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Note explaining your child's sickness absence from school (Northern Ireland)
Northern Ireland · in English · for parents
€2.00This document is sold blank, to print and complete by hand.
Made for use in Northern Ireland
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This document is sold blank, to print and complete by hand.
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For a parent in Northern Ireland whose child has been off school ill and whose school asks for a note. A short letter to the school giving the dates of the absence and the day you first told the school, and asking for it to be recorded as an absence because of illness. It does not describe the illness; if the school wants evidence, its attendance policy says what. Handed in or emailed. Sold blank, to complete by hand, as it holds health data DocMuse does not collect.
- Made for use in Northern Ireland
- Last updated October 29, 2026
- Document in English
Where a UK document reproduces the words of legislation or of a government publication — UK, Scottish or Northern Irish — it contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Published byDocMuse
When to use this document
- Your child was off sick for a few days and the school in Northern Ireland wants a written note.
- You rang the school on the first morning and now they ask you to confirm the dates.
- The class teacher asked why your child was off last week and you want to confirm it in writing.
- You want a short sick note for school without giving details of your child's health.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Sender
- Sender's address
- Town or city
- Sender's postcode
- Date
- School
- School's address
- Recipient's postcode
- Child's name
- Class teacher
- Absent from
- Absent until
- Date the school was told of the absence
- Phone
Common questions
- Does a school in Northern Ireland need a doctor's letter when my child has been ill?
- Usually not for a short illness: follow the school's attendance policy, which says when it wants a note from you and when, if ever, it wants more. If the school asks for evidence of a longer or repeated absence, an appointment card, a prescription label or a hospital letter can serve; a GP practice may not write letters for short illnesses. Keep copies of what you hand in.
- How should I tell a school in Northern Ireland that my child is off sick?
- Follow the school's own procedure, usually a phone call, an app message or an email on the first morning; schools follow up absences that have not been explained. A written note like this one confirms the dates afterwards, when the school asks for one or when your child has been away for several days, and helps the school record the absence correctly.
- Can a school in Northern Ireland refuse to accept illness as the reason for an absence?
- The school decides how each absence is recorded. If it doubts that a child was ill, it can ask for evidence and may record the absence as unauthorised, which counts in your child's attendance record. Ask the school to tell you if it does not accept the reason, and use its complaints procedure, which ends with the Board of Governors, if you disagree.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
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