Telling a teacher or headmaster that a student will not be attending school due to illness is something that most parents or kids will have to do, but it can be quite daunting!
Most schools have a specific protocol about what information you need to provide and who you need to contact. There are plenty of considerations to bear in mind too:
- Is the child contagious? School's have a duty of care towards all their students, so a child that has been ill for some time may not be readmitted without a doctor's note giving the all-clear.
- Because many kids try to skip school, or may even be pulled out by their parents in order to go on holiday, more and more schools are being extra vigilant and asking for medical evidence that the child is genuinely ill.
- Teachers will also want to be kept informed about the child's absence, in order to help them catch up with the rest of the class and cover topics they have missed out on.
Sample letter for sick leave
Here's a quick example of a sick leave letter you might want to use if your child is sick:
Dear teacher,
My son/daughter [insert name] is too unwell to attend school today, and will require a short period of sick leave to recuperate. Please excuse their absence. He/she has been diagnosed with [name of illness].
After consulting with our family doctor, we foresee that he/she will be absent until [date the child will return].
Please inform me of anything I can do to help [child's name] prepare for their return to school.
Best regards,
[Your name]