Absence from School

If your child is not at school for any reason, please call before 9am and let us know the reason for absence. A voicemail facility exists 0121 353 1876 Option 1 for parents to leave a message or you can call the office and ask to speak to Mrs Bennett (Pupil Administrator). This will ensure we comply with the Department for Education (DfE) regulations on registration and absences.

In your message, please leave specific details e.g. symptoms if unwell, when the symptoms started and any medical advice you have been given. Please do not leave a vague message, such as “cold symptoms”, as someone from the office team would then l need to phone you back to obtain further details.

If your child has suffered from sickness (vomiting) and or diarrhoea please see our Sickness and Diarrhoea Policy under the policy section of our website. Your child will not be allowed to return to school until 48 hours after the last episode of sickness or diarrhoea.

Punctuality

Children should arrive at school between 8.45am and 8.55am. Registration occurs between 8.55am and 9.00am. Children arriving after this time should enter school via the main reception and report to a member of the school office team

Arriving late for school gives your child an upsetting start to the day. Children thrive on routine, and do not like to stand out from their peers. Having to join the class when everybody else is settled and ready to learn can embarrass and worry many children. Just five minutes late will mean they may have missed the opportunity to share important news or messages with their teacher, who is trying to introduce the learning for the day. They will also miss the starter learning challenge, offered to the class while children arrive and the register is taken. A regular five minutes a day adds up to a whole three days lost learning per year. 

Any child that is not collected at dismissal time will be sent to Woodpeckers and late collection charges applied.  

Holidays in Term-time

In light of the prolonged school closures over the last two years and the impact that this will have inevitably had on education, we will not be authorising any holiday requests at present. Requests for leave of absence from school during term will only be granted in very exceptional circumstances.

This is now a crucial time for the children to re-establish their friendship groups and take forward their learning after a period of significant disruption; a child away on holiday will find it harder to re-join groups that have been re-established which will inevitably cause distress and impact further on learning. 

We ask that all parents accommodate holidays or absence that can be planned for e.g. family occasions during the 13 weeks available in the year when the school is not in session and by so doing, support their children in maximising their learning in school time.

All term time leave requests must be made in advance and in writing to the Headteacher. Failure to do this may result in potential safeguarding concerns.  Please note this is also applicable to nursery aged children.

Full details of our attendance policy and attendance guidance for parents is available here: 

https://www.blackwood-school.co.uk/policies/