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Late/Absence Procedures
The school gates are opened from 8.40am and closed at 8.50am. Any child arriving after the school gates are locked need to come through the main school entrance and inform the office staff they are here. The office staff will ask the parent/carer to record reason for lateness in the signing in book. If a child arrives after 8.50am until 9.15am they will be marked as present but will be marked as “L”. If a child arrives after 9.15am they will be coded as “U”. All registers are checked by the office staff on a daily basis. If there are found to be unexplained absences the office staff will telephone the parents to ask why their child is not in school. The reason and the person whom was spoken to is recorded against the absence.
Sickness
We need the parents to help the school by notifying us of all absences on the first day of sickness and every day after, including if they have taken their child to the doctors if the illness is longer than a couple of days. Please try to notify the school office by 8.40am. The office school will contact parents if we have not had notification of absence if we are unable to get in touch with parents we will record the absence as unauthorised.
The NHS gives the following advice on how long children should stay off school if they’re unwell.
| Vomiting or diarrhoea- may be due to a variety of causes including germs, toxins or non-infectious diseases | 48 hours after the symptoms have stopped and they are well enough to return. |
Chickenpox/shingles -has a sudden onset with fever, runny nose, cough and a generalised rash. The spotty rash starts with fluid filled blisters which then scab over and eventually drop off. Some children have only a few spots, but other children can have spots that cover their entire body. In most children, the blisters crust up and fall off naturally within one to 2 weeks. Some children may become more seriously ill and need to see a doctor. Immediate medical advice should be sought if the child develops any abnormal symptoms such as:
Shingles presents as a blistering rash in the area supplied by the affected nerve, usually only one side of the body. It can be very painful. Most people recover fully. There is often altered sensation before the rash appears, accompanied by ‘flu like’ symptoms. | People with chickenpox are generally infectious from 2 days before the rash appears and until all blisters have crusted over (usually 5 to 6 days after the start of the rash). People with chickenpox should avoid contact with other people for at least 5 days from the onset of the rash and until all blisters have crusted over.
A person with shingles is infectious to those who have not had chickenpox and should be excluded from education/childcare setting if they have a weeping rash that cannot be covered or until the blisters are dry and crusted over.
Do not allow the child back to school until all the blisters have dried and crusted over. |
| Impetigo -The sores can develop anywhere on the body but tend to occur as reddish sores on the face, especially around the nose and mouth and on the hands and feet. After about a week, the sores burst and leave golden brown crusts. | The child should be excluded from school until all sores or blisters are crusted over or 48 hours after commencing antibiotic treatment. |
| Scarlet fever-Symptoms vary but in severe cases there may be high fever, difficulty swallowing and tender enlarged lymph nodes. The rash develops on the first day of fever, it is red, generalised, pinhead in size and gives the skin a sandpaper-like texture and the tongue has a strawberry-like appearance. | Children can return to school 24 hours after commencing appropriate antibiotic treatment, if they are feeling well enough. If no antibiotics have been administered the person will be infectious for 2 to 3 weeks. |
| Hand, foot and mouth -The child may develop a fever, reduced appetite and generally feel unwell. One or 2 days later a rash may develop with blisters, on hands, feet, insides of their cheeks, gums and on the sides of the tongue. Not all cases have symptoms. | If a child is feeling unwell, they can stay at home and return to school as soon as they are feeling better, there is no need to stay off until the blisters have all healed. |
| Measles -Symptoms include a runny nose; cough; conjunctivitis (sore, itchy, watery, red and sticky eyes); high fever and small white spots (Koplik spots) inside the cheeks. Around day 3 of the illness, a rash of flat red or brown blotches appear, beginning on the face, behind the ears and spreading over the body. | Cases are infectious from 4 days before onset of rash to 4 days after, where the date of the rash onset is day 0. It is important to ensure cases are excluded from education or childcare settings during this period. |
Scabies -the appearance of the rash varies but most people have tiny pimples and nodules on their skin. Secondary infection can occur particularly if the rash has been scratched. The scabies mites are attracted to folded skin such as the webs of the fingers. Burrows may also be seen on the wrists, palms elbows, genitalia and buttocks. | The child can return after the first treatment has been completed. It is important that the second treatment is not missed and should be carried out 1 week after the first. All household contacts and any other very close contacts should have 1 treatment at the same time as the second treatment of the case. |
Glandular fever - symptoms present as fatigue, aching muscles, sore throat, high fever, swollen glands in the neck and occasionally jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes) | Children can return back to education or childcare setting when they feel well. |
| Flu- Symptoms include headache, high temperature, cough, sore throat, aching muscles and joints and fatigue. Importantly, children may sometimes present differently with flu – for example, without fever but with diarrhoea. | Children with symptoms of flu are advised to remain at home until they have recovered and feel well enough to return |
Mumps-The first symptoms of mumps are usually a raised temperature, swelling and tenderness of salivary glands (parotid) accompanied by headaches, joint pain and general malaise. The swelling can be one sided or affect both sides.
Infected children can return to school 5 days after the onset of swelling, if well enough.
German Measles (Rubella)-
The main symptoms are:
swollen lymph glands around the ears and back of head 5 to 10 days before the onset of a rash
sore throat and runny nose 1 to 5 days before the rash appears
mild fever, headache, tiredness
conjunctivitis (sore, itchy, watery, red and/or sticky eyes)
red rash mostly seen behind the ears and on the face and neck
painful and swollen joints
Children to stay off school for 5 days from the appearance of the rash.
There's no need for your child to stay off school with these conditions, unless they’re feeling unwell:
- Slapped cheek -The illness may only consist of a mild feverish illness which escapes notice but in others a rash appears after a few days.
The rose-red rash makes the cheeks appear bright red, hence the name ‘slapped cheek syndrome’. The rash may spread to the rest of the body but unlike many other rashes it rarely involves the palms and soles. Children are no longer infectious once the rash appears.
- Conjunctivitis - Advise parents to seek advice from their local pharmacist. Encourage children not to rub their eyes and to wash their hands frequently. Affected persons should avoid sharing towels, flannels and pillows.
- In Early years, we would ask for all children to be treated with pharmasist suggested eye drops/cream before returning to school due to the infectious nature of conjunctivitis.
- Coldsores - Advise children to try not to touch the cold sore or pick at the blisters to prevent spread.
- Headlice -are spread by direct head-to-head contact and therefore tend to be more common in children because of the way they play. We ask parents to treat their child at the first sign of headlice to help prevent the spreading within school- See polices for more information on Headlice.
- Threadworms -They are tiny worms in stools and can spread easily.
Worms may be seen in stools or around a child’s bottom. They look like pieces of white thread. Symptoms include extreme itching around the anus or vagina, particularly at night. They can also cause children to be irritable and wake up during the night. Pharmacies can advise on treatment. Please do get treatment as Threadworm infection can lead to lack of sleep, irritability and loss of concentration.
- Ringworm- also known as Tinea, is a fungal infection of the skin, hair or nails. It is caused by various types of fungi and infections are named after the parts of the body that are affected, namely face, groin, foot, hand, scalp, beard area and nail.
The main symptom of ringworm is a rash. The rash may be scaly, dry, swollen or itchy and may appear red or darker than surrounding skin. Once treatment has started children can return to school. Scalp ringworm is treated with oral anti-fungal agents. An anti-fungal cream is used to treat ringworm of the skin and feet
- Verrucas (although your child should cover them with a plaster for PE and swimming)
School illness
If your child is ill you can complete the email below and send it to the school office before 9am to register them as sick.
