Attendance & Truancy

Legal Requirements

Once a child is 6 yrs old he/she must be enrolled at school, and must attend that school. 5yr old children do not have to be enrolled at school, but once they have been enrolled they are then legally required to attend daily and full time.

The Attendance Regulations (1951) require schools to maintain attendance records and the Education Act (1989) requires schools to ensure the attendance of the students on their rolls.

Marking the School Roll

The school roll is marked by the class teacher twice daily- at 9.00am and 1.30pm. An absence report is then sent to the school office and unexplained absences are followed up.

Definitions of 'absence' and 'truancy'

Explained absence: An absence for which an explanation is received by the school as the reason for the absence. The decision on whether this explained absence is 'justified' or 'unjustified' will be largely determined by the principal as guided by MOE guidelines and the school's attendance policy.

Justified absence: An explained absence within the school's policy as an acceptable reason for the student to be away from school.

Unjustified absence: An absence that is either unexplained or, explained, but the explanation is not within the school's policy as an acceptable reason for the student to be away from school.

Intermittent unjustified absence: One or more unjustified absences each totalling less than two hours within a school day

Overseas: The student is known to be overseas and the Principal has documentation confirming his/her intention to return to the school within 15 weeks.

Truancy: The total of all of a student's unjustified absences and intermittent unjustified absences.

Frequent truancy: Truancy that occurs on more than 20% of the half days which the school is open taken over a four-week period.

School Safety Procedures

Lateness - Children who are late to school (after 9.00 a.m.) must sign in to the school office on arrival on Vistab tablet. This lets the office know that your child is safe and it also means we can halt the phone call home checking on their whereabouts.

Unexplained Absence - The school quickly follows up all pupils who are unaccounted for. This is done initially by phoning your home. Then, if necessary, the emergency number you provided the school at enrolment is contacted. If still out of luck the School Attendance Service (SASH) will be notified. They will visit the home where they will leave a calling card if no-one is there.

Picking students up early - Any student removed early from the school must be signed out at the school office by the caregiver on Vistab. The office staff will provide the caregiver with a slip to inform the teacher that the child has been checked out. Teachers will direct caregivers to the office is this has not been done as this needs to be entered on the student's attendance records.

Leaving with someone other then the caregiver - Students will not be permitted to leave with anyone except the caregiver, unless the school is advised in writing by the caregiver.

Written Notes

If students will be away for extended periods of time, the school must be advised in writing in advance. This notification must state the students return date to school. Failure to do so may result in the student being unenrolled from the school.

All students are required to provide an absence note when they return to school, even if the school has been previously contacted by phone.

Reporting

Student attendance will be reported on at parent teacher interviews and in the mid-year and end of year school reports.