RCT Summer Term Attendance Campaign - “Holidays are fine, but not in term time.”

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.