Attendance, Absence Reporting and Medical Appointments

Minor Ailments  

If your child feels “under the weather”, please provide appropriate relief/medication and send them to school whenever possible. We expect your child to attend if they have a minor illness that can be managed in school. 

Please refer to the East Riding School Absence Leaflet attached for guidance on illness and minor ailments. 

Any absence can disrupt your child's education, so children must not be kept away from school for reasons such as: 

• Unnecessary medical issues such as head lice, headaches, toothache 

• Birthdays, days away or to visit family

Absence Guide 

• Day 1 of absence – Inform the school before 9:00am of the reason and expected date of return of your child, plus any medical advice given or visits made. Please ensure you provide details of symptoms.  

• Day 3 of absence – Update the school on your child’s progress, any medical advice given and confirmation of when your child will return, especially if the condition worsens. 

• Day 5 onward – Update the school on your child’s progress.  

• Medical evidence will be required for five days of absence or more. This includes absence relating to sickness and diarrhoea. 

• Details of acceptable evidence can be found below

• All medical evidence, including medical appointment evidence, needs to be submitted to office email within 7 days of the absence. 

• Please note: we can also request medical evidence at any time, during a child's absence. 

• Parents and carers should use their own discretion in determining the appropriate course of action when their child is ill.  

It is a parent/carers responsibility to inform the school of an absence. Please note if the above procedure is not followed and contact has not been made, we may undertake a home visit. In addition, a random selection of home visits may take place for families who have contacted the school. The safety of our children is our number one priority. 

To report an absence, please, leave a message on the absence line, via your Arbor app or email the school office: office@croxbyprimary.co.uk  

If a reason for absence is not provided within 7 days, or requested medical evidence has not been provided within 7 days, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised. Attendance marks can not be retrospectively changed.

Absence from School for Exceptional Circumstances – Information for Parents 

You are required under the Education Act (1996) to ensure your child attends school regularly. Please note this is not an entitlement. The Headteacher will only authorise absence in line with the East Riding Behaviour & Attendance Partnership ‘Absence from School for Exceptional Circumstances’ Policy. 

Exceptional circumstances for school attendance are rare, significant, unavoidable and short events. 

Requests must be submitted using the appropriate form, with all supporting documentation provided at the time of application. To allow sufficient time for consideration, requests should be submitted no later than five working days before the proposed absence date.

Below are some examples of absences that would not be considered exceptional circumstances:

• Family holidays or leisure trips during term time.
• Inability to arrange childcare.
• Events such as birthdays, celebrations, or family gatherings.
• Shopping trips or waiting for deliveries/work to be completed at home.
• Travel delays, cheaper holiday costs, working patterns or availability of relatives.
• Routine medical, dental, or optician appointments that could reasonably be arranged outside school hours.
• Fatigue from travel, extracurricular activities, or social events.

Each request will be considered on its individual merits. However, the above reasons would not meet the threshold for exceptional circumstances.

The Education Act 1996 states it is a legal requirement that once a parent has chosen a school as their child’s educational provider, it is a parent’s duty to ensure their child attends school regularly and on time. We view a good pattern of attendance and punctuality at the academy as being a life skill and having a direct impact on the outcomes and achievement of children. 

We aim to achieve the highest possible attendance by our pupils. Good attendance is an essential prerequisite to achieving high standards, and we will take every opportunity to promote the importance of attendance with pupils and parents. We target 96% as ‘good attendance’ in our school. We provide appropriate intervention and support plans for pupils with a record of poor attendance and monitor groups of pupils so that individuals are given the best opportunities to learn and achieve success. 

• Routine appointments should be made outside of school hours. 
• Where this is not possible, pupils should be out of school for the minimum amount of time necessary. 
• You will be required to provide evidence of the appointment.
• A screenshot/attachment of the appointment should be emailed to office@croxbyprimary.co.uk in advance – clearly stating the time of collection or approximate time of return.
• If you do not have evidence of the appointment in advance, we will require this within 7 days of the appointment date.

Collection for medical appointments is via the main entrance – no collections/returns are available at lunchtime as the office is closed between 12.00pm and 1.00pm.

Absence relating to medical appointments will not be authorised without supporting evidence. This also applies if collecting early for an appointment which relates to someone other than the child.