ATTENDANCE & TRUANCY
PR-7-2
PROCEDURAL DOCUMENT
Effective Date: 09-Mar-10
Rationale
It is essential to have all students attend classes to maximise learning and that the school is kept informed of any absences.
The Board, under Section 31 of the
Education Act, is responsible for “taking all reasonable steps to ensure
the attendance of students enrolled at its school”.
Every day a student is not at a school
is a day he or she is not learning. Over time, patterns of
non-attendance can seriously disadvantage young people, placing them at a
higher risk of poor achievement and early drop out, and cutting short
their potential to benefit from schooling now and in the future.
Regular school attendance is
everyone’s responsibility; it involves schools, families, whanau and
communities working together to send a strong, collective message about
the importance of going to school.
Families and whanau need to:
- Understand the importance of regular school attendance;
- Know their legal responsibilities of regular school attendance;
and
- Contact the school whenever their child is absent.
The B.O.T, through the school, need to:
- Set high expectations on student attendance and widely communicate these expectations;
- Monitor student attendance, keep accurate records, and ensure that all staff understand and can follow these procedures;
and
- Follow up on any unexplained absences.
The expectation is that students
attend school and lessons every day the school is open. However it is
recognised that absence from school can occur for a variety reasons such
as illness.
Purpose
- To ensure that school attendance and punctuality is effectively monitored.
- To respond appropriately to attendance problems.
Procedures
Parents
1.
Parents must contact the school to explain unplanned absences -
preferably before 9am on the morning of the absence. Teachers will
record absences in the Absence Software Package prior to 9.00am. The
parents of those students whose absence is unexplained will be rung.
All efforts will be made to contact caregivers.
2. Truancy will be considered a factor of the absence if a student is regularly absent without explanation.
3. Lateness will be considered a factor if a student is regularly late.
4. Parents may be requested to provide a medical certificate, if required, for absences of five days or more.
5.
Parents must notify the school in advance of planned absences from
school (e.g. family holiday during term time). It is noted life
experiences can be as educational as class room teaching.
Reporting to Parents
1.
Parents receive a full formal written report as per the procedure
Reporting to Parents (PR-2-20). The full report must include an
assessment of attendance and punctuality as either satisfactory or
unsatisfactory.
2.
Unsatisfactory attendance is as defined by the Principal using Ministry
Guidelines and is to be published in the school newsletter at least
once per year.
School
1. Attendance and punctuality at school will be monitored twice daily.
2.
The Principal, or nominee, will be responsible to ensure that patterns
of absence or lateness are identified and parents notified of the
school’s concern.
3.
The Principal and the student’s Teacher are expected to understand the
reasons why a students was rated as unsatisfactory for attendance.
4.
The school will liaise with other agencies to follow up consistent
unexplained absences or lateness. E.g. CYPFS, Upper Hutt Truancy Team.
5. Student attendance is to be reported to the B.O.T. at least twice a year.
Teachers
- Attendance at school will be monitored twice daily – morning and afternoon.
- At the end of each term and again
at the end of the year totals for each student will be printed for more
thorough processing and concerns are noted in the school reports.
- Registers are archived in the school for at least seven years.
