We value good attendance at school and being punctual at the start of the day. Children who have good attendance make better progress, achieve well and are able to make the most of all the opportunities available to them. We do understand that there are times when children cannot be in school e.g. illness, in these circumstances we ask you to ring the office by 9am and let us know why your child is not in school. We encourage you to book medical appointments outside of school hours, however if this is not possible we ask to see evidence of the appointment e.g. appointment card, a text message confirming the appointment. This will ensure the absence is authorised.

At Tollgate, we recognise good attendance. Each week we present our NIMO (Not In, Miss Out) award to the class with the best attendance each week. Our knitted clownfish is the most popular award in school! We also acknowledge the children who have achieved 100% attendance for a term, two terms or a year.

If you are concerned about your child’s attendance, please speak to a member of staff.

Leave of Absence

In line with Government legislation, holidays taken during school time are considered an unauthorised absence unless there is proven extenuating circumstances. 8 unauthorised sessions in an academic year will be passed to the Education Welfare Officer and a Penalty fine will be issued.

Please read our Attendance Policy for more information (in the attachments section on this page).

Managing Medical Needs

Tollgate Primary School is an inclusive community that aims to support and welcome pupils with medical conditions. We aim to provide all pupils with all medical conditions the same opportunities as others at school.

We will help to ensure that pupils with medical conditions can:
▪ be healthy
▪ stay safe
▪ enjoy and achieve
▪ make a positive contribution
▪ achieve economic well-being.

Please read the Children with medical conditions, medicines & first aid policy, in the attachments section, for further information.

Dealing with head lice

At Tollgate our guidance and procedures surrounding Head Lice follow NHS guidelines. We aim to work with all members of our learning community to promote a co-ordinated approach to the prevention, detection and effective treatment of Head Lice.

The NHS say “Head Louse infection is not primarily a problem of schools but one of the wider community. It cannot be solved by school, but the school can help the local community to deal with it.” To find out what you should do please read the NHS guidance on head lice and nits.