Should I keep my child off school?
When your child feels poorly, sometimes it's difficult to know what to do for the best. Please read below for the latest government and NHS advice on whether or not to bring your child to school:
Is my child too ill for school?
Should I keep my child off school?
A sick child or ill child should stay at home to recover. But if your child is well enough to come to school, they should be here.
Why does school attendance matter?
Missing a few days of school here and there may not seem a big deal, but research shows that it can have a significant impact on children's learning.
Children who miss a substantial amount of school fall behind their peers, and struggle to catch up.
Most of the work they miss is never made up, which can lead to big gaps in their learning.
Poor attendance often starts at primary school, and children who fall into this pattern are likely to underachieve at secondary school. Pupils who miss between 10 and 20% of school (that’s 19 to 38 days per year) stand only a 35% chance of achieving five or more good GCSEs, compared to 73% of those who miss fewer than 5% of school days.
Friendships can be affected by persistent absence, too: it can be hard for a child who misses lots of school to form relationships with their classmates.
Poor attendance also reflects badly on our school. Ofsted expect all schools to have good attendance rates, and we will be marked down in inspections if our absence figures are too high.
What counts as good attendance?
An attendance rate of 95% is generally considered good; this allows for children to miss 9.5 days across the school year.
Attendance rates of below 93% are a concern (that's the equivalent of more than 13 days absent across the school year).
Persistent absence (PA) is defined as an attendance rate of 90% or below (more than 19 days missed).