Attendance

Parents have a legal responsibility to ensure their child is in school every day and arrives on time.

Term dates can be found on the website calendar. 

Lateness:

Children should arrive on time every day to start school in a calm and settled manner. Arriving late is unsettling for your child and disruptive for the class. If children arrive after 9.00, they must be brought directly to the office to be signed in.

Collection at the end of the school day:  

Prompt collection of your child after school is vital. If you are delayed by an emergency, you must telephone the school so that we can reassure your child. Children in Years 5 and 6 may come to school and leave without being accompanied, if you so wish, but the school must be informed of this arrangement in writing. If you make arrangements for someone else to collect your child, you should let her/his teacher know. Younger children should not be brought to school by their older siblings and will not be allowed to go home alone with them. If a child needs to go home during the school day they must be collected by an adult, regardless of year group.

Smartphone free school: 

Currently there is a national initiative to encourage parents not to give their children access to their own phones with apps, in response to growing concerns about the impact of social media on children’s mental health.  To support this initiative, we are not allowing children to bring in smartphones to school.  If you are considering a phone for your child for safety reasons, we strongly recommend a basic "brick" phone, which will allow your child to contact you while travelling, without the distractions or risks associated with smartphones.

Absence: 

If a child is absent, please inform the school by email (absence@michaelfaraday.southwark.sch.uk)  on the first day of absence by 9.30 am with a reason for absence. The school may seek clarification of the absence. If your child has a medical appointment, please provide the school with a copy of the appointment card/letter for our records. The school keeps a record of absences and these are included in your child’s report. Unauthorised absence and persistent lateness are reported to the Local Authority’s Attendance and Welfare Officer.

If your child has an infectious disease, please let us know as soon as it has been confirmed. Some diseases are notifiable and we have a duty to report them to the Health Protection Agency. We will also inform other parents so that they can check for symptoms.

After a stomach upset or vomiting, children should be kept at home for 48 hours to avoid a recurrence at school and possibly infecting other children. Likewise, if your child has a raised temperature, they should be kept at home.

If you discover your child has headlice, please keep them at home until you have treated them. The school should be notified so that we may inform other parents.

Holidays: 

Parents are not permitted to arrange holidays during term time, as it disrupts your child’s learning. Children attend school for only 190 days a year and the rest of the year is available for holidays. In exceptional circumstances the headteacher may authorise a limited absence for attendance at funerals and the like.  If a child is absent for more than 10 days without authorisation the child will be reported to the authorities as being 'missing in education' and the child’s name may be removed from the register and their place offered to another child.

Requests for absence during term time: 

To request permission to take a child out of school during term time please download the Request to Withdraw a Child from Learning Form (see below), complete the relevant sections and hand it in to the school office or send it to the school. Click here to download the Request Form (pdf)

Accidents & Illness

If your child has a specific medical problem let us know so that we are aware of their needs and we can draw up a healthcare plan. If you are at all concerned about your child’s health and welfare please tell the SENCOs.

We are able to administer prescription medicines that need to be taken during the school day only with written authorisation from you. The medicine must be in its original container and brought to the school office if you want your child to receive it whilst in school.

We oversee the self-administration of asthma inhalers by pupils. You will be asked to provide written details of their asthma triggers and dosage. All inhalers and spacers should be clearly labelled with the child’s name and brought to the school office.

We also have procedures in place for children with epilepsy, diabetes or at risk from anaphylactic shock.

If your child has an accident in school they will be attended to by one of our trained First Aiders. We do not apply ointments or lotions in case of allergy or reaction. All accidents are investigated and recorded. We always try to notify parents if an accident has occurred either personally or by a note, particularly if there has been a bump to the head or the face.

Unfortunately, more serious accidents sometimes occur in school and in that event, it is vital that we get in contact with a parent or guardian as quickly as possible so that the child may be taken to hospital. Please make sure that we have a telephone number where you may be contacted, and at least two emergency contact numbers. Our records must always be kept up to date, so please keep us informed of any changes, however temporary.

If your child is ill at school we will contact you or the emergency person for them to be taken home. We will always send a child home if they have vomited, have an upset stomach or if they have an abnormal temperature. If we discover a child has headlice in school, we will ask that you take your child home to enable you to administer the appropriate treatment.