Craigieburn Secondary College Newsletter

As Term 1 Ends – Attendance & Engagement Matters!

We have welcomed back our students into the classroom and school community, and it has been an unusually longer term 1 than we are use too. 

We wanted to support your child to have a positive start to the year. We have done this by:

  • helping your child to re-establish face-to-face friendships and learning
  • being ready to learn, in full school uniform and form good routines and learning habits
  • talking to you about your child’s educational journey, academically, socially, and emotionally and have accessed the school’s multi-disciplinary teams and school programs to best meet your child’s needs 
  • ensuring we understand where your child is up to with their learning and providing targeted support to help your child progress and succeed at school and
  • for the first time we conducted ‘Form Teacher Interviews’ to give our families and students a chance to form a strong partnership with the school to support your child/ren’s individual needs and answer any queries.

All of the above partnerships could ONLY be achieved with your child’s ATTENDANCE and ENGAGEMENT at school. Hence, this year the school and the region have a focus on Attendance and Engagement matters. 

 

It’s never too late to improve attendance – Everyday Counts! Every Minute Learned!

How the College will Communicate Absences

  • At approximately 10am the Absent SMS text message is sent to parents/carers for students marked absent from Form Assembly or Period 1 or from both periods.
  • At approximately 3pm the Absent SMS text message is sent to parents/carers for students marked absent all day.
  • Every week, generally Mondays the Unexplained Absence chronicle and emails are automatically generated from Compass to parents/carers based on teacher roll marking. Unexplained Absences include whole day absent dates and single class absences from throughout the school year – please carefully check the dates and classes unexplained requiring explanation.

At Craigieburn Secondary College attendance and engagement takes high priority and is highly supported by Education Support & Sub-school staff, Teachers and by our multi-disciplinary health care teams.

We thank you and encourage all families to contact the college if you know of an absence or extended absence leave in advance or to promptly explain absences, including lateness to school so as the college can best support your family and your child/children, or you may not be meeting your requirements under the Education and Training Reform Act 2006.

Students learning from home due to exceptional circumstances and have Principal Approval will be coded as ‘Remote Learning (exceptional)’ for the following COVID-19 related reasons:

  • Student has a medical vulnerability, and their GP has advised that they should learn from home.
  • Student has COVID-19 but is well enough to study remotely.
  • Student is in quarantine and/or is in isolation and learning remotely.
  • Student is unable to return from interstate or overseas due to COVID and the school is supporting them to learn remotely.

Reporting Absences

Follow one of the options to explain lateness or absences and/or request attendance & engagement support.

Email or provide Medical/Dental/Specialist Certificates on return to school.

 

Report all COVID-19 related absences to the school as soon as practical.

 

If your child/children are facing difficulties attending and participating at school, learning is difficult, friendship groups aren’t working, needs aren’t met; then we know when absences are explained we can best target our student and/or family supports earlier rather than later. We are here to help, if you wish to discuss all things attendance and engagement at school, please contact your child’s year level coordinator or sub-school manager on 9308 1144 or via the Compass Portal email.

The college is doing its best to keep attendance records as accurate and as up to date as possible. Attendance records are uploaded daily to the Department of Education and Training.

 

Attendance Communication

Families are required to explain lateness and absences before or on the day of a child/children’s absence.

  • If no communication is received to the college, an unexplained absence will be recorded.
  • Unexplained absences will initiate an unexplained absence emailed weekly and throughout the term given to your child/children for families to provide a valid reason for absence – Go to Compass to enter attendance notes.
  • Continued Unexplained Absences will initiate Attendance Unexplained staged response chronicle emailed letters generated by Compass.
  • Explained absences will initiate an Approved or Unapproved or Amended chronicle email generated by Compass.
  • Attendance Rate chronicle emails generated by Compass provide help and encourage positive engagement and support to families to improve their child’s/children’s attendance.
  • Nudge Letters sent home to students with a 40%-70% attendance rate; help families visualize your child’s attendance trajectories and the importance of regular attendance; and importantly seek supports.

“You and your child are an important part of your school’s community. Every day of attending school counts. Being at school supports your child’s learning, social and mental wellbeing.” (DET, 2022).