ABSENCE
Illness
If your child is going to be absent from school due to illness, then please inform the office before 9am in the morning, and 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.
Please call 01208 862496 or email school administrator Miss Martin hello@stminver.org
Medication
We will administer prescribed medication to children if:
- The parent/carer has signed a consent form
- They are handed in to the office with clear written instructions. Instructions on the bottle is not sufficient
- The medicine is labelled with the child's name and dosage
- Parents should collect medicines from the office at the end of the school day
The above does not apply to asthma inhalers which often need to be kept with the child. Parents need to complete our Asthma form to enable this. It is available from the school office. Parents of children with asthma should encourage them to learn to take responsibility for their own medication.
Absence during Term time
The school is no longer allowed to authorise family holidays within the academic year. These rules were changed in 2013. The school will consider requests for absence during term time on an individual basis and authorise those only that can be considered an 'exceptional circumstance'.
Choosing to take a family holiday during term time will not normally be considered as an 'exceptional circumstance' and is therefore unlikely to be authorised.
If you wish to request a leave of absence under exceptional circumstances, it is essential that you fill in the Leave of Absence form, 15 school days in advance of taking your child out of school, so that we know your child is safe when they are not attending school.This form is available from the school office, or you can download it below.
Medical appointments
Children should attend medical appointments outside of the school day, wherever possible. If you unavoidably need to take your child out of school to attend a medical appointment, then the school office must be notified in advance. We may also ask to see the letter confirming the date and time of the medical appointment.
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 95%.
