's name and dose
- The timing of the dose is not critical
Parents should collect medicines from the class teacher at the end of the school day.
If your child needs an asthma inhaler, please complete our Asthma Form first.
Leave of Absence
If you are taking your child out of school for a holiday, or any other event, then you must request this in writing, giving clear reasons as to why you are requesting this.
Please note that it is not school policy to authorise any holiday during the school term. Absences will be recorded as 'unauthorised' on the register. See our leaflet below for further information.
Medical Appointments
If you need to take your child out of school for any length of time to attend a medical appointment, then the school office must be notified in advance. We also ask to see the letter confirming the date and time of the medical appointment. Please ensure that, where possible, medical appointments are made outside school time.
ATTENDANCE
Since September 2015, a new challenge has faced every school with the reduction of the threshold for persistent absenteeism now set at 10%, reducing from 15% in previous years. This amounts to 19 school days in a year. This is a very tight target and is linked to holidays in term time and indiscriminate days off.
Additionally, the guidance for issuing penalty notices for unauthorised absence has been revised. It now states that:
Penalty Notices can only be issued in cases where a pupil of compulsory school age has been absent from school and the absence has not been authorised
Or
Where a pupil arrives persistently late
The minimum level of absence necessary is 10 or more school sessions (5 days) in any 100 day period.
Prosecution under the Education Act should be considered as an alternative where 20 or more sessions of unauthorised absence occur.
It is therefore essential that all requests for ‘leave of absence’ are made well in advance to enable time to check reasons, evidence and previous attendance information. Do not assume that authorisation will be given. School term dates are published well in advance to enable parents to make plans for holidays out of school time. These can be found either on the school website Calendar or Cornwall Council website.
This guidance is intended to be used in tackling parentally condoned absence where it is reasonable to expect that a parent can ensure the child’s regular attendance but are not willing to take responsibility for doing so.
Please help us and your child by ensuring that their attendance remains above 96%.
