Reporting Absence.

It is the policy of the school that no absence should be unaccounted for. 

For safeguarding purposes, the pupil’s parent/carer must notify the school of the reason for the absence on the first day (and each subsequent day of absence) of an unplanned absence by 8.55am, or as soon as practically possible, by calling/emailing the school and advising when they are expected to return. Pupil absence is reported via email at pupilabsence@russell-lower.co.uk or via 01525 755664. 

We will mark absence due to illness as authorised and make a record of the reason given, unless the school has a genuine concern about the authenticity of the illness. If the school is not satisfied about the authenticity of the illness, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised and parents will be notified of this.

If the date of return is unknown, regular contact on a daily basis should be kept with the school.

If the school receives no contact a member of the office staff will:

• Check to see if the child is in the classroom.

If he/she is present, the register will be marked accordingly.  If he/she is absent, they will:

• Telephone the parent/carer
• If contact cannot be made, the school has a duty of care to ensure the child is safe and will continue to attempt to make contact with the parents/carers throughout the day and will attempt contact with other members of the child’s emergency contact list (as supplied by the parents/carers) until a reason for absence is provided.
• If this fails, the police may be alerted that the child is missing.

Where the absence is longer than 5 days, or there are doubts about the authenticity of the illness, the school may ask for medical evidence, such as a doctor’s note, prescription, appointment card or other appropriate form of evidence. We will not ask for medical evidence unnecessarily.