September 2024

Dear Parents and Carers

Please take time to read this letter about school attendance. As your children settle back into school, I wanted to take this opportunity to remind you of the importance of regular attendance at school. As a local authority, we prioritise and support high attendance at school. We believe that Attendance is Everyone’s Business and this belief underpins our attendance policy and our day-to-day practice.

In the last full year before the pandemic, attendance in Swansea’s secondary schools was 93.7% and attendance in primary pupils was 94.9% (2018-2019). At the end of academic year 2023-2024, attendance in Swansea’s secondary schools was 88.4% and attendance in primary pupils was 91.1%.

As you can see, the disruption of the pandemic has had a significant impact on school attendance figures. To give a practical example, a pupil with 80% attendance is missing one day of school every week. We know that poor attendance at school can impact on progress and well-being.

As parents and carers, you play a critical role in helping your child develop good attendance habits. We also appreciate that sometimes young people have difficulty attending school, whether through illness, emotional worries, family emergencies or even a failure to see the importance in regular school attendance. We understand and we would like to help.

Getting in touch is the first step. Your child’s school will have a staff member who will be able to support you if you have any concerns about attendance. Your child’s school also has a dedicated Education Welfare Officer (EWO) who is available to help support your child and your family when attendance to school falls below expected levels. We are available to give advice and support in all aspects of attendance.

If you have any questions, please get in touch via the school or by using our email address, located at the bottom of this letter. The Education Welfare Service (EWS) also has a website that offer frequently asked questions (FAQs), including advice on legal responsibilities and penalty notices; the address is also at the bottom of this letter.

We want to work with families to ensure that attendance to Swansea schools returns to the level we saw pre-pandemic. We want our children to have the best possible experiences by ensuring they are in the classroom, learning new skills, building good habits, and developing lifelong bonds with their peers. As I said, Attendance is Everyone’s Business and every school day matters for the life chances of children and young people. The local authority, your child’s school and the EWS is here to work with you and your family to ensure high levels of attendance and the support you need when things get more challenging. Please speak with us and we will do what we can to help.

We wish you a happy new term.

Regards

Education Welfare Service

EWS e-mail: educationwelfareservice@swansea.gov.uk

EWS website: https://www.swansea.gov.uk/educationwelfareservice