Attendance - Parent Toolkit
My child has a headache or mild illness
For many minor illnesses, children can often attend school.
If your child has a mild illness, check the NHS guidance and consider whether they are well enough to attend: Is my child too ill for school? - NHS
If appropriate, simple measures such as rest, fluids and suitable medication may help.
If your child becomes unwell at school, we will look after them and contact you if needed.
Is my child too ill for school?
It isn’t always easy to know whether an illness means your child should stay at home.
Before deciding, check the NHS guidance on illness and school attendance: Is my child too ill for school? - NHS
If your child is too unwell to attend, we will support them.
If they are well enough to attend, coming to school helps them keep their learning and routines on track.
My child doesn’t seem to want to come to school
What you can do
- Talk calmly to your child about what is worrying them.
- Keep a positive message about school.
- Keep morning and bedtime routines consistent.
- Try to keep your child attending, even if mornings are difficult.
- Tell us what is happening rather than keeping your child at home.
How we can help
We can:
- Talk to your child.
- Create an attendance action plan together.
- Identify what is making attendance difficult.
- Agree a named adult for your child to speak to.
- Help with difficult morning routines or transitions into school.
- Work with you on a plan to improve attendance.
Don’t wait for attendance to become a bigger problem. Talk to us early. Get in touch and request a meeting for us to create an attendance action plan together today.
Pupils can report a worry here: Report a Worry for Team Ipsley Pupils
Parents can get in touch here: Get in Touch for parents
My child is worried or anxious about school
You can help by:
- Avoid letting your child stay at home – this can feed anxiety. Get in touch with us so we can resolve this together.
- Listening without judging.
- Asking what part of the school day feels difficult.
- Keeping routines predictable.
- Praising small steps towards attending.
- Avoiding making staying at home the long-term solution.
We can help by:
- Listening to your child.
- Create an attendance action plan together.
- Identifying barriers to attendance.
- Providing pastoral or wellbeing support.
- Working with you on strategies to make school feel manageable.
- Reviewing progress together.
A worry shared today can be easier to solve tomorrow. Get in touch and request a meeting for us to create an attendance action plan together today.
Pupils can report a worry here: Report a Worry for Team Ipsley Pupils
Parents can get in touch here: Get in Touch for parents
My child is regularly late
Try these things at home
The night before:
- Pack the school bag.
- Switch off electronics and internet connections an hour before bed.
- Prepare uniform.
- Check homework.
- Set an early alarm.
- Aim for a good night’s sleep.
In the morning:
- Get up at the same time.
- Allow extra time for the journey.
- Leave home with enough time to arrive calmly.
Why does being on time matter?
Arriving late can mean missing instructions, learning and the start of lessons.
Being on time gives your child the best start to the day.
My child has a medical condition
Please tell us about any medical condition or health need that could affect your child’s:
- attendance
- learning
- wellbeing
- ability to take part in school activities
The more we understand, the better we can plan support.
We can work with you to understand the impact a medical condition may have on your child’ s attendance, and support your family to ensure they do not fall behind their peers.
You know your child best. We know school. Together, we can help.
Parents can get in touch here: Get in Touch for parents
My child has a medical appointment
Where possible, try to arrange appointments outside school hours. If pupils are not in the building at 8.40am or midday, they will be recorded as absent on the register and this will count against their attendance.
If an appointment is during the school day:
- Come to school before the appointment.
- Attend the appointment.
- Return to school afterwards.
Missing part of the day is better than missing the whole day when your child is well enough to attend.
Every lesson matters.
Please contact our school office to inform us of medical appointments: office@ipsleyacademy.co.uk
My child is struggling to attend
Please talk to us.
There can be many reasons why attendance starts to become a struggle:
- anxiety
- friendship problems
- bullying
- difficulties at home
- medical needs
- sleep
- difficulties with routines
- worries about learning
- feeling that school is overwhelming
You don’t need to know the solution before contacting us. We can create an attendance action plan together to support your child with their attendance.
Tell us what you are seeing. We will work with you to understand what is happening.
Parents can get in touch here: Get in Touch for parents
I want to request a leave of absence
We are unable to authorise leaves of absence during term time unless circumstances are truly exceptional (e.g. one day for the wedding of a parent, the funeral of a close family member).
Attendance is more important than ever, and every minute in the classroom supports your child to achieve their potential. Missing school unnecessarily leads to pupils falling behind, missing crucial social development opportunities and impacts their sense of belonging in our school community.
We ask families to do all they can to avoid the need to request leaves of absence during term time.
If you feel your request for a leave of absence is truly exceptional, please complete the form here to submit details to us for consideration: Ipsley CE Middle School - Pupil Request for Leave
If your request is not authorised, you should not take the leave of absence. If you still take the leave of absence, this absence will be unauthorised. Please be aware that pupils who take an unauthorised leave of absence from school may be liable to legal action, in line with government guidance: Legal Information for Parents and Carers LEAFLET January 2025.pdf
I am considering booking a holiday which would take place in term time
Holidays should not be taken in term time. We are unable to authorise holidays during term time unless circumstances are truly exceptional (e.g. one day for the wedding of a parent).
Attendance is more important than ever, and every minute in the classroom supports your child to achieve their potential. Missing school unnecessarily leads to pupils falling behind, missing crucial social development opportunities and impacts their sense of belonging in our school community.
Though we recognise families can make memories on holidays, we ask families to prioritise the learning and development of pupils during their school days.
If you feel your request for a leave of absence is truly exceptional, please complete the form here to submit details to us for consideration: Ipsley CE Middle School - Pupil Request for Leave
If your request is not authorised, you should not take the leave of absence. If you still take the leave of absence, this absence will be unauthorised. Please be aware that pupils who take an unauthorised leave of absence from school may be liable to legal action, in line with government guidance: Legal Information for Parents and Carers LEAFLET January 2025.pdf
When should I contact school?
Don’t wait.
If you notice: “My child is starting to find school difficult.”
Contact us.
You don’t need to wait until:
- attendance becomes a persistent absence
- we contact you
- your child has missed several weeks
- the problem becomes a crisis
Early conversations give us more opportunities to help. Miss Wilson (Behaviour and Wellbeing Leader for Attendance) is an excellent point of contact.
Parents can get in touch here: Get in Touch for parents