Medical Appointments

Medical appointments and attendance

We encourage students to maximise their levels of attendance, knowing that research indicates a direct link between attendance and educational outcomes.

Parents and carers can help their child achieve good levels of attendance (96% and above) by avoiding scheduling medical appointments for children during the school day wherever possible.  Of course, we understand that this is sometimes unavoidable.

If your child has an unavoidable medical appointment and they miss registration in the morning or afternoon (during their Period 4 lesson), they will lose an attendance mark for half a day and their attendance that week will fall to 90%.   Many of the appointment times mean that students can attend school first and return afterwards.  This means they minimise missed lessons as well as keeping their attendance levels as high as possible. 

On this basis, we ask that parents/carers send their child into school for morning registration, even if they have a medical appointment in the middle of the morning.  Signing out at the office after they have been registered in the morning reinforces the importance of attending school to students, and also means that students receive their morning attendance mark.

Similarly, if your child has a medical appointment and does not sign back in afterwards for their afternoon registration mark, they will also lose half a day’s attendance.  Therefore, we encourage students to return to school after their appointment where possible or to schedule appointments for as late as possible in the afternoon so they are present for period 4. 

Thank you for your support in helping your child achieve their best.