We understand that family life can be busy and sometimes unpredictable, but being in school as often as possible helps children build strong routines, develop friendships, and make steady academic progress. Even occasional absences can make it harder for children to keep up, which is why every day truly counts.

We want to work in partnership with you to support your child’s attendance in a positive and understanding way. Small, consistent habits at home can make a big difference. For example, having a regular bedtime and morning routine can help children feel rested and ready for the day. Preparing school bags, uniforms, and lunches the night before can also reduce stress in the morning.

If your child is feeling anxious about school, try to keep conversations calm and reassuring. Listening to their concerns and sharing these with us can help us provide the right support in school. Encouraging a positive attitude towards learning and celebrating good attendance—no matter how small the improvement—can boost motivation and confidence.

We also recognise that illness and unforeseen circumstances do happen. If your child is unwell, please follow guidance and keep them at home when necessary, but do let us know as soon as possible. If there are ongoing challenges affecting attendance, we are here to help—please reach out so we can work together on a solution.

Thank you for your continued support. By working together, we can give every child the best opportunity to thrive, achieve, and enjoy their time at school.

Our target is 95% Attendance 

- 90% Attendance = 4 weeks of learning missed

- 85% Attendance = 5 1/2 weeks of learning missed

- 80% Attendance = 7 1/2 weeks of learning missed

Going to school every day means...

• Having lots of fun

• Making friends

• Taking part in exciting activities

• Time to play

• Building lasting relationships

• Learning

Every day on time .....

Being on time for school is a really important part of helping your child have a positive and successful start to their day. Our school doors open at 8:40am and close at 8:50am, and this short window plays a key role in settling children into their learning.

Arriving on time means your child can come into school calmly, see their friends, and begin the day feeling confident and ready to learn. Late arrivals can sometimes make children feel rushed or unsettled, and they may miss important instructions or activities that set the tone for the rest of the day.

There are many benefits to being on time each day:

• A calm and positive start to the day
• Time to settle in and prepare for learning
• Building strong routines and good habits
• Developing independence and responsibility
• Not missing important early learning activities
• Feeling part of the class from the very beginning

You can support your child by keeping a consistent morning routine, preparing bags and uniforms the night before, and allowing plenty of time to get to school.

We understand that mornings can be busy, and we are here to support you. By working together, we can help every child start their day in the best possible way—ready, confident, and eager to learn.

Absence, lateness and medical appointments

• Parents are asked to contact the school by telephone or email by 9.30am at the beginning of the first day of their child’s absence. Individual schools monitor telephone calls each morning.

• Should a pupil be absent from school without explanation, the individual school will follow its own procedures for contacting home (telephone, text, etc) where a request will be sent    to parents asking them to make contact with the school both as a safeguarding precaution and also to allow parents to indicate the reason for absence and provide an indication of when their child will be able to return to school.

• Unless an indication in terms of length of time, is given, parents are expected to inform the school at the beginning of each subsequent day of absence unless other arrangements have been mutually agreed.

• Lateness, especially if persistent should be treated in the same way as irregular attendance.

• Parents can be prosecuted if the issue of persistent lateness is not resolved. 

• Lateness can be as damaging to a pupil's educational career as persistent absence can impact upon learning.

• If a child arrives late to school, parents or carers must sign them in as late in the main foyer.

• If pupils are required to leave school within the day, the parent/ guardian must come to the main foyer / office in the Primary schools to ‘sign out’ the pupil and give a reason for leaving early.

• Whenever possible medical appointments should be booked outside of the school day.

• If appointments are not possible outside of the school day, then proof of the appointment will be required and pupils should return to school afterwards unless there is a valid medical reason given.

• Where an absence is authorised, the school will use the appropriate code to record the absence.

• If a pupil is feeling unwell during the school day, at this point, a decision will be made as to whether the pupil should be sent home or not.

Early Intervention 

• GCS recognises the important role that parents play in promoting good school attendance. The school therefore seeks to provide professional, quality information and advice, communicated frequently by text message, social media, leaflets, parents’ evenings, school reports and the school website.

• When a pupil has been absent for an extended period, they are welcomed positively on their return. Where possible work will be provided to ensure that the pupil can keep as up to date as possible with the curriculum. 

• The EWO, in conjunction with all the schools in the cluster, will ensure that attendance and punctuality is given a high priority throughout the duration of pupils’ compulsory education.

