Attendance & Punctuality

NHS Advice - is my child too ill for school?

The School Day

School target: 96.5% for all pupils

The School Day

Students are expected to be on site and ready for a prompt 8.25 am start to the school day. Staff are on hand each morning to welcome students at the main gate and Welcome Entrance, helping ensure they are ready to begin the day in a positive and supportive environment.

The school day finishes at 3.00 pm.

Timetable

Students arriving after 8.25 am will be recorded as late.

Attendance

Our attendance target: 96.5%

At Wales High School, we believe that excellent attendance is an important foundation for success. Every day in school provides valuable learning opportunities, helps students build positive relationships and supports their academic achievement, wellbeing and future aspirations.

We are committed to creating a culture where regular attendance and punctuality are valued and expected. By working in partnership with parents and carers, we aim to ensure that every student attends school regularly, arrives on time and is able to make the most of their education.

Our commitment includes:

Promoting excellent attendance and recognising and celebrating excellent and improving attendance.
Reducing all forms of absence, including persistent and severe absence.
Ensuring every student has access to the full-time education to which they are entitled.
Identifying and addressing attendance concerns at the earliest opportunity.
Working closely with students and families to understand and remove barriers that may affect attendance.
Providing appropriate support where difficulties with attendance arise.
Promoting excellent punctuality so that students are ready to learn from the start of the school day and every lesson.

We recognise that parents and carers play a vital role in supporting regular attendance and punctuality. By working together, we can help every student develop positive habits, make the most of every school day and achieve their full potential.

What to do if your child is going to be absent from school?

Reporting an Absence

If your child is unable to attend school, please let us know as soon as possible on each day of their absence.

You can report an absence by:

Telephone: 01909 771291 – option 1.
MCAS (MyChildAtSchool): Send us a message through the app.

In some cases, where there is a pattern of frequent absence, we may ask you to provide medical evidence to support future absences. Where there are frequent absences due to illness, the school nurse may also contact families to discuss whether there is any additional support we can provide.

What happens if we do not hear from you?

If your child is absent and we have not been informed, you will receive an MCAS message notifying you of the absence.

We will also make every effort to contact you on the first day of absence by telephone, text message or email. This forms an important part of our safeguarding procedures and helps us to ensure that all students are safe.

Medical and Dental Appointments

Where possible, medical, dental and other routine appointments should be arranged outside of school hours or during the school holidays to minimise disruption to your child’s education. However, we understand that this is not always possible.

If an appointment has to take place during the school day:

Please let the Attendance Team know in advance.
Your child should provide their appointment confirmation or other evidence to Student Reception.
Students must sign out at Reception before leaving the school site and sign back in if they return during the school day.

Where appropriate, students are expected to attend school before and/or after their appointment rather than being absent for the full school day.

Wellbeing Contact

If your child has been absent from school for two or more consecutive days, a member of our team may contact you by MCAS message or telephone.

This contact is intended to maintain positive communication between home and school, check that your child is safe and well, and identify any support that may be helpful. We may use these conversations to:

Check that your child is safe and well.
Understand whether there are any barriers preventing them from attending school.
Offer support or put additional help in place where needed.
Maintain a strong connection between your child and school.
Support your child in returning to school as soon as possible.

We want every student to feel that they belong at Wales High School and that they are a valued member of our school community. Regular contact during periods of absence helps us work together with families to support good attendance and wellbeing.

Keeping in Touch

Good communication between home and school helps us support your child’s attendance and wellbeing.

If your child is experiencing difficulties attending school, or you feel they may need additional support, please contact your child’s RISE Tutor, Pastoral Team or a member of the Attendance Team.

We are here to work with you to identify any barriers, provide appropriate support and help your child attend school regularly and achieve their full potential.

Every Day Counts

We understand that there will be times when students are genuinely too unwell to attend school. However, we ask parents and carers to carefully consider whether an absence is necessary for minor illnesses.

In many cases, students can attend school with mild coughs, colds, or minor ailments and will benefit from remaining in their normal routine. Every day of learning is important, and even a single day’s absence can mean missed lessons, learning opportunities, and valuable time with teachers and peers.

If you are unsure whether your child is well enough to attend, we encourage you to contact the school for advice. By working together, we can help ensure every student achieves the best possible attendance and reaches their full potential.

For further information, please refer to the NHS Advice page – ‘Is my child too ill for school?’

Why this Matters?

Even small differences in attendance quickly add up. A student with 96% attendance will miss around 40 lessons over the course of the school year. By the time attendance falls to 90%, they will have missed approximately 95 lessons—the equivalent of nearly a month’s worth of learning.

Rewards

At Wales High School, we believe that attending school every day gives students the best opportunity to achieve their potential, build friendships and enjoy all aspects of school life. We are committed to recognising and celebrating students who make attendance a priority.

We have a range of rewards for students with excellent and improving attendance, ensuring that every student has something positive to aim for. We understand that improving attendance can be a journey for some young people, and we are keen to recognise and celebrate the progress they make along the way.

Our rewards may include:

Weekly and half-termly prize draws and Bromcom points
Certificates and recognition in assemblies
RISE group and year group recognition
Queue-jump passes and food vouchers
Termly ‘Spotlight Attendance Day’ prize draws and Bromcom points
Special rewards for students who demonstrate significant improvement in their attendance

Our attendance rewards are designed to support and encourage regular attendance, recognising students who maintain excellent attendance as well as those who are working hard to improve.

Every day in school matters. Regular attendance means more time learning, stronger friendships, greater involvement in school life and the best possible opportunity to achieve academically.

Punctuality

Being on time for school is an important part of good attendance. Arriving on time helps your child settle into the day, ensuring they are accessing a full edcuation.

If a student arrives late, they may miss valuable learning that help them succeed. Late arrivals can also interrupt lessons for other students. Regular lateness can have a negative impact on your child’s progress and may lead to further attendance concerns over time.

Our expectation is that all students arrive on the school site by 8.25am each day, ready for the school day to begin.

We understand that there are times when families may experience difficulties getting their child to school on time. If you are finding punctuality a challenge, please contact your child’s Pastoral Team or our Attendance Team as soon as possible. We are committed to working in partnership with families to understand any barriers and provide support wherever we can.

Holidays during term time

Holidays during Term Time

We understand that family holidays are important. However, the Government expects parents and carers to arrange holidays outside of term time wherever possible.

By law, Head Teachers can only authorise a leave of absence during term time if there are exceptional circumstances.

If you believe there are exceptional circumstances warranting your child’s absence from school, you must apply in advance using our Leave of Absence Request Form. In your request, clearly explain the dates and reasons for the leave of absence.

Holidays taken in term time are recorded as unauthorised. Please also note, any illness directly before or after a holiday will also be considered unauthorised unless supported by medical evidence.

Unauthorised term time leave may result in:

A Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) being issued by the Local Authority.

Every day in school counts. Missing lessons can make it harder for children to keep up with their learning, maintain friendships, and achieve their full potential. If you have any questions about requesting a leave of absence, please whenever possible contact the school before making any travel arrangements.

Leave of Absence Form

Enter your keyword