Last Updated: 2021-08-03
Students must come to school every day the school is open. This is known as regular attendance.
Students are more likely to want to come to school and achieve if they feel:
- included
- valued
- respected
- supported.
Students who miss school often
The attendance policy defines the following groups of students as at risk because of how often they miss school.
- Habitual non-attendance: a student misses 5 to 9 school days in a term. This is for any reason.
- Chronic non-attendance: a student misses 10 or more days in a term. This is for any reason.
For students in these groups, we assess the level of risk to their learning and wellbeing. When a student is at risk we will talk with the family about the issues.
Our school's vision
All students have a right to an education. This gives them the best opportunity to reach their full potential. We have a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment where students can learn and grow. Each student is engaged in their learning. Parents and carers are important partners in this process. Regular attendance is paramount and enables all students to access the curriculum. We work with parents, carers and students to find out why someone is missing school. We provide supports that are specific to each student’s needs.
How we follow up if a student misses school
The Home Group/Class Teacher is the key person in monitoring student attendance; subject teachers, the Year Level Coordinator and the appropriate Senior Leader, will support them. Home Group/Class Teachers will record absences using DayMap in home group time. It is vital that the appropriate code for student absence is entered in DayMap. N.B. All absences are considered ‘unexplained’ unless otherwise indicated. Home Group/Class teachers update their class' roll in DayMap where necessary. Ongoing unexplained absences (including lateness) are referred to year level manager or senior leader. Further follow up eg. a referral for external support may be necessary. Relief teachers for Home Group/Class are provided with a laptop to access DayMap to record absences. Lateness: Students who arrive after 8.50am (R-12), to be marked late, and will need to sign in at student services/front office - Note: If a student arrives at school after 11.05 am this constitutes a half day absence. Students who arrive late to school, sign in through the Wellbeing Hub (7-12) or Front Office (R-6). Students enter their ID number using DayMap (sign in), which prints out a receipt recording their time of arrival. These late arrivals are recorded in DayMap. The student must present the receipt to the subject / class teacher of their first class on that day. For students who are consistently late teachers should contact the parents and discuss the issues involved. The Home Group/Class teacher may choose to seek the support of the Sub School Manager in this process Early dismissal - Note: if a student signs out at lunchtime then this constitutes a half day absence. Students must have a note in their Diary or in their Communication Book, countersigned by their Home Group/Class teacher, if they are to sign out early. The exception is student illness where the front office staff will contact Parent/Caregiver. Student’s sign out at the Wellbeing Hub (7-12) or Front Office (R-6) and in some instances collected from the Front Office. The Home Group/Class teacher and then Year Level Coordinator /Counsellor, or Senior Leader as appropriate follow up absences requiring action. Home Group/Class Teachers will be informed of the action taken. Students may only leave the school ground during school hours with permission granted by their own parent/carergiver. In Summary:
- If a student misses school, we record their absence. We also record the reason given by the parent or carer.
- If we receive no reason, we follow up with the parent or carer. This is usually by phone or text (SMS).
- If the absences continue or there are concerns raised by the absence, we keep following up. This might be by phone, email, meeting or a letter.
- We support the family to look at any issues that stop the student from going to school.
- If needed, we connect the family to other services. For example student support services.
Our data
At Paralowie School our student attendance records help us to plan how we improve school attendance.
We routinely analyse data. We look at patterns. For example the attendance of different year levels. We also look at individual student attendance.
Our learning environment aims to promote attendance and engagement. The average attendance rate for R-6 in 2019 was 89%, in year 7 to 9 is 87% & in year 10 to 12 is 86%. Average attendance rate across R-12 is 87%, below the expected attendance rate of 93%. School refusal & mental health/family issues were the main causes of chronic non-attendance. This will be addressed through improvement strategies involving staff, parents and outside agencies. These include the use of letters/SMS messages, parent/student meetings, home visits, using outside agencies & individual student plan.
Our approach to improving attendance
At Paralowie School our attendance strategies are guided by the ºÚÁϳԹÏn Department for Education's attendance policy.
We will plan, implement and review the following attendance improvement actions. We will do this with our governing council, staff, students, families and local community.
Promote
We will promote the importance of education from the earliest years of life and throughout the schooling years as a school community priority of the highest value.
Our actions
Assess
We will assess patterns of non-attendance and circumstances. We will use this to inform the development of appropriate targeted, intensive and coordinated interventions.
Our actions
Engage
We will actively engage and include all children, young people and their families in education and interventions which support attendance.
Our actions
Support
We will provide support to address the barriers to attendance, learning and wellbeing. We will make sure there is inclusive support for children and young people so they can be physically present and engaged in education.
Our actions
Monitor
We will monitor attendance to make sure that risks are identified, supports are in place, and progress is monitored.
Our actions
Evaluate
We will evaluate the need for further or ongoing interventions, referrals for external support and mandatory notifications.
