Attendance Matters 

Why going to school is important

Going to school every day is an important part of your child’s education. Children and young people learn new things at school every day, connect with friends, have fun and develop good habits that help them to succeed after school. Attending and participating in school will help your child:

• develop important skills and knowledge to help them learn

• develop social and emotional skills such as good communication, resilience and team work

• establish friendships with peers which help develop self-esteem and a sense of belonging.

There is no safe number of days for missing school. Being away from school for 1 day a fortnight adds up to missing 4 whole weeks of school a year. Where possible, you should avoid your child missing school, for example, make appointments for your child outside of school hours and keep family holidays to outside term time.

Planned holidays

Any holidays planned for during school time must be discussed with your child’s school in advance. The school will decide if it is okay for your child to miss any school for a holiday. They might give your child work to do so they can remain engaged with their learning while away. If the school does not approve the holiday and you decide to go, the matter may be referred to a school attendance officer at the Department of Education.

When your child is going on holidays or for an extended absence, a Student Absence Learning Plan - Holiday will be prepared.  Student Absence Learning Plans are 

implemented to support the education of students who are absent from school for an 

extended period. Student Absence Learning Plans should be developed  collaboratively by teachers, students and their  parents. 

Student Absence Learning Plan must be 

developed for:  

• students who are planning extended absences from school,   for example for a family holiday of more than 5 days (per Home Learning Policy) 
• students suspended for more than 3 days (refer to suspension guidelines for more information) 
• students subject to an expulsion appeal process (refer to expulsion guidelines for more information). 

It may also be useful to develop a Return to 

School Plan for students who have been absent from school for an extended period. 

Please see below for an example of a SALP. These are developed by the classroom teacher with parents and students