Attendance

Attendance is compulsory for children aged 5-15 years in Malta. Attendance is inputted on the MySchool platform on a daily basis so that parents receive an SMS notifying them of their child’s absence. It is the parent’s responsibility to inform the school in writing of any changes in mobile numbers.

Justified Absence

A student is also excused with justified absence if the Head of School is presented with valid documentation (examples: in case of emergency family travel abroad (trips of less than 3 weeks for medical reasons, serious family reasons, like funerals, weddings, cultural and educational trips etc., musical exams falling on school days, students representing the nation in activities abroad, bereavement, etc…).

If a student is absent only 1 and 2 days, an absence form from a parent to the Head of School will be enough. The absence form can be downloaded at the bottom of this page. If the child is sick and visits a doctor, the note can be replaced by the medical certificate. When a student is sick for 3 days or more per month, a medical certificate is then required even if the days are not consecutive. Certificates have to be handed to the Form Teacher on the day of return. LATE MEDICAL CERTIFICATES ARE NOT ACCEPTED.

A Valid Medical Certificate

A certificate of illness is accepted if such certificate contains the following information:

The name, surname and registration number of practitioner;
The name of the student, class and school of the student;
The date of the examination or the date of issue of the certificate of illness – the school shall not accept a medical certificate that does not show the date of issue or consultation;
The exact period of recommended absence from school due to illness. Certificates must be renewed after a period of 7 consecutive days;
The certificate is submitted by not later than 3 days after the student returns to school. Nonetheless, if the student is sick for more than 5 consecutive school days, the certificate has to be handed in by the end of the fifth day.

Unjustified Absence

A student is habitually absent if he/she is absent for more than 3 days without any justification. In the interest of the student, the Head of School may not accept the justification by the parent and ask for a formal medical certificate when a child is sick.

When a student has been absent without justification for 9 days from the beginning of the scholastic year (cumulative) the Education Psycho-Social Services Personnel will intervene to address the problem at an early stage.

Download Absence Form

Form is in PDF format.

absence form