At Gelli Primary School we place great emphasis on the
importance of attending school every day and are committed to improving our
attendance rates in order to improve the outcomes for our pupils. This is why
we are supporting Rhondda Cynon Taf’s Summer Term Attendance Campaign that
focuses on the impact of holiday related absence on educational achievement.
We understand that family holidays, can be an enriching
experience and can have educational benefits however, we need parents/carers to
appreciate that the loss to their child’s education of regular absence for
holidays may actually outweigh these benefits in the long term. Even for pupils
with excellent attendance taking just 2 weeks out for holidays every year will
result in almost a year of schooling lost by the age of 16.
The Welsh Government states that primary schools should
achieve an annual attendance target of at least 95% and secondary schools; at
least 93%. For a pupil missing 10 days a year on holidays taken in term time,
their attendance cannot be more than 94%. This is before any additional days
lost to sickness or other unforeseen events. Research shows that a pupil who
has 91% attendance across a school career can still result in a drop of a GCSE
grade across all subjects.
It is for this reason that we urge absences to be kept to a
minimum and family holidays taken during the school holidays.
Before booking a family holiday during term time, please
consider that:
The law states that parents/carers do not have a legal right
to take their child out of school for holidays.
Parents have a right to apply to the school for authorised
absence up to a maximum of 10 days however it is the school who agrees whether
to authorise absence based upon assessment of the potential educational impact
on the pupil. This decision is made by the Headteacher in consultation with the
Governing Body.
Essential transition preparation for the following academic
year is conducted during the Summer Term.
Attendance at the beginning of the Autumn Term is
fundamental to the success of the academic year. This is particularly important
for Year 7 pupils.
How will your child catch up with work they have missed?
This school’s policy is that you submit a request by filling
in our holiday form which is available from the school office. We will then
consider the application and inform you of our decision as soon as possible.
We thank you for your continued support.
Further to the information published in the newsletter published yesterday we have text parents for Year 1 pupils to request that they meet Mrs Dyer at Ton Pentre Railway Station NO LATER THAN 8.45 a.m. so that they can catch the train to Treorchy for the Cluster Olympic Legacy Week activities. This will also be the case for Year 3 on Tuesday and Year 5 on Wednesday. Further details will be text to parents during the week. Thank you for your anticipated co-operation.
At Gelli Primary School we place great emphasis on the
importance of attending school every day and are committed to improving our
attendance rates in order to improve the outcomes for our pupils. This is why
we are supporting Rhondda Cynon Taf’s Summer Term Attendance Campaign that
focuses on the impact of holiday related absence on educational achievement. 
