One headteacher has additionally shared suggestions for folks on who to get youngsters to lessons put up pandemic
A headteacher of a college with one of many highest attendance charges in Wales has shared her recipe for fulfillment because the Welsh Authorities struggles to deal with cussed absence charges because the pandemic. It comes as the colleges with the best attendance charges are revealed.
Eleri Jones, appearing headteacher at Ysgol Gymraeg Caerffili, believes faculties won’t ever return to all-Wales pre-pandemic attendance ranges as a result of a lot has modified. However she insists it’s doable to get extra youngsters in additional typically with the precise method.
Ygol Gymraeg Caerffili, which has a catchment together with a number of the most disadvantaged areas in Wales, recorded a 98.2% attendance fee in September 2025, in comparison with the all-Wales common of 93.4% for major faculties and 90.6% for secondaries – and even decrease for some areas and teams. Some faculty leaders say they need extra dad and mom fined for not sending their youngsters in however not all agree with this coverage.
At present a mean 8.2% of all half day faculty classes are being missed in Wales, with greater absence amongst least effectively off pupils and people in key examination years, however not at a handful of faculties which have bucked the pattern. Learn the largest tales in Wales first by signing as much as our each day publication right here.
The Welsh Authorities, which has an attendance activity pressure attempting to deal with find out how to get extra youngsters into faculty, mentioned Ysgol Gymraeg Caerffili has “one of many highest attendance charges in Wales” – whereas knowledge seems to point out it’s the highest.
Both means, Eleri places the college’s success all the way down to spending its funds on employees, together with household welfare officers and sustaining good communication with households, youngsters and employees.
She says actions pupils need to attend are run throughout and out of doors faculty hours to encourage them in. Funding will be offered if households can not afford faculty journeys, together with residentials.
Pupil attendance is monitored to trace any absence patterns, equivalent to Fridays or Mondays. Households are contacted each time a baby doesn’t come to high school, requested why they are not in and inspired to seek out options. Absence fines are by no means issued.
Eleri has herself gone to absent pupils’ houses from time to time to influence them to rise up and are available to classes, with the dad and mom’ blessing, she mentioned.
Native authority knowledge, launched by the Welsh Authorities, exhibits the best attendance charges this time period are in these faculties, all of that are primaries, and all however two of that are in Monmouthshire:
- Ygol Gymraeg Caerffili 98.2%
- Osbaston Major, Monmouthshire 97.79%
- Raglan Major, Monmouthshire 97.16%
- Shirenewton Major, Monmouthshire 97.10%
- Trellech Major, Monmouthshire 97.53%
- Wolfscastle, Pembrokeshire had an attendance fee of 97.4%.
“Now we have a 100% complete faculty method – there is a saying it takes a village to boost a baby and it takes a complete faculty,” says Eleri.
Ygol Gymraeg Caerffili made a “deliberate alternative” to create earnings by promoting its experience to Estyn and Cardiff Metropolitan College for inspections and instructor coaching.
Which means all of the native authority funds for the 430-pupil faculty is used for employees prices with 45 employees, together with 16 lecturers in 12 lessons, all of which have a instructing assistant. The varsity additionally employs a full time well being and wellbeing workplace and a household liaison officer.
Whereas 15% of the college’s 430 pupils are eligible free of charge faculty meals a free breakfast membership for all youngsters runs from 8am every day which round half attend.
“It’s important to get to know your faculty and it is about relationships with employees, pupils and oldsters,” the headteacher continued.
“It is all about wonderful instructing and studying experiences and making youngsters really feel they need to be at school, are secure and joyful and are lacking out if they are not right here.
“Now we have lunch and after faculty golf equipment day by day and we be certain that youngsters are with their associates in lessons and on faculty journeys.
“We obtain this extra cash and this was a deliberate option to create earnings,” says Eleri, “we use 100% of our native authority funds on employees.”
Absence charges rise when youngsters go as much as secondary faculty which Caerphilly Borough Training welfare officer Jennie Francis says the council can be centered on.
“If youngsters are recognized as needing further help earlier than going to secondary we are going to take them in to fulfill the wellbeing employees or go to the buildings with their dad and mom in order that they know their means across the faculty and have an emotiona reference to the employees earlier than beginning.
“For the total 12 months six cohort there are three transition classes to get them used to the highschool, however there will be extra if wanted.”
LatestWelsh Governmentschoolattendance knowledge September to November 2025 – with 2019 pre-pandemic comparability in brackets
- Proportion of classes current 91.8 (94.3)
- Proportion of classes of authorised absence 5.2 (4.2)
- Proportion of classes of unauthorised absence 3.0 (1.5)
- Proportion of classes of all absence 8.2 (5.7)
- Per centage of pupils current for this faculty 12 months September to November 2025
- All faculty pupils eligible free of charge faculty meals 86.5%
- All faculty pupils not eligible free of charge faculty meals 93.4%
All-Wales attendance
- Major faculties 93.4%
- Secondary faculties 90.6%
- Center faculties 90.3%
- Particular faculties 86%
College attendance by faculty 12 months group
- 12 months One 93%
- 12 months Two 93.5%
- 12 months Three 93.6%
- 12 months 4 93.5%
- 12 months 5 93.4%
- 12 months Six 93.1%
- 12 months Seven 93.7%
- 12 months Eight 90.6%
- 12 months 9 89.3%
- 12 months 10 89.4%
- 12 months 11 88.4%
Average absence of pupils aged 5 to fifteen, by native authority, for the 2025/26 educational 12 months to this point
The best faculty absence charges are in Carmarthenshire and Rhondda Cynon Taf each at 9% and Bleanau Gwent at 8.9%. The bottom absence fee is Monmouthshire with 6.6%.
Anglesey 8.7%
Gwynedd 8.3%
Conwy 9.5%
Denbighshire 8.9%
Flintshire 8.1%
Wrexham 8.4%
Powys 7.9%
Ceredigion 7.8%
Pembrokeshire 8.2%
Carmarthenshire 9%
Swansea 8.2%
Neath Port Talbot 8.6%
Bridgend 8.5%
Vale of Glamorgan 7.5%
Rhondda Cynon Taf 9%
Merthyr Tydfil 8.6%
Caerphilly 7.8%
Blaenau Gwent 8.9%
Torfaen 7.9%
Monmouthshire 6.6%
Newport 7.4%
Cardiff 7.4%
The Welsh Authorities mentioned attendance charges are barely up 12 months on 12 months: “There are a number of causes or underlying causes for learner absence. Efficient relationships between faculties and households are important and, to help this work, £7m in Welsh Authorities funding has been offered this 12 months to assist youngsters re-engage with faculty.
“This funding package deal contains an additional £3 million for household engagement officers, £2 million for enrichment actions, £1 million to additional embed the position of neighborhood focussed faculties, and £1 million for our meals and enjoyable, faculty vacation enrichment programme.”
Responding to the excessive attendance charges at Ysgol Gymraeg Caerffili Training Minister Lynne Neagle mentioned: “Toensure each little one accesses the schooling they deserve, we should proceed to deal with the boundaries that forestall learners from attending faculty. This faculty demonstrates what’s doable once we mix focused help with sturdy household and wider neighborhood engagement.”
It’s for native councils and faculties to determine find out how to prioritise and use their household engagement officer funding, the Welsh Authorities added.
