Absence Procedure for Parents/Carers
We appreciate that our parents and carers are very good at letting us know when their child may need to miss Pre-School from time to time. However, we thought it was useful to have the absence reporting procedure displayed on the website so that parents know exactly what to do if their child is absent from Pre-School for any reason.
It is important that parents and carers understand that the EYFS 2025 sets out strict guidance on the requirement for settings to safeguard the children attending the setting. Part of this is to ensure that the Pre-School is made aware of:
(1) any occasions where your child is unwell and unable to attend the setting.
(2) any occasions where your child has an appointment and is therefore unable to attend Pre-School on that day.
(3) any occasions where your child may be off for another reason, such as a holiday or visiting grandparents.
How do I report my child’s absence?
Unplanned Absence
If your child won’t be coming in to Pre-School on a day that they are expected, please ensure you do the following:
(1) Call or text us on 07542 285412 within 30 minutes of the time that your child is expected at Pre-School.
(2) Tell us the reason for absence
(3) Tell us when you expect your child to return to Pre-School.
(4) Keep us updated via phone (or email: codicotepreschooloffice@gmail.com) if the absence is likely to persist beyond the time frame you initially expected it to be.
Planned Absence
If you are aware that your child will be needing some time off (such as for an appointment or a holiday):
(1) Please email us on codicotepreschooloffice@gmail.com (marking the subject on the email as ‘Planned Absence‘) giving us as much notice as possible.
(2) If at all possible, please also call us or send us a text message on 07542 285412 to remind us on the first day of absence.
(3) Please tell us the reason for absence
(4) Tell us when you expect your child to return to Pre-School.
Safeguarding Responsibilities
Codicote Pre-School is expected to act quickly and decisively if a child doesn’t arrive on a day that they are expected to be attending. This means that we will need to contact you if your child isn’t at Pre-School by 30 minutes of their expected arrival time and we haven’t been informed of this absence.
If we are unable to contact parents/carers and their emergency contacts to establish a reason for any absence, Designated Safeguarding Leads must adhere to Local Safeguarding Partners (LSP) requirements, procedures and contact protocols for children who are absent or missing from the provision.
This means that we are legally required to involve the police and/or social care very quickly (the same day, usually within a few hours) if we are unable to establish why a child is absent and we are unable to contact the family or their emergency contacts.
Please see our Safeguarding and Medical Policies section to view our Absence Policy.