Reporting your child as absent

A child not attending school is considered a safeguarding matter.  This is why information about the cause of any absence is always required. 

If your child is absent you must: 

• Contact us by telephone as soon as possible in the morning on the first and subsequent days of absence, stating your name, your child’s full name, their class and a reason for their absence – please do not just say they are unwell, we need a reason, e.g. high temperature 
• Alternatively, you can call into school in person and report the absence with reception 

Absences without a reason provided will be classed as unauthorised and may be subject to a penalty notice. 

The school day begins when the doors open at 8:30am and pupils are expected to be in school by 8:45am when the doors are closed.  Children arriving after this time will be recorded as late and will need to be signed in at the main office.  

Pupils who are consistently late are disrupting not only their own education but also that of the other pupils.  On-going and repeated lateness is considered as unauthorised absence and will be subject to legal action – full details are available in the Attendance Policy.

Absence/Late Procedures

If you wish to either report your child as absent from school or to report they will be late in and they require a lunch to be ordered, please follow the guidelines below:

Please telephone the school number (01962 881311) as soon as possible in the morning. It is essential that you do this before 9.30am.  The office opens at 8.30am so if you are phoning before this time you will need to leave a voicemail message indicating your child's name and class and reason for absence.

If you wish to email the school to report the absence, please ensure you email absent@southwonston.hants.sch.uk as this mailbox is constantly monitored

(Please do not email the main email address for the school as this may not always be read straight away). 

A text message will be sent to parents if the school office does not know why your child is not in school.

If you wish to report your child as coming into school late and you wish to tell us your child's lunch choice, please telephone the school to let us know before 9.30am.  

Thank you

Authorised and Unauthorised Absence

Information from Hampshire County Council Children's Services regarding unauthorised absences and the issuing of fixed penalty notices. These changes come into effect in September 2015. 

Should my child be at school today?

Information about childhood illness and whether or not they should be at school can be found via the following link:

http://www.what0-18.nhs.uk/parents-and-carers/should-your-child-go-school-today/