GP Notes for Schools
Guidance for parents asked to provide a GP note for School
Please note that GPs do not have a statutory duty to provide informal sick notes for children.
Your relationship with the school should be such that any concerns over a child’s absence can be resolved without the need for you or the school to ask your GP to provide any supporting evidence.
In the majority of cases a parent’s notification that their child is ill can be accepted without question or concern. Schools should not routinely request that parents provide medical evidence to support illness.
Schools are advised not to request medical evidence unnecessarily as it places additional pressure on health professionals, their staff and their appointments system particularly if the illness is one that does not require treatment by a health professional. Only where the school has a genuine and reasonable doubt about the authenticity of the illness should medical evidence be requested to support the absence.
If your school or yourself does require a medical opinion, this will need to be requested formally in writing, and parent consent needs to be provided. As this is non-NHS funded work the school will be liable for a fee which can be set by the practice.
Please note that GPs do not have a statutory duty to provide informal sick notes for children.
Your relationship with the school should be such that any concerns over a child’s absence can be resolved without the need for you or the school to ask your GP to provide any supporting evidence.
In the majority of cases a parent’s notification that their child is ill can be accepted without question or concern. Schools should not routinely request that parents provide medical evidence to support illness.
Schools are advised not to request medical evidence unnecessarily as it places additional pressure on health professionals, their staff and their appointments system particularly if the illness is one that does not require treatment by a health professional. Only where the school has a genuine and reasonable doubt about the authenticity of the illness should medical evidence be requested to support the absence.
If your school or yourself does require a medical opinion, this will need to be requested formally in writing, and parent consent needs to be provided. As this is non-NHS funded work the school will be liable for a fee which can be set by the practice.