School Attendance: Our Commitment and Support for Families
At Ysgol Golwg Pen y Fan, we want every child to feel safe, included, and excited to learn. Good attendance is important for learning, friendships, confidence, and future opportunities. We know families may face challenges, so our approach is supportive, kind, and based on early conversations and intervention. Below is a guide to how attendance works in our school and how we support pupils and families.
Why Attendance Matters
Even a few days off can add up:
- 90% attendance = 2 weeks of learning missed
- 85% attendance = 4 weeks of learning missed
- Below 80% = over half a term of learning lost
Attendance is linked to:
- Wellbeing
- Academic progress
- Social confidence
- Safeguarding
Our goal is to help every child attend regularly and enjoy school life.
Our Graduated Approach to Support
From January 2026, we will be implementing a graduated system to make sure we offer families the right help and support at the right time. Support will always begin early and informally.
Tier A — Early Support (little dip in attendance) When attendance slips below 90%, an email or letter will be sent to support families in quickly and easily improving attendance back to normal.
Tier B — Targeted Support (attendance drifting) When attendance falls between 85–90%, a phone call will be made to parents to work together to identify any barriers and remove them early.
Tier C — Intensive Support (high concern) When attendance drops below 85%, a formal meeting will be held with a member of the senior leadership team and, if required, the Education Welfare Officer (EWO) to prevent further decline and put stronger support in place.
Tier D — Specialist / Multi-Agency Support When attendance is very low (below 80%) or affected by long-term or complex needs, multi-agency planning involving the Additional Learning Needs Co-ordinator, (ALNCO), EWO, social care, and health partners is put in place to help the child feel safe, supported, and able to return to regular learning.
What Families Need to Know
Contact us on the first day of absence
Please phone the school by 9:30am on the day of absence and give a reason for your child’s absence. If we don’t hear from you, the school offices will be in contact by 10am to check in.
Medical appointments Where possible, try to book outside of school hours and bring your child to school before/after appointments. If during the school day, please fill out a leave of absence request form.
Term-time holidays These are usually unauthorised unless there are exceptional circumstances. A fixed penalty notice may be issued if absence reaches 10 unauthorised sessions.
Examples of Authorised Absences
Illness
- Sickness, fever, flu, vomiting, or other short-term medical conditions
- Migraine or severe headache
- COVID-related absence following current guidance
Medical / Dental Appointments
- GP appointments
- Specialist hospital appointments
- Optician or dentist appointments
Where possible, try to book outside of school hours or bring your child in before/after.
Religious Observance
- Celebrating recognised religious festivals (e.g., Eid, Diwali, Christmas, Vaisakhi)
Exceptional Circumstances
- Sudden family crisis
- Serious family illness
- Bereavement or funeral of a close family member
School-approved Activities
- Educational visits
- Sporting events representing school
- Music exams
- External tuition agreed by school
Traveller Absence
- Traveller children travelling for work following Welsh Government guidance (School must agree prior to travel.)
Armed Forces
- Family leave linked to a parent’s deployment/return from active military service
- Unavoidable family absence due to compulsory military relocation.
Examples of Unauthorised Absences
Term-time Holidays
- Family trips abroad during school term
- Visiting relatives without prior approval
Days out
- Shopping trips
- Birthdays
- Family celebrations
- Theme park or leisure days
Late after registers close
- Arriving very late without valid reason
No contact from home
- Parent/carer fails to call school and no reason is provided by the end of the day
Reason given is not accepted
- “Overslept”
- “Traffic was bad”
- “Bad weather but school is open”
- “Didn’t feel like coming in”
Long periods without medical evidence
- Repeated illness with no GP evidence after school requests it
Siblings staying off together
- One child ill but all children absent
Registers & punctuality
Registers are taken twice daily (morning & afternoon) for each campus. Gates will be closed promptly and after this your child will need to enter via the main entrance and you will be asked for a reason for the lateness.
All children arriving after the gate closing time will be registered as late – L in the register.
Please ensure you drop your child off at the main front door in person. Lateness can disrupt a child’s learning by causing them to miss socialisation opportunities, key instructions, lose valuable learning time, and find it harder to settle, concentrate, and keep up with their peers.
Mount Street Infant Campus
| Doors open | 9.00am – 9.15am |
| Morning session | 9.15 – 12:00 |
| Lunch time | 12:00 – 13:00 |
| Afternoon session | 13:00 – 15:30 |
Mount Street Infant Campus – 9:45 onwards U will be given
Mount Street Junior Campus
| Doors open | 8.45am -9.00am |
| Morning session | 9.00am – 12:15pm |
| Lunch | 12:15 – 13:15 |
| Afternoon session | 13:15 – 15:30 |
Mount Street Junior Campus – 9:30 onwards U will be given
Cradoc Campus
| Doors open | 9:05am-9.15am |
| Morning session | 9:15 – 12:00 |
| Lunch | 12:00 – 13:00 |
| Afternoon session | 13:00 – 15:30 |
Cradoc Campus – 9:45 onwards U will be given
U – Unauthorised Late
Our Promise to Parents
- We start with support, not blame
- We listen to every family’s situation
- We work in partnership with you
- We celebrate small improvements
- Legal action is a last resort, only when support has not worked
Attendance cannot be looked at in isolation, it links to wellbeing, confidence, friendships, health, transport, housing, and family life. We are committed to a whole-school, whole-community approach to help every child attend and succeed.
Further information can be found in our Attendance Policy
School Attendance Lead: Miss Ebony Johnson can be contacted via the school offices.