Absence

At Thames Ditton Infant School, we believe that good attendance is not simply a legal requirement but essential to their Well-being. Through regular attendance children can take full advantage of all that school offers and gain the educational and social skills necessary for life.

Good attendance at school is important for children’s education and establishes a positive working ethos early in life. It is essential that the school is informed of the reasons for absence. Under current government legislation, unauthorised absence is regarded as truancy; all absence figures have to be reported to the council and the Department for Education and are recorded on a child’s annual report.

Surrey County Council monitors attendance closely and the Inclusion team gets involved if a child’s absence falls below 90%.
It is also important that your child arrives on time for school, as the start of the day establishes the learning activities for the day.

Lateness is recorded in the register. We are legally bound to register a pupil's attendance at the beginning of each morning and afternoon session.
 

Notifying us of your child’s absence from school due to illness
If your child is unwell and unable to attend school, please notify the school office with the reason for absence before 8.45am.

• By email office@thames-ditton-infant.surrey.sch.uk

You can also use this email to notify us in advance of any planned absences for medical appointments.

• By calling us on 020 8398 5842 (Option 1 to leave a voicemail).Please note that you can leave a voicemail during and outside school hours.

If the school office has not had any notification by 8.45am, we will phone you.

Returning to school after diarrhoea or vomiting

As a school we have adopted the UK Health Security Agency  ‘UKHSA - Guidance on Infection Control in Schools’ and any child who has had diarrhoea or vomiting will not be permitted to return to school for 48 hours from their last episode.
Our attendance policy can be found here.

Request for Leave of Absence for one day – Please email the school office giving details of your child’s name, class and reason for absence. If no reason for absence is given then it will be recorded as an unauthorised absence.

Request for Leave of Absence in Exceptional Circumstances - This form must, wherever possible, be completed prior to the leave date and preferably at least two weeks before.  Please note exceptional circumstances are not term time family holidays or birthday celebrations.