The thing that has dominated this week has been the many colds, sore throats and coughs which have kept children off school. Of course this is always the case at this time of year. I thought it would be worth reminding parents that you need to notify us of every absence (by phone -answerphone is fine, email or message) even if they were ill the day before so we know where children are. If we do not have a message we never assume a child is ill, we need to be sure, so you can expect a check with a phone-call home. The only exception might be if a child has vomited/ diarrhoea (or something more serious) and you’ve told us they will need to be off for 48 hours (as per NHS guidance).