Sent to parents and carers of applicable students on 4/04/25
Annual Review of Toilet Passes
Submission of Medical Evidence
As an academy, we are focused on working with you to ensure your child leaves the academy in Year 11 with the best exam results that are possible. Government research shows that poor school attendance has a clear impact on the potential earnings of your child in the future.
National data shows that students who attended school nearly every day in Year 11 (with an attendance rate of 95-100%) were 1.9 times more likely to achieve the Grade 5 in English and Maths GCSE compared to students who only attended 90-95% of the time. We know that in order to reach their potential, students need to be in lessons.
We also know that attendance to lessons is important, to ensure that students are building the foundations in knowledge/skills in each lesson, which builds towards that success in Year 11. When a student truants a lesson or leaves a lesson to go to the toilet frequently, they can miss out on key learning, or the learning can be unclear. We appreciate that for some students’ health and well-being, it is essential for them to be able to go to toilet when they have a need.
To ensure that students learning is disrupted as little as possible, we are updating our records to ensure that all students who require a toilet pass for medical reasons have the appropriate up to date documentation on file. To continue providing this support, we kindly request that you submit medical evidence from a healthcare professional, confirming your child’s need for a toilet pass.
For students with short-term needs, we can offer a temporary toilet pass with an end date.
For longer term or exceptional circumstances, we will require medical evidence and can offer a toilet pass until the end of the academic year, to be reviewed.
For students with long-term or permanent medical conditions, we understand that their needs do not change yearly. We are looking to introduce permanent, long-term passes, without yearly updates, for lifelong, long-term or chronic conditions (eg: Crohn’s disease, IBS, Diabetes) as we understand that annual resubmission may place unnecessary stress on students and families.
As part of this review, please can all medical evidence be handed in at the school office during term time or emailed to: wes-medical@attrust.org.uk no later than Tuesday 6 May 2025. If we do not receive suitable medical evidence by this date, we will have to remove the toilet pass and notify the student(s) concerned.
If it is proving difficult to obtain the medical evidence required, please let us know via the email above and we can explore how we can support you.
We appreciate your cooperation in this matter and thank you for your support in helping us maintain a fair and well-managed system that ensures the safeguarding of all students. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Kind regards
Mr C Arrow
Assistant Principal
Email: chris.arrow@attrust.org.uk
Academy vision: Westbourne is an inclusive academy. We support all students, regardless of starting point, to achieve their potential and develop the skills necessary for employment and life.
Academy values: Be Safe, Be Thoughtful, Be Accountable and Be Respectful.
General queries to: wes-office@attrust.org.uk or 01473 742315
Attendance or Absence queries to: wes-attendance@attrust.org.uk
Exam queries to: anna.fulcher@attrust.org.uk
MCAS, online payments and data information queries to: wes-data@attrust.org.uk
SEND queries to: opal.degville@attrust.org.uk
Lettings queries to wes-lettings@attrust.org.uk