St Thomas CE
Primary School
Attendance
This guidance is a summary of our Attendance Policy with some added support and advice to support good attendance which is vital for your child to successfully flourish in all areas of school life.
What do I have to do if my child is absent?
• Call the school office as soon as possible – 0121 622 2151 or email the school office on stthomas@allsaintsmat.school.
• Tell us why your child is absent and when they may return.
If they are absent for more than one day, keep us informed.
REMEMBER TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE UP TO DATE CONTACT DETAILS FOR AT LEAST TWO PEOPLE.
Is my child too ill for school?
Coughs and colds
It is fine to send your child to school with a cough or a common cold. If they have a fever, keep them off school until the fever goes.
High temperature
If your child has a high temperature, keep them off school until it goes away.
Chickenpox
If your child has chickenpox keep them off school until all the spots have crusted over. This is usually around five days after they appear.
Cold sores
You do not need to keep them off school. Encourage them not to touch the blister or to kiss anyone while they have the cold sore, or to share things like cups or towels.
Conjunctivitis
You do not need to keep your child off school. Do get advice from your pharmacist. Encourage your child not to rub their eyes and to wash their hands thoroughly and regularly.
Covid 19
If your child has mild symptoms such as a runny nose, sore throat or slight cough, and feels well enough, they can go to school. You should keep your child off school if they have a high temperature and do not feel well enough to do normal activities. You are no longer required to do Covid 19 lateral flow test if they have symptoms. However, if your child has tested positive, they should try and stay at home and avoid contact with other people for three days from when the test was taken.
Ear infection
If your child has severe earache or a high temperature, keep them off school until they are feeling better, or their temperature returns to normal.
Hand, foot and mouth disease
If your child appears well enough to go to school, then they should continue to attend. Please do inform us though.
Head lice and nits
There is no need to keep them off school. Please do inform us though.
Impetigo
If your child has impetigo, they will need treatment from a pharmacist or GP, often with antibiotics. Keep them off school until all the sores have crusted over and healed or for 48 hours after they started the antibiotic treatment. Encourage your child to wash their hands regularly and not to share things like cups and towels with other children at school.
Measles
If you think your child has measles, you will need to see a GP. Call the GP surgery before you go in, as measles can spread to others easily. Keep your child off school for at least four days after the rash first appears. They should also avoid close contact with babies and anyone who is not vaccinated, pregnant or has a weakened immune system.
Ringworm
If your child has ringworm, see a pharmacist, unless it is on their scalp, in which case you see a GP. It is fine for your child to go to school once they have started treatment. Please do let us know though.
Scarlet fever
If your child has scarlet fever they will need treatment from a GP, otherwise they will be infectious for two to three weeks. They can return to school 24 hours after starting treatment.
Slapped cheek syndrome
You do not need to keep your child off school because, once the rash appears, they are no longer infectious. Please do let us know though.
Sore throat
You can still send your child to school with a sore throat but if they also have a high temperature they should stay at home. A sore throat with a high temperature could be tonsillitis.
Threadworms
You do not need to keep your child off if they have threadworms. Speak to a pharmacist who can recommend a treatment. Please let us know.
Vomiting and diarrhoea
You should keep your child off school for at least 2 days (48 hours). Vomiting and diarrhoea spreads very quickly in a school.
Think about…
If your child is absent from school, they will miss out on learning that is difficult to catch up.
If your child misses the start of the day, they can miss important opportunities to prepare for the day and be ready to learn.
It is important for all children to have a positive start to every school day. Late arriving pupils can disrupt this routine and can cause the child arriving late to be embarrassed and feeling negative.
Class teachers will often use the registration time to recap important learning, which if missed can impact on the rest of the day.
The school day starts at 8:35am and finishes at 3:15pm.
If you arrive after 8.50am and the gate is locked, please bring your child to the office. If you are struggling with attendance, please do tell as…we will support you in every way we can.