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Newsletter 1 - September 2025
Attendance
Reporting absences: In line with County policy, parents/
carers are required to report the absence on each day a pupil
is away from school. This must be done through EduLink, or
by emailing attendance@strichardscc.com. If you are unable
to report the absence through EduLink or email, please call
the school on 01424 731070 and select the automated
number for pupil absences, leaving a clear message
identifying your child’s name, form group and reason for
absence.
Continuous absences (Supporting documents): We
monitor all pupils’ attendance rates, and in cases of long term
(more than 3 days) and frequent (after the third separate
episode) absence, the school can request supporting
documents. This can be a copy of prescriptions, appointment
cards, hospital or doctor’s letters. Until this is provided, the
absence will be marked as unauthorised.
Medical appointments: Where possible, please ensure
appointments are made outside of school hours. We
appreciate that this may not always be possible, so if an
appointment does occur during the school day, please report
it using the usual method of absence reporting through
EduLink. In order for these appointments to be authorised,
we will need to see supporting documents, which can be
emailed to attendance@strichardscc.com
Holidays/Withdrawal from learning forms: Applying for
withdrawal from learning can be done by clicking here and
accessing the Withdrawal From Learning form. This must
be completed and sent to the Attendance Office before the
start of the date/s you are requesting. The Department for
Education will only allow a headteacher to grant a leave of
absence if there are exceptional circumstances.
Educational Welfare Officer: Where absences are
unauthorised or attendance drops below 91%, a referral
to the Educational Welfare Officer may occur. This support
involves attendance targets being set, home visits, 1:1
support for pupils and attendance meetings in school. Where
needed, a referral to the Local Authority for attendance
support may be considered.
Whisper Report
Anonymous Reporting Form
Safeguarding and Emotional Wellbeing
Welcome to a new term, I hope that you had a
peaceful summer break. Safeguarding and promoting
the welfare of children is defined as:
•
Providing help and support to meet the needs of
children as soon as problems emerge.
•
Protecting children from maltreatment, whether
that is within or outside the home, including
online.
•
Preventing impairment of children’s mental and
physical health or development.
•
Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances
consistent with the provision of safe and effective
care.
•
Taking action to enable children to have the best
outcomes.
At St Richard’s we have a team of staff dedicated to
supporting the welfare and wellbeing of our pupils.
We work with external agencies and specialists when
necessary to ensure that pupils get the highest level
of support available.
The Hive continues to have a drop-
in service available before school,
breaktime and lunchtime for pupils to
discuss any concerns or worries.
If you wish to report a concern anonymously please
use the Whisper Tool on the Schools website here,
then this can be explored further by staff in the Hive.
Contacting the Attendance Office
If you have any questions surrounding your child's
attendance, please contact us by emailing
attendance@strichardscc.com