COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE

Why is regular attendance at school important?

Regular school attendance will help your child to succeed in later life. Attending school every day makes learning easier for your child and helps children to build and maintain friendships with other children. If your child does not learn the basic skills in the early years of school, they may develop learning problems in later years.

Must I send my child every day? YES. It is a condition of enrolment that you send your child to school every day. A small number of absences may be justified if your child has to:

• go to a special religious ceremony
• is required to attend to a serious and/or urgent family situation (e.g. a funeral)
• is too sick to go to school or has an infectious illness.

Must my child attend all activities, including daily fitness and sport? YES. Sport and other physical activities help to keep your children healthy. Students are expected to attend all regular school activities, including sport. Do not keep you child away from school for the following:

• birthdays
• shopping
• minding other children
• routine checkups or care such as hair cuts
• minor family events
• sleeping in

Medical and other health appointments for your child should be made either before or after school or during the school holidays.

Why is arriving at school on time important?

Arriving at school and class on time:

• ensures that your child does not miss out on the important learning activities scheduled early in the day when they are most alert
• helps your child to learn the importance of punctuality and routine
• gives your child time to greet their friends before class and therefore reduces the opportunity for classroom disruption.

What should I do if my child has to stay away from school?

If your child has to be absent from school, it is important to tell the school and provide a reason for your child’s absence. To explain an absence parents and carers may:

• call the school
• use the Compass App

ALL absences must be explained to the school

• arriving late to school is recorded as a partial absence and must be explained EVERY time the child is late.
• leaving before the last bell is recorded as a partial absence and must be explained EVERY time the child leaves early.

Signing children in late or out early is a mandatory requirement and therefore not a choice. A parent or guardian must physically sign children in or out (children are not allowed to sign themselves in NOR are we allowed to sign them in for you) using the Kiosk in the foyer. Class attendance rolls are taken as soon as children go into the classroom after morning assembly. If your child is late, even by a few minutes, and you do not sign them in, they remain on the roll as “Absent-Unexplained”.  Thank you for your vigilance in this matter. 

Principals are legally responsible for keeping accurate records of student attendance. The principal of the school has the right to question parents’ or carers’ requests for their child to be absent from school. Principals are also responsible for deciding if the reason given for an absence is justified. For this reason, principals may request medical certificates or other documentation for long or frequent absences explained by parents as being due to illness. If principals don’t consider an explanation to be satisfactory, they will record the absence as unjustified.

What should I do if our family is going on holiday in school time?

Parents and carers are encouraged not to withdraw their children from school for family holidays. If your child needs to be away from school for a period greater than ten school days you will need to contact the school and request an Application for Extended Leave Form. This form needs to be completed, initially by the parent and then by the principal. A Certificate of Extended Leave will then be issued. For periods under ten days, you will contact the school as per normal school procedure: note, app, email or phone.

Further information regarding school attendance can be obtained below.