SCHOOL ATTENDANCE

 

Dear Parents,

 

We believe passionately that every school day matters in a child’s education. This is

backed up by plenty of research to show how crucial regular attendance is in ensuring children reach their full potential in our education system and develop into confident, wellrounded adults who are equipped for life.

 

What is good attendance?

 

There are 190 school days each year. To ensure a child fully achieves their potential, they should be in school for at least 95% of this time (180 days). If a child is taken out of school for a 2-week holiday in termtime then any further absences e.g. through illness will immediately put that child below the 95% threshold. We encourage our pupils to be a HERO – “Here, Every day, Ready, On time”.

 

Can I take my child out of school for a holiday in term time?

 

Headteachers have the discretion  to approve up to 10 school days over an academic year for family holidays. This is done on a case-by-case basis and the decision to approve will be based on a number of factors, including  the child’s attendance over the last year. All requests for term-time absence must be submitted in writing to the Headteacher prior to going away.

 

What do I do if my child is absent from school?

 

Parents have a responsibility to inform the school if their child is absent and provide a valid reason for the absence. We ask that parents ring the school on 01554 759178 or  contact us by email (admin@stmarysllanelli.ysgolccc.cymru) as early as possible ON THE FIRST DAY OF ABSENCE. In line with many other schools, we also  send text messages to remind parents to contact us if their child is absent.

 

What about lateness?

 

The law states that parents are legally required to ensure their children attend school

regularly and on time. Persistent lateness is dealt with in much the same way as irregular attendance. Persistent lateness can be every bit as harmful to a child’s education as missing school. We encourage all children to be in school by 9:10am. Children who   arrive in school after the close of register  will be marked as an unauthorised absence.

 

How do we deal with persistent absence?

 

We like to keep parents informed about their child’s attendance, so we will be providing termly reports for every child. We also make contact with parents of children whose attendance is a cause for concern. The purpose of these meetings is to identify the reasons for persistent absence and to identify any support the school or outside agencies can give to ensure the child’s attendance improves. There are occasions where there are  significant and ongoing concerns about a child’s attendance which necessitate the school referring the matter to the School Safeguarding and Attendance Team.

 

What can I do as a parent?

 

As parents, we all want the very best for our children and key to this is a good education.

 

We are proud of what we do for our pupils here at St Mary’s School. We endeavour to provide educational experiences tailored to a child’s developmental needs and which feed their interests, enthusiasm and specific abilities and talents. For this to work, they need to be with us for as much of the journey as possible, so we urge that, as parents you:

 

• ensure that your child arrives at school on time each day

• ensure that your child only misses school for reasons which are unavoidable or justified, such as illness or days of religious observance
• always notify the school as soon as possible - preferably on the first morning of any absence

• try to avoid booking family holidays during term-time and
• talk to the school if you are concerned that your child may be reluctant to go to school.

 

I hope you will support us in our attempts to ensure that your child has the very best start on their lifelong learning journey