School Attendance

Same-day notification of absences

Parents/carers are required to ensure their child attends school every day,  and have an obligation to notify the school (via Compass) of their child’s absence. All Victorian government schools must contact parents/carers as soon as practicable on the same day of an unexplained student absence. At Karoo, an SMS is sent at 10:00am each day to parents of students who are marked as absent on the morning roll without an explanation provided.

The same-day notification requirement supports the safety and wellbeing of all students.   Schools need to know when and why a child is absent and parents/carers need to know if their child is not at school.

Prompt communication also promotes daily school attendance. Going to school every day is the single most important part of a child’s education. Children and young people who regularly attend school and complete Year 12 or an equivalent qualification have better health outcomes, better employment outcomes, and higher incomes across their lives.

LATE PASS

If your child arrives at school after the 9:00am bell, they must come to the office to collect a late pass prior to going to class. If they go directly to the classroom and the roll has been marked they will remain as 'absent unexplained' on the roll, and the parent will receive a 'please explain' SMS at 10am.  This often causes distress to the parent, who is sure their child is at school.

Unexplained absences

If your child has unexplained absences from earlier in the year, these absences still need to be cleared.  It is the parents' responsibility to clear these outstanding absences by logging into your Compass parent portal and providing an explanation (see instructions below). We currently have approximately 200 outstanding absences across all year levels which need to be cleared by parents as soon as possible.

Unexplained absence letters will be provided to parents during your Student-Led Conferences to confirm which dates to provide notes on Compass for.  

How to add an attendance note for an Unexplained Absence