School absence letter generator: sick notes for school, nursery and university

Use this list when you write your own note or check the one the tool makes:

• Full name of the child or student
• Class, year group, form or tutor group; for university, your course, module and student number
• The first day of absence and, if known, the last day or return date
• A short reason, such as "unwell", "a high temperature" or "a stomach bug"
• A request for missed work, if you want it
• Your name, your relationship to the child, and how to reach you

Leave out what the reader does not need. A teacher does not need test results, medicine names or a full medical history. A short, clear note is easier to file and less likely to be passed around.

There are good reasons to keep it brief. Absence notes are kept on school or university files and may be seen by several staff. Health details are personal, and your child may not want classmates or staff to know them.

There are some times when a little more detail helps:

• Infectious illness. If your child has something that spreads, such as chickenpox, telling the nursery or school lets it warn other families. The NHS says children with chickenpox should stay off until all the spots have crusted over, usually about 5 days after they first appeared.
• Stomach bugs.The NHS says children should stay away until they have not been sick or had diarrhoea for at least 2 days (48 hours). Saying "a stomach bug" explains why your child is off for that extra time.
• Ongoing conditions. If a known condition keeps causing absence, the school may want to talk about support. That conversation is better in person than in a note.

The tool shows a gentle hint if you type something that looks like a diagnosis. You can keep it or remove it. The choice is yours.

In England, the Department for Education publishes statutory guidance called "Working together to improve school attendance". It expects parents to contact the school when their child is absent to explain the reason. If no reason is given, the school should contact parents on the first day of absence.

The same guidance says medical evidence for recording absences should only be needed in a minority of cases. Where a pupil's health needs are complex, long term or keep coming back, schools can seek medical evidence to understand the pupil's needs and plan support.

The UK government's school attendance page says you can keep your child at home if they are too ill to go in. Other absence needs advance permission from the school.

We have not checked the rules for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland or other countries in Europe. If you live outside England, ask your school or check your national education authority.

In England, a school must also make a sickness return to the local authority if it has reasonable grounds to think a pupil will miss 15 or more days through illness, in one stretch or in total over the school year. This is a school duty. It shows that long illness is handled differently from a day or two off.

Nursery messages can be short and friendly. Include your child's name and room, a brief reason, and when you hope they will be back. If the illness spreads easily, say so, because nurseries look after many young children together.

The NHS says that if your child has a high temperature, you should keep them off until it goes away. Many nurseries also have their own exclusion times for illness. Check the nursery's sickness policy, which is often in the parent handbook or app. For more on how long common infections spread, see our contagious period calculator.

Universities treat absence differently from schools. You are an adult, so you write the message yourself. Missing a seminar may need only a quick note. Missing a deadline or an exam usually needs a formal claim.

That formal process is often called extenuating circumstances, mitigating circumstances or special circumstances. The name and the rules change between universities. Your email to your tutor does not replace that claim. It just tells your tutor what is happening and asks how to catch up.

Some universities allow short self certification. Queen Mary University of London, for example, lets students self certify up to 7 calendar days, for up to two separate incidents in an academic year and only once in an exam period. Longer circumstances normally need a standard claim with evidence, such as a medical certificate, fit note or GP letter.

Deadlines matter. At the same university, claims should normally be submitted no later than 7 calendar days after a coursework deadline. For exams, the limit is 3 calendar days after the end of the exam period. Your university may use different numbers, so check its policy.

For school exams such as GCSEs and A levels, the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) guide says the exam centre decides whether a candidate meets the criteria for special consideration. The centre applies, not the student or parent. The guide says there is no need for formal medical evidence where the centre can provide its own statement. For example, it might know the candidate was unwell before the exam or was sent home ill.

JCQ also lists a self certification form for candidates who have missed an exam. Its guide gives an example where a parent completes it when no medical evidence is available, and the centre supports the application. Special consideration has limits too. For most GCSEs and linear A levels, the guide says at least one whole component, a minimum of 15% of the total assessment, must have been completed.

Universities set their own exam rules. Many work on a "fit to sit" principle. If you sit the exam, you are usually treated as fit to take it. If you feel too ill, speak to the exams office before you start, not afterwards.

Sam is 4 and at nursery. His sister Ella is 15 and in Year 11. Their cousin Josh, 19, lives with them and is at university. A stomach bug goes round the house.

• Monday morning, nursery message.Sam is sick overnight. His mum sends the nursery template: "Sam has a stomach bug and will stay home until he has gone 48 hours without being sick." That follows the NHS 2 day guidance.
• Tuesday, secondary school email. Ella falls ill on Tuesday, the day of a mock exam. Her mum uses the secondary school email with the missed work line ticked. She also asks when Ella can sit the missed mock. Mocks are internal tests, so the school sets its own approach.
• Wednesday, university tutor email. Josh misses two seminars and an assessed quiz. He uses the university tutor email and ticks the extenuating circumstances line. His university allows self certification for up to 7 days, so he checks the form and its deadline. If he were still ill on day 8, he would need evidence, and the tool would show a prompt.

Total time: a few minutes per letter. None of the letters names a diagnosis beyond "a stomach bug".

A doctor reviews your case first, and you pay only after that review. The price is EUR 34.99 per certificate, with no added fees at checkout. If the doctor cannot issue a certificate, you get a full refund.

Approved certificates arrive as a signed PDF, usually within about 30 minutes of approval. Each one has a reference code anyone can check, so your tutor or exams office can confirm it is genuine. We cover 42 countries in Europe, and certificates are issued in English.

A doctor always decides. We cannot promise a certificate, or that your institution will accept it.

If your school or university has asked for medical evidence, you can request a sick leave certificate for students.