Attendance
Presenoldeb

General attendance information

Children and young people who do not attend school often regret the fact for the rest of their lives. Good attendance and punctuality leads to the best learning outcome.

At Ysgol Eirias good attendance will be promoted and encouraged in an effort to maximise the attendance of all pupils. Appropriate strategies are available to address problems that impede punctuality and regular attendance.

High priority is given to developing a holistic approach to learning at Ysgol Eirias. Good attendance will be promoted and encouraged; after all, if a pupil is not in school they are not learning, and the young person’s life chances may be affected by irregular attendance.

There will, of course be occasions when a young person is not well, or family circumstances require an absence from school e.g. following a bereavement, or for religious observance. However, we would expect the attendance of all pupils to be over at least 94%.

If, for whatever reason a pupil misses 10 days of school throughout the year, their attendance will be 96%. We hope that we can maintain good communications with you to support you in ensuring your child attends school as much as possible. NB all medical/dental appointments should be made outside School hours as far as is practicable.

If your child is absent from school please do phone or send a note to let us know the reason. (However, you should note that school is not obliged to accept a parental explanation for pupil absence).

If we do not hear from you we will send a group call text advising you that your son/daughter is not in school. If we do not receive a note or phone call from you the absence will be treated as an unauthorised absence.

At Ysgol Eirias holidays taken in term time are not condoned. Parents must make a strong case for taking pupils out of School for holidays. School does not have to agree to authorising an absence for family holidays, and will certainly not authorise holiday absence if:

• Student’s previous attendance rate is below 96%
• The pupil is not accompanied on the holiday by their parents/guardian
• Holidays are scheduled close to or over exam periods or during a period of NEAs
• The pupil is absent from school for family holidays for more than 10 school days in any school year
• A request for holiday absence has not been made
• Unauthorised absence is deemed as truancy and may result in the involvement of the Educational Welfare Officer and could ultimately lead to the prosecution of parents or the issuing of a fixed penalty notice. We hope we can work closely with you to prevent this from happening.

Fixed penalty notices

Under the Education (Penalty Notice Wales) Regulations 2013, the Local Authority can issue a fixed penalty notice. The law says that parents/carers whose children of compulsory school age are absent from school without good reason are committing an offence. The Local Authority can issue a fixed penalty notice for unauthorised absence.

A fixed penalty notice can be given for a pupil who has 10 unauthorised absences in one term time (am and pm count as separate absences) from school, and/or persistent lateness (more than 10 occasions in one term).

If paid within 28 days, the fine is currently £60. If paid after 28 days, but within 42 days the penalty will be £120. If the penalty is not paid in full by the 43rd day legal action will result.

They may be issued for unauthorised absence, truancy, absence and persistent lateness.

Fixed Penalty Notice information