Attendance

A key factor to your child achieving academic success at school is through regular and punctual attendance. Full attendance makes a significant difference to the academic success and results your child can expect to achieve.

At Pontypridd High School, we recognise the positive impact that regular attendance has on achievement. Excellent attendance at school is crucial to give your child the best chance of success. We need your support in ensuring that absences are not planned in school time so that your child has every opportunity to succeed.

Evidence suggests a strong link between attendance and school success:

Every child should aim for attendance of 95% or above
80% attendance is the equivalent to having one day off every week
If you take a two week holiday in term time your child’s attendance will automatically be reduced to less than 95%
Research suggests that 17 missed school days every year equates to a drop in GCSE grade

What we do as a school...

Pupils are given their weekly and cumulative attendance data on a weekly basis by their form tutor
Pupils traffic light their attendance on a weekly basis during registration
Pupils under 86% are identified and monitored by their Wellbeing and Attendance Manager and in some cases the AWO

What can you do as a parent?

Contact school as soon as possible if your child is absent, on: 01443 486133 option 1
Aim to book all medical or dental appointments outside of school time whenever possible
Regularly ask your child their weekly and cumulative attendance

Authorised Holidays

We realise that there will be certain exceptional circumstances when it would not be appropriate to unauthorise a holiday absence, and therefore, the following reasons have been agreed that a Headteacher may approve such a request:

Families of serving armed forces personnel
Parent of child experiencing a life limiting illness
Families that have suffered an acute trauma

Fixed Penalty Notices

The criteria for issuing fixed penalty notices are:

Where a pupil has accrued 10 or more sessions of unauthorised absences in the current term
Where a pupil has been persistently late on 10 or more occasions in the current term, arriving more than 30 minutes after the registration period
Where a parent refuses to engage with a school in the interest of improving their child's school attendance levels
Where a pupil is repeatedly caught truanting in public places during school hours
Where a holiday in term time has been requested but has been unauthorised