Freemantle C of E Community Academy is proud to work with other schools in our locality regarding leave of absence and term time pupil holidays.

Why is Good Attendance Important?
Children attend school regularly:

To be fully involved in the life of the school;

To make continued and consistent progress in their learning;

To maintain and sustain friendships with their peers;

To develop an awareness of the importance of good attendance and punctuality which will help them in later life.

Let’s look a little closer…

Our academy target for each child is a minimum of 96%.This is the minimum acceptable level of attendance.

There is no entitlement to leave of absence in term time, which means holidays should be taken during the holiday periods. In line with government policy, our academy does not authorise leave of absence for family holidays during term time. If you take your child out of the academy for a holiday, you risk the Local Authority issuing a penalty notice or pursuing a prosecution.

Days Off

If your child misses attending the academy for half a day each week, this would equate to 4 weeks of the academy year and would mean their attendance would fall to 90%. If your child’s attendance fell below 90% it will be a cause for concern and would be monitored by the academy. Low attendance may result in the involvement of the Education Welfare Officer. This may also lead to Penalty Notices being issued or court action (prosecution).

Sickness

If your child is unwell you must telephone the academy on 02380227925 before 9.00am and let us know the reason for absence. We have children who attend the academy with a range of medical needs and this piece of information could be vital in keeping them safe.

Should my child come into school if they are unwell?

We appreciate it can be difficult to judge whether your child is well enough to attend school. The academy uses the NHS as guidance: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/ The table below summarises the key information from the website. You can also request to see our school nurse, Janet Barfoot. Please ask reception for her contact details. Further advice is available from NHS 111 or your local pharmacist.

If you have any questions at all do not hesitate to get in touch.

What if I am still not sure?

Phone the school office or bring your child into the academy. We will always contact you if your child is not well and needs to return home.

What if a child is in school but is unwell or has returned too early?

If we are aware your child is not well enough to be in the academy they may need to be removed from the classroom and away from their peers. You will then be contacted and will need to collect them. This is for the wellbeing of all our children and staff.

What if my child has a medical appointment?

These can be shared with the academy in the form of appointment cards, screenshots of appointments, prescribed medicine and even the prescription before it is handed to the pharmacy.

Can medication be administered in school?

Children can attend the academy if they are taking prescribed medicines as staff are able to give them their medicine in school. The front office will support you with this and ensure you complete the relevant paperwork to give us permission to administer medicine of your behalf.