Authorisation of absence (including holidays) 

• Absences may only be approved by authorised representatives of the school.

• Schools will exercise caution in the authorisation of absence and parents must seek to provide the school with a full picture of the reasons and in some circumstances documentary evidence relating to their child’s absence. 

• The Education (Pupil Registration) (Wales) Regulations 2010 states that all absences are to be treated as unauthorised until schools have agreed that a satisfactory explanation has been given which should normally be within one day.

• If a reason is accepted it needs to be recorded on the Bromcom system using the correct code. 

• The Education (Pupil Registration) (Wales) Regulations 2010 give schools discretionary power to grant leave for the purpose of a family holiday during term time.

• Parents do not have an automatic right to withdraw their child from school for a holiday and, in law, have to apply for permission from the school in advance. School will only authorise family holidays at the head teacher’s discretion where parents are able to demonstrate that the individual circumstances warrant it being authorised.  

• We are very clear about the effect of term time holiday absence on learner attainment performance and progress as they will be at a severe disadvantage compared to their peers.

• The Social Worker and not the Foster Carer would ordinarily make requests for leave of absence for CLA children; if such a request is received, the school should liaise with the social worker and the Local Authority CLA team. It is noted however that Social Services in appropriate cases are moving towards a system of delegating more parental responsibility and day to day decision making to foster carers. This scheme of delegation is designed to ensure a LAC child can have a more normal family experience rather than having all decisions delayed and passed via social services. The school will accept a request from a foster carer upon production of a delegation form signed by social services.  

• When assessing requests for a holiday, the Headteacher will consider: 

• The age of the child

• The time of year of the proposed trip; 

• The length and purpose of the time off; 

• Any impact on continuity of learning; 

• Overall attendance pattern;

• The stage of education

• The child’s progress

• Any guidance issued by Welsh Government

• Balanced with

  • The circumstances of the family 

  • The wishes and views of the parents; and 

  • The purpose of the holiday

• The above list is not exhaustive and the Headteacher is entitled to take into account other factors which they feel to be relevant to the exercise of their discretion. Parents are expected to be clear at the time of making their request the family circumstances, purpose of the trip and any views they have. 

• Should the holiday take the total absence due to holidays for the year to being over 10 days then only in exceptional circumstances should this holiday be granted.

• The test of exceptional circumstances applies only to holidays which accumulate over the course of the year to more than 10 days.

• Holidays which accumulate to 10 days or less throughout the year need to be considered in accordance with paragraph 3.3 above. 

Monitoring and evaluation 

• The SLT and EWO are responsible for maintaining accurate attendance records through Bromcom for each pupil. 

• The EWO meets regularly with every school in the cluster to discuss individual cases of absenteeism or lateness and reflect upon the effectiveness of interventions to date. Decisions are taken at this time as to whether individual cases meet the criteria for referral to the Educational Welfare Service.  As a result of the EWO's overview of the whole cluster, the EWO will strive to promote consistency when working with a family that might have children in more than one cluster school.

• The appropriate member of staff in each school will meet with the Educational Welfare Officer as required to review cases and seek support. The Educational Welfare Officer is responsible for contributing to the drive for school effectiveness through providing advice on proven good practice and promoting attendance.

• Attendance data is reviewed at the end of the academic year by the Senior Leadership Team and is used to populate the Self-Evaluation document and inform the School Improvement Plan. 

• The school and EWO should make use of attendance data to try and identify trends or problems and to evaluate the effectiveness of attendance strategies. 

Attendance Awards - We are all in this together!

We are committed to supporting and celebrating excellent attendance in school, and we’re excited to share the rewards available for our pupils.

If your child achieves over 95% attendance in a half term, they will receive a certificate along with a small prize such as a sticker, pencil, ruler, or bookmark. These rewards recognise their effort, commitment, and positive attitude towards school.

In addition, every time your child reaches this attendance milestone, they will be entered into our end-of-year raffle, where they will have the chance to win a £100 gift voucher. The more times your child achieves over 95% attendance across the year, the more raffle tickets they will earn—giving them an even greater chance of winning!

We hope these incentives help motivate and encourage strong attendance habits. Being in school regularly not only supports your child’s learning and friendships but also gives them the opportunity to be recognised and rewarded for their efforts.

Thank you for your continued support in helping your child attend school every day and make the most of every opportunity.