Registration and Absence

If your child is absent, you should telephone or email the school on each day of absence / juniorabsence@royalrussell.co.uk to report the reason for the absence which will be entered into the register.

If parents need to request absence from school, they are required to write to or email the Headmaster well in advance giving details of the reason why the absence is necessary and asking for permission to be granted.

Absence due to significant family events and ceremonies such as weddings, graduations, landmark birthdays and funerals, along with religious celebrations clearly of significance to a particular family, may be authorised. Other frequent requests, such as those linked to holiday flight availability and price, may not be authorised Where absence is unauthorised by the Headmaster, work will not be set. There are seventeen weeks available for holidays during the year and these dates are published well in advance.

Children are expected to swim if they are in school as it is part of their timetable and there is no planned supervision if they are not participating in their lesson.

If children have a cough or cold that is severe enough to prevent them from swimming, they should remain at home. If there is another specific medical reason why they cannot swim (advised by a doctor) please contact your child's teacher the day before the lesson, to allow time to enable alternative arrangements. Messages that arrive via the class teacher’s email in the morning or with the child may not be shared in time for arrangements to be made.

If your child arrives after 8:30am, we must record this as late. Should this happen, parents must accompany their child to the Junior School Office to record their attendance and give a reason for the late arrival.