--- title: "Attendance" url: "https://gorsehill.swindon.sch.uk/parents/attendance" school: "Gorse Hill Primary School and Nursery" --- ⚠️Due to a global Microsoft outage affecting organisations worldwide, School email is unavailable. Please call us directly. Thank you for your understanding. # Attendance ## Attendance --- ### **Does attendance REALLY matter?** YES, attendance matters, the benefits to your child are enormous, we want every child in school, doing, playing, enquiring, thinking and absorbing all we have to offer. --- ### **Should my child go to school today?** Headache, earache, toothache and stomach ache - YES - your child can attend school today, let a staff member know that your child is feeling a little poorly and we will monitor. Coughs and Colds – YES – so long as your child is not suffering with one of the Covid 19 symptoms (see below) your child can attend school. - We will support by washing hands with soap and water often. - Using hand sanitiser if washing hands is not an option. - Covering our mouth and nose with a tissue when we sneeze – catch it, kill it, bin it. - We can take a pupils temperature if it is necessary. Sore throat and tonsillitis – YES - your child can attend school today, provide your child with paracetamol before school, plenty of fluids and let a staff member know and we will monitor. It is the legal duty of parents to ensure the regular attendance of a child of compulsory school age. Failure to do so could result in the school issuing a penalty notice or prosecuting the parents in the magistrates court. --- ### **Covid 19 Absence** If your child has any of the following symptoms please **do not** send them to school: - A new continuous cough - A high temperature - A loss of, or change in, normal sense of taste and smell Instead, please contact the Covid website on https/111.nhs.uk/covid-19 or call 111 for advice. If your child has to have a Covid test please inform the school office of the test results immediately, so we can action our procedures. --- ### **Request for Absence** Any request for absence during term time will not be authorized and you will be required to notify the school office and meet with Mrs. Hutchinson to fill out any relevant paperwork. In Swindon, the penalty notice amount for unauthorized school absence is £80 per parent, per child, if paid within 21 days, or £160 per parent, per child if paid within the subsequent 7 days (22-28 days). A second penalty notice for the same child within a three-year period will be at the higher rate of £160, with no reduced fee option. If a third such offence occurs, Swindon Borough Council may refer the case directly to the courts for prosecution. If a child is absent for 21 continuous days without any contact, your child will be removed from the register and reported as missing in education. This means your child cannot return to the school and you will need to re-register with the local authority. --- ### Attendance Attendance Policy 231 KB [Open for printing](https://files.schudio.com/gorse-hill-primary-school-and-nursery/files/documents/TWHF-Absence-From-School-Policy-Oct-2019.pdf) Procedural flow chart 141 KB [Open for printing](https://files.schudio.com/gorse-hill-primary-school-and-nursery/files/documents/Flow-chart-of-Attendance-updated-Oct-2020.pdf) Attendance Leaflet 289 KB [Open for printing](https://files.schudio.com/gorse-hill-primary-school-and-nursery/files/documents/Attendance-leaflet_201029_091259.pdf) Give your child the best chance of success. Who’s in? ![](https://gorsehill.swindon.sch.uk/general-images/Picture1_201029_091040.png) ### For Parents - [Newsletters & Updates](https://gorsehill.swindon.sch.uk/parents/newsletters-updates) - [Letters, Forms & Sway Newsletters](https://gorsehill.swindon.sch.uk/parents/letters-forms-sway-newsletters) - [School Hours & Term Dates](https://gorsehill.swindon.sch.uk/parents/school-hours-term-dates) - [School Calendar](https://gorsehill.swindon.sch.uk/calendar) - [Attendance](https://gorsehill.swindon.sch.uk/parents/attendance) - [School Life](https://gorsehill.swindon.sch.uk/parents/school-life/school-clubs) - [Advice for Families](https://gorsehill.swindon.sch.uk/parents/advice-for-families/advice-links-for-children) ![Gorse Hill Primary School and Nursery](https://files.schudio.com/gorse-hill-primary-school-and-nursery/images/logo/Image_copy.png) **Gorse Hill Primary School and Nursery** Avening Street Swindon SN2 8BZ Tel: 01793 523800 ### Useful Links - [Privacy Policy](https://thewhitehorsefederation.org.uk/privacy-policy) - [Cookies](https://thewhitehorsefederation.org.uk/cookies) - [GDPR](https://thewhitehorsefederation.org.uk/about-our-trust/gdpr) - [Modern Slavery Statement](https://thewhitehorsefederation.org.uk/modern-slavery-statement) - [Equality Act](https://files.schudio.com/the-white-horse-federation/files/documents/policies/08_SP_V1_Equality,_Diversity_and_Inclusion_Policy_2026.pdf) ### Useful Links - [Behaviour Policy](https://files.schudio.com/the-white-horse-federation/files/documents/04_SP_V9_Behaviour_Policy_2026(1).pdf) - [Careers](https://gorsehill.swindon.sch.uk/about-us/careers) - [Curriculum ](https://gorsehill.swindon.sch.uk/learning-education/overview) - [Facilities for Hire](https://schoolhire.co.uk/swindon/gorsehill) - [Arbor payments](https://gorsehill.swindon.sch.uk/parents/school-life/arbor-payments) - [Contact Us](https://gorsehill.swindon.sch.uk/contact) Proud to be a part of [**The White Horse Federation**](https://thewhitehorsefederation.org.uk/) [![](https://gorsehill.swindon.sch.uk/images/TWHF.png)](https://thewhitehorsefederation.org.uk/) Registered in England: Company Number: **08075785** Registered Office: Plymouth St, Swindon SN1 2LB © Copyright 2023–2026 Gorse Hill Primary School and Nursery School & Trust Websites by [ ![Schudio logo](https://gorsehill.swindon.sch.uk/img/logo/light.png) ](https://www.schudio.com/)