Vale of Glamorgan Council tackle falling school attendance

Since the pandemic schools across Wales have seen a drop in attendance.

In the Vale of Glamorgan attendance levels have decreased on average by 5 per cent in primary schools and 10 per cent in secondary schools.

Now, Vale of Glamorgan Council has launched a campaign to address a gap in attendance across the county.

The council will be working with schools to encourage pupils and their parents to make attending school every day a priority, in an attempt to bring attendance back up to above 95 per cent across the county.

The campaign aims to demonstrate the wider benefits of improving school attendance.

A spokesperson for the council said: “Schools offer so many opportunities to meet a young person’s social, emotional and educational needs and poor attendance can ultimately reduce opportunities for children and young people in the future.”

The campaign’s key message is strong attendance for a bright future.

The new campaign to get kids back to school (Image: Vale Council)

Cllr Rhiannon Birch, Cabinet Member for Education, Arts and the Welsh Language, said the campaign’s targets are achievable.

“We want to see attendance improve so that every young person in the Vale is engaged with their school and their learning,” said Cllr Birch.

“Pupils should be encouraged to take advantage of all the opportunities that schools offer in order to succeed.

“Ninety-seven per cent attendance might sound like an ambitious target, however that allows for five days absence in the school year, if it is needed due to illness, and this target is achievable for the majority of children and young people.

“We know statistically pupils have a better chance of succeeding in education and later in life by consistently attending school.”

Vale Council say young people have been a driving force in designing the new campaign.

Pupils in Llantwit Major School designed their own banners to encourage better attendance and this was the basis for the wider campaign which was rolled out to all schools across the county.

They want to encourage families, children and young people to remind everyone of what there is to gain through good attendance at school.

Is attendance at school a problem? Let us know your thoughts by emailing harry.jamshidian@newsquest.co.uk.