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Parents’ Information

Absence during Term Time

If there are exceptional circumstances which require you to take your child out of school, please ask for a leave of absence form from the School Office well in advance.

If you request a leave of absence of 5 days or more for your child you will be invited to meet with the Headteacher, for completion of the application.

Please note that the Headteacher may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Sickness

Please telephone the school that morning and then follow this up with a brief explanatory note when he/she returns. Our school operates a ‘First Day Response’ and will call parents if we do not have an explanation on the first day of an absence. If an absence has not been subsequently explained in writing once your child returns, the school will write to you requesting an explanation.

If your child has Chickenpox, Shingles, Rubella (German Measles) or Fifth Disease (Slapped Cheek), please telephone the school immediately so mothers can be told and advised to contact a doctor if they are pregnant.

When your child has a stomach upset and/or sickness you must allow a period of 48 hours after the last incident of vomiting to elapse before sending him/her back to school. This will help to contain any infection.

Doctor/Dentist appointments

There may be a rare occasion when children need to attend a medical or dental appointment in school time. However, routine appointments such as dental check-ups should be made during the school holidays or after school hours. If you do need to take your child out of school for an appointment, please notify your child’s teacher by letter in advance. Please come to the School Office and notify us that you have arrived to collect your child. Your child can then be signed out (this is essential for fire safety precautions etc). If your child returns during the school day, they should also be signed back in again.

Medication

We trust that all children will be kept at home until they are fully fit to return to school.

If your child returns to school before a course of medicine is completed and it is not possible you to arrange for your child to complete this outside school hours (ie. prescribed 4 or more times per day), you or your representative are asked to return to school at the appropriate time to administer the medication to your child. A form, available from the School Office, must be completed at the time of the administration of medicine and held in school as a record of what your child has received.

Unless there are exceptional circumstances, children are not administered any medication apart from asthma inhalers. In these exceptional circumstances, parents/carers should bring the medication to the School Office at the beginning of the school day and complete an ‘Administration of Medication’ form detailing the child’s condition, medication to be administered, time required and the dosage. Once approved by the Headteacher, your child should report to the school office at the appropriate time, where designated staff will be responsible for ensuring medication is given according to your instructions.

Hertfordshire schools are strongly recommended not to administer any non-prescriptive medication such as, ibuprofen, paracetamol etc. Children are not allowed to keep any medication with them, including throat sweets, creams etc.

Travel Sickness Medication for School Trips

Medication required for a school trip eg. travel sickness tablets should be handed to the relevant member of staff on the day of the trip in their box, in a labelled bag, along with a completed ‘Administration of Medication’ form, also available from the School Office.

Asthma medication

If your child is diagnosed with asthma or needs an inhaler in school, please complete an Asthma Form and update your child’s medical record with the School Office. Parents are also requested to complete an Asthma card which will remain with the medication in school, detailing the dose/frequency for administering to your child.

We keep a register of children who require medication for asthma or any other long term medical condition. Epipens and inhalers are kept in a safe,  designated area of the child’s classroom.

If your child no longer requires their asthma pump in school, please can you let us know, in writing so we can update our records and return the pump to you.

Collection from School

If your child is going home with someone other than the parent or carer who would normally collect them, please put the details in writing and hand in to the School Office. There are also slips available in the School Office for you to complete with collection arrangements. If someone we do not know is collecting your child, please always let us know. It is also a good idea to introduce your childminder to us, if you have one.

Attendance

If you should arrive after 8.50 am please bring your child to the School Office to sign in. This allows registers to be updated and dinner numbers to be recalculated to allow for latecomers. Please report to the School Office if you need to collect your child at any time during the school day.

Parking

Parents are encouraged to access the school on foot wherever possible. If you have no choice but to travel by car, you are encouraged to park in the village car park, which is free up until 9.00am and after 3.00pm. There is very limited parking in the residential roads surrounding the school, but parents are asked to respect the residents’ rights of access. It is not permitted to park or turn in the staff car park.

On arrival at school, there is a walkway marked across the staff car park enabling safer pedestrian access to the school grounds. Please take extra care when crossing the car park during busy times.

Bikes/Scooters

We currently have a range of bike racks and scooter pods on the site for children’s use, offered on a first come, first served basis. Please contact the School Office if your child wishes to bring their bike / scooter to school and a permission form will be issued. All cycles, helmets and safety tabards are the responsibility of parents when left in the school grounds and must be locked at all times.

Bad Weather Procedures

If, for any reason, the school needs to be closed, or in the case of severe weather conditions, the decision to close the school is made by the Headteacher in consultation with the Chair of Governors. It is based on local conditions and staff availability to ensure the children’s safety. If the school is to be closed, the following procedures will be adopted.

  • we will send an email via Parentmail to each child’s primary contact. Again, please be aware that in the past when a large number of schools are using Parentmail at the same time, the system can be very slow.
  • our website will also be updated. Please note: school websites can be slow to update, particularly in bad weather, due to the high volume of traffic at these times.