Dear Parent/Carer,
RE: School Attendance and the Attendance & Wellbeing Service
At Tai Education Centre, we place great emphasis on the importance of attending school everyday and we are supported by the Local Authority in ensuring that we provide the best possible opportunities for our pupils. There are already a range of school based initiatives in place which help us to promote and celebrate achievements and the Attendance and Wellbeing Service (AWS) also support us in our efforts for continued improvements.
Schools and parents have a legal obligation for ensuring registered pupils attend school regularly and the AWS is there to offer the appropriate support where there may be difficulties. We recognise that some children may miss the occasional day due to illness or because of exceptional circumstances (which would need to be discussed with the headteacher). Other than in these special cases, your child should be attending school every day.
As part of Rhondda Cynon Taf’s drive to improve school attendance, the AWS has arranged a number of activities for the remainder of the year which are aimed at raising the awareness of attendance across communities and as part of this campaign are asking schools to support them by reminding parents to actively discourage casual and unnecessary absences from school. The following activities have been arranged:
- Wellbeing Response Visits (WRV’s) deployed across school clusters
- Meet and Greets at school gates
- Joint Truancy Operations on the Valley Lines with British Transport Police
- Supermarket Swoops across county
- Retail Park patrols
WRV activities are specifically designed to support schools in operating and managing their “First Day Response” procedures and will involve home visits to absent pupils, particularly if there has been no contact made to explain the absence.
Regular attendance is important, not just because the law requires it, but also because it is the best way of ensuring children get the most out of school. You need to make sure that your child attends every day and is on time. If your child is absent for any reason, please contact the school immediately to explain the absence.
I look forward to your support in achieving excellent attendance
Yours sincerely,
M. Chadney
Head teacher