Attendance Update

This year we will continue to provide attendance data updates and rewards in the form of fortnightly regular attendance “special lunches” for one child in the Junior (Year Prep-Two) Middle (Year Three-Four) and Senior (Year Five-Six) learning areas during our whole school assemblies.

One of the targets in our Strategic Plan is to reduce all “unexplained” absences and late arrivals to zero.  During 2023, we had an average of 4.3 “unexplained” absences and in 2024 we had an average of 5.5. To achieve our four-year target of zero “unexplained” absences, we require parents’ assistance to provide attendance notes for all their child/ren’s absences.

The school admin team will:

• SMS parents when children are late and when they have been marked absent on the role.  Please log into Compass and create an absence note explaining why your child is absent or late.
• Send parents letters each month to remind them to provide absence notes for their child/ren’s unexplained absences or late arrivals.
• Your child’s teacher or a PCO will telephone you to discuss your child’s absences if they have three consecutive unexplained absences or arrive late several times in a week.
• “Family Holiday” absence notes are now flagged and if these absences are greater than two days, your child/ren’s teacher/s will provide you with an Absence Learning Plan for the period of missed school days. Family holidays are not school approved absences and we are required to provide you with learning tasks to complete during the time when your child is not at school.

If you have difficulty using Compass, please download the Parent Guide or speak to our admin staff at the school office and they will assist you to learn how to use Compass.

The following are the DET thresholds for yearly attendance:

• Regular attendees: miss less than 10 days a year (less than 5% absence)
• Risk of chronic absence: miss between 10 and 19 days a year (5-10% absence)
• Chronically absent: miss 20+ days (10%+ absence; average 1 day per fortnight)

If you’re experiencing difficulties getting your child to school, please speak to your child’s teacher and we will work with you to explore what will work best for your child.

Mrs Melanie French

Assistant Principal