Childminder policies › Safeguarding
Attendance and absence policy for childminders
The EYFS has required an attendance policy since September 2025, shared with parents: what you do when a child is absent without notice or for a long time.
The EYFS asks for this one in writing.
What your policy needs to answer
These are the questions Tea Tin asks you when you write this one. They are the things an inspector is likely to ask about, and they are the parts only you can answer, because they are about your home and the way you work.
- How should parents tell you a child will not be coming, and by when?
- If a child does not arrive and you have not heard, what do you do, and how soon?
- Who do you try if you cannot reach the parents?
- When would absences, or a pattern of them, become a safeguarding concern for you?
How often to look at it again
Review this one once a year, and whenever something changes that it describes: a new room, a new pet, a change in the guidance behind it. A policy with a review date on it tells an inspector you have read your own policy since you wrote it.
Other safeguarding policies
This page is a guide to what the policy covers. It is not legal advice, and it is not model policy text to copy. Tea Tin prompts you to write your own.
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