At Maesydderwen, we believe that the cornerstone to a good education and exam success is good attendance at school. It will come as little surprise to read that studies have shown a strong correlation between results and attendance.
The school day starts at 8:45 and pupils are expected to arrive at school on time. If a pupil is late, they are required to sign in at the main office and state the reason for being late. We strongly advise parents to arrange medical appointments outside of school hours whenever possible and to avoid taking their children out of school for holidays. When a medical appointment is made that will necessitate a child's absence from school, we need to be made aware of this in advance. Holiday requests during term time need to be authorised by the Headteacher so please give us plenty of notice if you do intend to take your child away outside of the school holidays.
If a child is unable to attend due to illness, parents are required to contact the school on the first day of absence by 9:30 and to keep us regularly informed if an illness is ongoing. You should not keep your child home from school if they are suffering from a minor ailment that would not prevent you from attending work. In the event of a prolonged absence, we can arrange for work to be sent home. Please telephone us on 01639 842115.
The school's pastoral team is very focused on improving attendance to school to help to ensure that each child has the best opportunity to succeed. Where pupil attendance is unsatisfactory, parents may be requested to explain this to the Governors. We also meet weekly with the Education Welfare Officer who can initiate legal action if other attempts to improve attendance have been unsuccessful.
The school aims for a minimum attendance rate of 94%. Pupils whose attendance is 95% or higher are rewarded in termly presentations at school and other incentives such as non-uniform days are used to promote regular attendance. Pupils' individual attendance rates are displayed in a table in their form room and forms are ranked against each other at the end of every month.
