Young people achieve more when they go to school all day, every day. We ask that parents/ carers support children by sending them to school every day – unless they are ill/ not fit for school.
Pupil Absence Reporting Line Telephone Number: 0141 287 0039
Within Glasgow Primary Schools good attendance is encouraged at all times and children rewarded accordingly. Parents are asked to contact the Pupil Absence Reporting Line if their child is going to be absent. This should be done before 9.30 on the first day of absence. If the child is going to be absent for some time, it would be helpful to know at the earliest opportunity. The school uses daily text messaging to inform parents of their child’s absence if no contact is made. All unexplained absence is investigated by the school and appropriate action taken.
The Pupil Absence Reporting Line (PARL) service has been created to provide an efficient flexible way for parents/carers to report absence. It is recognised that in some circumstances, for example, to report or discuss a sensitive issue, you may still require to speak directly with the school. The following guidance should be applied:
Please phone the Pupil Absence Reporting Line to report the following absences:
· Sickness absence: if the absence lasts more than one day, parents and carers are required to call on subsequent days to provide an update. A letter should be provided to the school when the child returns from their absence.
· Medical or dental appointments: Parents and carers should call the PARL to report absences for medical or dental appointments. The school requires a letter or appointment card as evidence of the appointment to ensure permission is given to be absent from class.
Please phone the school directly to report the following absences:
To make sure you receive the right support you require, parents and carers should still contact the school directly to report absences of a sensitive or personal nature, for example:
· Bereavement
· Serious illness, for example, an absence which is going to last more than one week
· Injury, for example, broken limb
· Contagious diseases or illness
The pupil absence service is provided by a dedicated team of experienced Education Support staff. The information you provide to the team is updated in the school’s system when you call, so that we are immediately aware of all absence information.
If your child is ill and cannot attend we will try to help them catch up, however, every day off means just under six hours of learning is lost – a week off and children lose up to 30 hours of learning. 30 hours is a lot of learning to catch up on!
The Head of Establishment can only authorise time off during term-time in exceptional circumstances, including:
§ Short-term parental/carer placement abroad
§ Family returning to its country of origin for family reasons
§ The period immediately after an illness or accident
§ A period of serious or critical illness of a close relative
§ A domestic crisis which causes serious disruption to the family home, causing temporary relocation
Time off during term-time for the following reasons is not deemed acceptable and will be recorded as unauthorised absence:
§ Availability of cheap holidays or desired accommodation
§ Holidays which overlap the beginning or end of term
Clearly with no explanation from the parent/carer, the absence is unauthorised and will be marked as such.
All Glasgow schools follow Glasgow Education Services Management Circular (MC) 5a: Included, Engaged and Involved: A Positive Approach to the Promotion of Attendance in Glasgow
You can access this through the link below:
http://www.goglasgow.org.uk/ResourceItems/Download/200