Excuse Letters for Missing School

Parents usually have to forward a letter to the concerned authority if their child is absent from school. These letters must provide a valid reason as to why the child could not attend school. A bad letter which does not give a credible reason puts the parents in bad light. Therefore, parents need to make sure that such excuse letters are written with precision and have a genuine reason. Here are few writing tips on how to write excuse letters.

Excuse letters are required when you need to explain the cause of past or future absence from an institute or school. Absence from your place of work does not require you to write excuse letters, instead, they have HR policies where you can get your medical or even unplanned leave. On the other hand, for students who have not attained maturity or are minors, providing a written application or an excuse letter becomes necessary. Usually, the excuse letter is prepared by the parents or guardians but in case of medical emergencies, medical certificates are allowed as excuse letters. You can follow these steps to make perfect excuse letters.

• Beginning: Begin by writing the date on top right or left corner. You can either opt for a handwritten letter or type it on a word processor and get a hard copy printed.
• Addressing: On the line after the date, write the name of the person to whom the letter is addressed. The excuse letters are generally addressed to the class teacher, principal or a professor. Also include the address (along with the name of the city) of the person to whom you are addressing the letter. Just below that, mention the details of person writing the letter, either the parents or the guardians.
• Subject: Under the address of the person writing the letter, write the subject line of the letter, beginning with "Subject:.." or "Re:...", name of student and the reason for absence. Make sure to mention the dates of the absence.
• Main Text: Here you have to put down the subject matter in detail. The who, when, why type of questions need to be answered. The content should be to the point, crisp and clear, and should state the reason and duration of absence along with dates (whether past or future), and any additional information like bringing to their notice assignments that the child has missed. There are various good reasons for absence which can never be doubted, like attending a funeral in the family, family vacation, family emergency, illness, etc.
• Conclusion: Finish writing the letter with usual salutations like 'yours sincerely', etc and be very sure to sign the letter because without a signature the letter would appear fake and that is the last thing that you would want to happen. If the absence is long, due to some illness, it is advisable to attach a medical certificate.

You can put your phone number on the letter as well, in case the teacher requires it for any questions. This will rarely happen but, will add an extra assurance that your excuse is genuine.

Whether your child has missed one class or the whole day, you need to write an excuse letter. There may be times when you may want to go on a family vacation while your child's school is on. So keep a few good excuses ready, learn some writing skills as you never know when this may come in handy.