Saltwater College Newsletter

Attendance & Engagement

Supporting Student Learning During Family Holidays

New Process Now in Place at Saltwater P-9 College

 

At Saltwater P-9 College, we understand that families occasionally take holidays during the school term due to personal or cultural reasons. While we encourage holidays to be planned during term breaks to avoid disruption to student learning, we have introduced a new process to ensure that, when term-time holidays do occur, student learning remains supported and documented in alignment with Department of Education guidelines.

 

This new process is part of our recently endorsed Family Holiday Notification Policy, approved by our School Council. It ensures that both families and staff are working together to maintain continuity in learning and accurate attendance records.

What Families Need to Do...

If you are planning a holiday during the school term, please notify the school in writing at least two weeks in advance. Notifications can be sent via:

  • Email: saltwater.p9@education.vic.gov.au

  • Xuno: Message the school via the parent portal

  • Phone: Contact our Attendance Officer, Alison Lee, on (03) 8366 7700

Please include your child’s name, year level, and the dates of the intended absence. If your travel plans change, we ask that you inform us as soon as possible.

How the School Will Support Your Child?

Once a holiday notification is received, your child’s classroom teacher will prepare an Absence Learning Plan. This plan outlines:

  • The curriculum areas and units that will be covered during the absence

  • Suggestions for learning activities that can be done at home or while travelling

A meeting will then be arranged with the family to go through the plan in detail, just as we would with other learning or support plans.

Recording Absences

In line with our new policy, holiday-related absences will now be recorded as either:

  • Family Holiday (Approved) – when the school is notified and the process is followed

  • Family Holiday (Unapproved) – when no notification is received

This helps ensure transparency and consistency across our school community.

We appreciate your support in following this new process, which helps us keep student learning on track, even when they’re away from the classroom.

 

If you have any questions about the policy or the process, please contact the school office.

 

For further information on the policy please see the policy itself:

Family Holiday Notification Policy

 

Thank you,

Brent Syme

Assistant Principal