GLAIS PRIMARY SCHOOL
YSGOL GYNRADD GLAIS
School Road, Glais, Swansea SA7 9EY
A BRIDGE TO OUR SUCCESS
PONT I’M LLWYDDIANT
Headteacher / Pennaeth :Mrs Anne Long
____________________________________________
: [email protected]
: 01792 842627
www.glais.swansea.sch.uk
: 01792 845691
Dear Parent,
Following the meetings with parents to discuss the school absence policy, a number of
parents felt it would be helpful for the school to provide further information/advice for
parents, especially on points that parents were unsure of or seemed to be causing
confusion.
1. Absence through illness is counted as an absence but it is an authorised absence.
The school may on occasion request evidence of an illness before marking it as an
authorised absence. We will always speak to you about whether evidence is needed
or not.
2. The school follows the ‘Health Protection Agency’ guidance document ‘Guidance on
infection control in schools and other childcare settings’ when deciding whether it is
appropriate for a child to be in school. If you would like to view this document there
is a copy in school or you can view it online at:
www.publichealth.hscni.net/sites/default/.../A2%20Schools%20poster_1
3. There is not an automatic right to 10 days holiday; each case has to be considered
on a case-by-case basis. Welsh Government guidelines state that a school cannot
authorise holidays retrospectively. Application for holidays should be made as soon
as possible but should be made at least four-six weeks before to allow the
application to be processed.
4. The period of the red/amber/green letters is from the beginning of that year (1st day
in September) to the last day of that particular half term (October; February; May).
They are given to provide information and support you and your child.
5. Generally the beginning of each term is in our view the worst possible time to take
your child on holiday, as this is when many new topics and themes are introduced.
For Y2-Y6 the National test time in May is also a particularly bad time. If you have to
take a holiday in term time, try to minimise the disruption for your child by starting
your break just before a school holiday and carrying it on for part of the school
holiday. We are required by Welsh Government Guidance to consider the time of
year and the impact on learning when looking at term time leave. Please be mindful
of this when booking holidays.
6. It is difficult to provide homework to cover what your child will miss, as much of the
work your child does in school relies on the input of the teacher/support staff and
often involves working with other pupils/materials. The school will always provide
appropriate reading material and will advise you of the topics your child will miss if
you request it. The impact on the continuity of your child’s learning is something that
we all need to work hard to ensure is not an issue.
7. In order to comply with attendance requirements, lateness is recorded for any child
who arrives at the school after 8.50am. Any child who arrives after 9.20am is
recorded as absent for that session.
8. If you have to make a dental or medical appointment during the school day, it is best
to make it as close to lunchtime or the end of the school day as possible. The worst
time is first thing in the morning or afternoon, as these are the times when the
teacher is often explaining new concepts. The guidance from Welsh Government is
that parents should be encouraged to make appointments out of school hours.
The school values the relationship it has with parents and tries to be as supportive as
possible. It is important that parents are aware that the school promotes good attendance,
firstly and fore mostly, because we have experienced situations where absence has
affected children, not only academically but socially and wish to minimise this as much as
possible.
It is also true however, that the school, along with all other schools, is monitored in its
approach to inattendance. As a school we work hard to ensure that your child gets the best
education we can possibly give, the only area which has been judged as less than good is
attendance, which only you can help us improve upon. Whatever the personal views are
on the policy, it is a policy which we are measured against and as a small school, one child
can make a big difference. We trust you will do everything you can to help us improve in
this area.
The attendance policy can be found on our website but if you have any further queries
please don’t hesitate to contact the school.
Best wishes,
Anne Long
Headteacher
Glais Primary School
[email protected]
01792842627