Attendance Matters 

Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s education. Students learn new things at school every day. Attending and participating in school will help your child develop:

• important skills and knowledge to help them learn
• social and emotional skills such as good communication, resilience and team work.

Children who attend school every day and complete year 12 have:

• better health
• better job opportunities
• higher income across their lives.

There is no safe number of days for missing school. Each day a student misses puts them behind.

What to do if your child can’t go to school

Let the school know as soon as possible and explain why your child can’t come to school. Each school will have a preferred way to do this. It may be by phone call, email or app.

If you do not let the school know, they must contact you on the same day to make sure your child is safe. They may also call your emergency contacts.

Talk to your school if your child needs to take an extended period of time off. There might be flexible options to keep your child from falling behind.

If your child misses a lot of school

Your school will work with you if your child has more than 5 days of unapproved or unexplained days off in a school year.

If this does not work, your school might refer your child to a school attendance officer. The school attendance officer will monitor and investigate your child’s attendance. You might receive a warning, an attendance notice or a fine.

Tips to help improve your child’s attendance

• Talk to your child about school and how important it is. You can ask them how they feel about school, what they liked and if there are any problems.
• Reward good behaviour and not bad behaviour. For example, if your child refuses to go to school, do not let them have access to their phones or the internet.
• Set a good example. Show them how you keep to your own commitments.
• Encourage your child to take on hobbies that your child enjoys such as sports and clubs. This will help them develop positive relationships outside of the classroom.
• Have a set time to do homework and go to bed.
• Leave all technology out of their bedroom.
• Pack their school bag the night before with everything they need.
• Have a set time for breakfast.
• Plan to meet up with a friend so they can travel to school together.