Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s education. Children learn new things at school every day – missing school puts them behind.
At Mayfield we want our children to have a great education and the building blocks for this begin with children coming to school every day.
We celebrate and reward children with good attendance in a variety of ways, from individual certificates and prizes through to whole class reward treats, where children may choose either a special visit out of school or arrange something in school such as bouncy castles or a visit from a magician or theatre group. These rewards are all funded by school. All children with 100% attendance will receive a prize at the end of the school year.
It is very important that we receive a telephone call for everyday that your child is absent. Please telephone 0161 624 6425 before 9:15 am.
The school start staggers from 8.40am each day, with the expectation of all children to be in class ready for registration and complete morning work. This ‘settling in’ time plays a vital part in ensuring children have the best possible start to their day. A reminder that the doors close at 8:55am. If you arrive after this time, you will need to enter school through the main entrance.
Class | Start of school day | End of school days |
Reception | 8.45am Doors open at 8.40am. | 3.15pm Classroom doors closed at 3.20pm. |
KS1 | 8.50am Doors open at 8.45am. | 3.20pm Classroom doors closed at 3.25pm. |
KS2 | 8.55am Doors open at 8.50am. | 3.25pm Classroom doors closed at 3.30pm. |
Class | Start of school day | Lunch time | End of school day |
Nursery | 9.00am Doors open at 8.55am | 12.00pm collect 12.00pm drop-off | 3.00pm Classroom doors closed at 3.05pm. |
Children must be brought to school unless they need to be absent for an authorised reason. Authorisation will be granted for illness, medical appointments that cannot be made outside the school day and religious observance (a maximum of 3 days may be requested during any one school year and no more than 2 days at any one time).
A large proportion of Mayfield Primary School pupils regularly achieve 100% attendance each term. A very small minority would fall into what the Education Social Work Service would call the Persistent Absentee category, with less than 90% attendance.
Each pupil’s record of attendance within this category would be monitored carefully, looking for ways the school could help. Attendance Officers would work closely with parents and pupils to address the problem, along with Education Social Welfare Children’s services.
It can be tricky deciding whether or not to keep your child off school when they’re unwell. We understand that as a parent, deciding whether your child is well enough for school can sometimes be challenging. Your child’s health and well-being are top priorities, and we want to support you in making the best decisions for their health, as well as their education. To assist you, we’ve provided helpful guidance from the NHS on common childhood illnesses, symptoms to look out for, and when it’s best to keep your child at home. You can access this trusted advice here.
Remember, we’re here to help and support you in ensuring your child’s health and success at school.
There are government guidelines for schools about managing specific infectious diseases at GOV.UK. These say when children should be kept off school and when they shouldn’t.
If you do keep your child at home, it’s important to contact the school as soon as possible about the absence. Let them know that your child won’t be in and give them the reason.
If your child is well enough to go to school but has an infection that could be passed on, such as a cold sore or head lice, let their teacher know.
Follow this advice for other illnesses:
It’s fine to send your child to school with a minor cough or common cold. But if they have a fever, keep them off school until the fever goes.
Encourage your child to throw away any used tissues and to wash their hands regularly.
If your child has a high temperature, keep them off school until it goes away.
If your child has chickenpox, keep them off school until all the spots have crusted over.
This is usually about 5 days after the spots first appeared.
There’s no need to keep your child off school if they have a cold sore.
Encourage them not to touch the blister or kiss anyone while they have the cold sore, or to share things like cups and towels.
You don’t need to keep your child away from school if they have conjunctivitis.
Do get advice from your pharmacist. Encourage your child not to rub their eyes and to wash their hands regularly.
If your child has mild symptoms, such as a runny nose, sore throat, or slight cough, and feels well enough, they can go to school.
Your child should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people if they have symptoms of COVID-19 and they either:
Your child is no longer required to do a COVID-19 rapid lateral flow test if they have symptoms. But if your child has tested positive for COVID-19, they should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for 3 days after the day they took the test.
If your child has an ear infection and a high temperature or severe earache, keep them off school until they’re feeling better or their high temperature goes away.
If your child has hand, foot and mouth disease but seems well enough to go to school, there’s no need to keep them off.
Encourage your child to throw away any used tissues straight away and to wash their hands regularly.
There’s no need to keep your child off school if they have head lice.
You can treat head lice and nits without seeing a GP.
If your child has impetigo, they’ll need treatment from a GP, often with antibiotics.
Keep them off school until all the sores have crusted over and healed, or for 48 hours after they start antibiotic treatment.
Encourage your child to wash their hands regularly and not to share things like towels and cups with other children at school.
If your child has ringworm, see your pharmacist unless it’s on their scalp, in which case you should see a GP.
It’s fine for your child to go to school once they have started treatment.
If your child has scarlet fever, they’ll need treatment with antibiotics from a GP. Otherwise they’ll be infectious for 2 to 3 weeks.
Your child can go back to school 24 hours after starting antibiotics.
You don’t need to keep your child off school if they have slapped cheek syndrome because, once the rash appears, they’re no longer infectious.
But let the school or teacher know if you think your child has slapped cheek syndrome.
You can still send your child to school if they have a sore throat. But if they also have a high temperature, they should stay at home until it goes away.
A sore throat and a high temperature can be symptoms of tonsillitis.
You don’t need to keep your child off school if they have threadworms.
Speak to your pharmacist, who can recommend a treatment.
Mayfield Primary School is proud to be part of the Cranmer Education Trust
Cranmer Education Trust is a company limited by guarantee and an exempt charity registered in England. Company registration number: 07687709. Registered Office: Cranmer Education Trust, c/o The Blue Coat School, Egerton Street, Oldham OL1 3SQ. The website address is www.cranmereducationtrust.com and the phone number 0161 785 5082.