School absence

Please note that we do not provide medical certificates for school absence. If your child's school insists on a medical certificate for absence, please show them this page and also ask them to view this link about government policy document regarding medical certificates for school absence (see picture on the right). The extract below is from this document:

• Page 12 (Code I): Schools should advise parents to notify them on the first day the child is unable to attend due to illness. Schools should authorise absences due to illness unless they have genuine cause for concern about the veracity of an illness. If the authenticity of illness is in doubt, schools can request parents to provide medical evidence to support illness. Schools can record the absence as unauthorised if not satisfied of the authenticity of the illness but should advise parents of their intention. Schools are advised not to request medical evidence unnecessarily. Medical evidence can take the form of prescriptions, appointment cards, etc. rather than doctors’ notes.

If the school still insist on a medical certificate, please advise them that the doctor considers this a safeguarding issue and the school would need to contact the GP surgery directly to explain why they are unable to accept the parental reasons for absence.