Attending School
Pupils need to attend school regularly if they are to take full advantage of the educational opportunities available to them. The progress of pupils is affected by non-attendance at school. Children are expected to attend school every day, punctually, unless there is a valid reason for not doing so.
Authorised Absences
It is inevitable that there will be times when your child will need to be absent from school. It may be because of a visit to the hospital for example. Whilst we would ask that, where possible, appointments are made outside school hours, we acknowledge that in certain circumstances it is not possible. At these times, we ask you to notify the school in advance by telephoning the school office. Should your child be absent through illness, we ask that you contact the school on the morning of the first day of absence so that we know that your child/children are safe at home. We operate a first day calling and messaging system where, if the school is not contacted, a member of school staff will contact you.
Holidays within Term Time
We ask parents to try their best to arrange holidays in official school breaks. Any requests for holidays during term time cannot be authorised (apart from exceptional circumstances eg representing their country in sporting events ). Holidays in term time can result in FPNs being issued. More information can be found on our school website regarding Holidays in Term time.
Education Welfare Officer (EWO)
The Education Welfare Officer visits regularly and can advise families with educational welfare problems. They may also be used by the school to monitor punctuality, to check on persistent, unexplained absences, or to support families that we are concerned about.
Care of our Pupils
Ensuring your child is cared for and looked after, whilst at school, is of great importance to us. If you have any queries at any time then you are very welcome to come and speak to your child’s teacher. However, please remember that after school is the best time, as the teacher has his/her class to prepare for, and to look after, at the beginning of school. If your child’s teacher is unavailable, short messages can be passed on via the school office or sent via an e-mail. If necessary an appointment can be made for the earliest possible opportunity. Regular opportunities will be provided for all parents to meet with teachers during our allocated Pupil Progress Meetings to discuss your child’s progress and any potential concerns however, please do not wait, contact the school. At Cilffriw we can administer medication if prescribed by a GP. All medication must be signed into the main school office in line with our ‘Administration of Medication’ policy.
In school, we regularly remind the children about the importance of attendance in assemblies and registration periods. Every Monday we celebrate the class with the highest weekly attendance, and they gain extra 5 minutes break. We publish all class attendance on our weekly newsletters for you to keep track as parents and school community members.
Thank you for your support in ensuring that your child is in school every possible day. We understand that very occasionally children are absent from school for personal reasons and, of course, if they are unwell they cannot be in school.
