PURPOSE
The following information has been compiled regarding the importance of regular attendance at school so as to ensure parents are fully informed of the importance of regular attendance.
PRINCIPLES
Students are required by law to attend school unless they are unwell, have an infectious disease or provide a genuine or acceptable reason to the principal, and schools are required to have processes in place to monitor student attendance and intervene when necessary.
ATTENDANCE – GENERAL INFORMATION:
- Everybody benefits when students attend and succeed at school.
- Attendance needs to be a priority for parents, school staff and the wider community.
- By law, students must attend school unless they feel unwell, have an infectious disease or provide a genuine and acceptable reason to the principal.
- Schools are required to adhere to the School Education Act 1999 and School Education Regulations 2000. Principals are required to have processes in place to monitor student attendance and intervene when necessary.
- For some students, schools may need to closely monitor and follow up their attendance. They may need to work closely with families and seek outside support to improve a student’s attendance.
- There is strong evidence that links poor attendance with poor educational outcomes. Poor attendance has also been linked with social isolation of students, mental health problems and reduced employment prospects later in life. Parents and schools must work together to ensure students have every opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in life.
Below are the attendance brackets, parents are encouraged to keep their children in the regular attendance bracket to maintain continuity of schooling.
REGULAR ATTENDANCE = 96-100% ATTENDANCE
INDICATED RISK = 90-95% ATTENDANCE
MODERATE RISK= 80-89% ATTENDANCE
SEVERE RISK = 0-79% ATTENDANCE
IMPORTANCE OF REGULAR ATTENDANCE:
- The likelihood of success in learning is strongly linked to regular attendance and appropriate participation in educational programs.
- Students who have poor patterns of attendance are at risk of not achieving their potential. They may be disadvantaged in the quality of choices they are able to make in later life situations.
- Attendance at school is a prerequisite for student achievement. Students who are regularly absent from school are at the greatest risk of:
- Being socially isolated
- Having gaps in their knowledge and understanding of basic concepts
- Feeling insecure at school
- Once students have begun to develop patterns of poor attendance and punctuality, even in the Kindergarten and Pre-Primary years, there is the potential that the pattern of absences may continue to escalate in later years.
If there are any issues or difficulties at school, poor attendance tends to compound the situation negatively.
If a student’s attendance rate falls below 90% over a ten-week period, the school will further investigate the reasons for absences. This is a requirement for public schools and is seen as good practice for all schools.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Parents have a responsibility to advise the school in writing for the reason for a child’s absence.
All children who are enrolled in a school are expected to attend on a regular basis. As a parent or carer it is your responsibility to support the development of regular patterns of school attendance for your child. This can be achieved by making sure your child attends school on all school days and is on time every day.
It is important that you:
- Provide the school with an explanation if your child is away
- Contact the school if you are having difficulty getting your child to school
- Where possible, arrange doctor and dentist appointments outside school hours
- Arrange personal events or celebrations outside of school hours
- Do not allow your child to stay home for minor reasons
PROCEDURES
- Absence due to Illness or Medical Reasons or Infectious Disease
Provide the school with a written explanation as to why your child is away. This can be completed by;
Ringing the absentee line and leaving a message before 9.00am, written explanation is still required upon your child’s return to school.
OR
Completing the online absentee form via the parent portal before 9.00am (this is considered written explanation and no further action is required). Please note this is only to be completed on the actual day of absence.
OR
Complete an Absentee Form available from the Administration Office or download the form from the Parent Portal for extended absences that are NOT holidays.
Please note if your child is absent for medical reasons or illness lasting longer than 3 days, a medical certificate is required.
If you suspect your child has an infectious disease (school sores, mumps, etc) please advise the school immediately and obtain confirmation from a medical practitioner. Once it has confirmed please advise the school as soon as possible.
If your child has been absent due to being unwell or having an infectious disease, please ensure that any relevant medical information or doctor’s certificates have been passed on to the school to be filed with the Attendance Register.
- Family Holidays during School Time
Decisions to take children out of school during an extended period should not be taken lightly as it can have an impact on your child’s education. This should be weighed against the value or importance of the holiday at that time. If at all possible, family holidays should only occur during school holidays.
If you do intend to take holidays during the school term, please complete the ‘Holiday Request Form’ and make an appointment, to discuss your holiday with the Principal at least two weeks prior to the holiday.
Requesting work from teachers does not replace the actual teaching and is rarely of much benefit out of context. Despite everyone’s good intentions prior to the holiday, work provided is not usually completed anyway.
So, if you do make the decision that taking your child on holiday during school time is unavoidable then please ensure your holiday includes learning experiences for your child and get your child to keep a journal of their experiences which they can then share with their class on their return.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT ATTENDANCE:
- What is my responsibility as a parent or carer?
- All children who are enrolled in a school are expected to attend on a regular basis. As a parent or carer it is your responsibility to support the development of regular patterns of school attendance for your child. This can be achieved by making sure your child attends school on all school days and is on time every day.
It is important that you;
- Provide the school with an explanation if your child is away
- Contact the school if you are having difficulty getting your child to school
- Where possible, arrange doctor and dentist appointments outside of school hours
- Arrange personal events or celebrations outside of school hours
- Do not allow your child to stay home for minor reasons
- Is regular attendance at school important?
- Yes – from the first day. If your child misses the basic skills in primary school, he or she can experience difficulties with learning.
- Regular attendance is essential to make sure learning is not disrupted. Regular learning provides building blocks for the future.
- Schools help children to develop important social skills, such as friendship building, teamwork, communication skills and a healthy self-esteem.
- What can I expect from the school?
- Monitoring of student attendance and reviews of progress.
- The school will follow-up unexplained absences.
- Strategies to help you as a parent or carer encourage your child to go to school.
- Do I have to send my child every day?
- Yes, all students are expected to attend school every day unless;
- The child is too sick to leave the house
- The child has an infectious disease such as chicken pox, measles, mumps or school sores. If you have confirmed case of an infectious disease, please advise the school immediately.
- The child has an injury preventing movement around the school
- The principal is provided with any genuine and acceptable reason preventing the child’s attendance
- The child is required to attend a medical or dental appointment that could not be made out of school hours
- Must I notify the school if my child is away?
- Yes. Please either ring the school Absentee line prior to 9.00am or complete a student absence form.
- All absences must be explained in writing.
| ATTENDANCE INFORMATION SUMMARY |
Holidays
In total there are approximately 180 non-school days a year. This gives families the opportunity to:
- Spend time together
- Go on family visits and days out
- Go on holiday
- Go shopping
- Attend routine appointments
Taking a holiday during term time, seriously affects your child’s attendance and in turn their attainment.
Practicalities
- It is the parents’ responsibility to contact school to report any absence. The school phone number is 9161 7200.
- Absence call – If a student is absent in the morning and the school has not received an explanation by 9.30am, we will send a text to the parents/guardians of the student.
- You should send a note into school upon your child’s return, explaining the reason for absence.
- Your child should return to school as soon as he/she is able to do so.
- Attendance should be a priority.
- Students who are regularly late to school will be followed up on in accordance to school policy.
- If you ANY concerns about attendance, please do not hesitate to contact us at the school.
Concerning Facts
Truancy / unsupervised absences can put students at risk. Persistent absences are statistically more likely to become teenage parents, unemployed, homeless or to engage in petty theft and drug abuse.
| Attendance of 90% and below = A PERSISTENT ABSENTEE |
A persistent absentee is a student who misses on average one day of school each week throughout the academic year.
| Please help us to help your child attend school regularly. If there are any problems, please contact us 9161 7200 |
Attendance is always included on your child’s report
