15 Feb 2019
Regular attendance at school is essential for students to achieve not only quality schooling outcomes, but also quality life outcomes.
When your child attends school every day, learning becomes easier and your child will build and maintain friendships with other children.
At our term 1 staff development day the network Home School Liaison Officer took our team through the legislation and department policies associated with attendance.
Most importantly for our parents is to understand that fundamentally the monitoring of student attendance is for the safety of students.
Following an absence from school you must ensure that within 7 days you provide your child’s school with a verbal or written explanation for the absence. However, if the school has not received an explanation from you within 2 days, the school may contact you to discuss the absence.
Justified reasons for student absences may include:
• being sick, or having an infectious disease
• having an unavoidable medical appointment
• being required to attend a recognised religious holiday
• exceptional or urgent family circumstance (e.g. attending a funeral)
Principals may decline to accept an explanation that you have provided if they do not believe the absence is in the best interest of your child. In these circumstances your child’s absence would be recorded as unjustified.
Late attendance must also be recorded so if your child arrives after the school bell at 9:10am please take them directly to the office.
For more important information about compulsory school attendance click here.