Leave of Absence - information for parents
Attendance Policy addendum sheet due to COVID 19 - September 2020
Since the school closed on 20.3.2020
All absences were authorised between 20th March 2020 and 17th July 2020
New term academic year 20/21
From September 2020 all students are required to attend school full time or as timetabled to do so.
From Sept 2020 to Oct half term 2020 attendance will be encouraged within the current context of Covid-19 with additional welfare support available to students and families. The Home School Attendance Officer (GSD) and school staff / pastoral teams will work with families and students to overcome any issues with student’s transition back into school. If there is still continued absences and the above fail and or families do not engage with schools support then the usual attendance policy procedures will apply, if there is still no improvement / engagement the Local Authority will be notified and they may issue a penalty notice of £60 to be paid within 21 days rising to a £120 if paid after the 21st day but on or before the 28th day. If the penalty is not paid the Local Authority will then institute legal proceedings against parents in the magistrate’s court under Section 444 of the Education Act 1996 for failing to ensure your child attends school regularly.
Leave of absence requests remain the same but if a quarantine period is needed this will NOT be considered an exceptional circumstance.
Attendance will be authorized where:
- where a child is self-isolating due to a new, continuous cough; temperature or due to loss of taste/smell.
- a child needs to self-isolate when another member of their family has Covid-19 symptoms, or has been tested positive.
- if NHS test and trace have advised pupil to self-isolate
- if a child has been medically advised to not attend due to shielding if a bubble group/school has been advised to self-isolate due to a case in year group/school
Any student that has any Covid-19 symptoms – a new, continuous cough, a high temperature or has a loss of or change in, their sense of taste or smell – must remain at home and not attend school. Any student that develops any of these symptoms during the school day must immediately make a member of staff aware of their symptoms. The school has in place arrangements to process and isolate any student prior to collection by parents/carers. It is vital that all parental contact numbers are accurate and up to date on the school system. If you wish to update any of these details.
The school expects any child that is absent from school due to displaying symptoms of CV-19 be tested immediately and the results of the test shared with the school at the earliest opportunity
If any parent is called by the school during the course of the school day, they must ensure that arrangements to collect students are put in place as quickly as possible. It is imperative that any student displaying symptoms is collected from the school site to self-isolate as quickly as is reasonably practicable.
Should a student show signs or symptoms of Covid-19 and be sent home or is absent to self-isolate, the school has the right to ask parents to demonstrate a test has been taken and track and trace has been used. All other medical documentation requests remain the same.
This amendment to be regularly reviewed and updated as necessary in line with Public Heath England and the Government guidelines