Regular School Attendance

At St Joseph’s we closely monitor student attendance using Compass and our data ecosystem, which provides a clear visual of each child’s attendance across the term and year. This information is also accessible to our Armidale Catholic School’s attendance officers, who help track and support student attendance.

Regular attendance is vital for student learning and helps build strong connections with peers and school life. Even occasional absences can add up, creating gaps in learning and social development that are hard to recover. Being present each day supports academic progress and a genuine sense of belonging.

As parents, you play a key role in ensuring your child attends regularly. While attendance is a legal responsibility, we’re here to support you. At St Joseph’s, we value our partnership with families and are always available to discuss any concerns you may have. Parents can monitor attendance using the Compass app by clicking on ‘more’ → ‘attendance’ → ‘dashboard’. Please note that the ‘Whole Day Other’ and ‘Partial Day Other’ are the number of whole days and partial days the student was not present in class but this was not counted as an absence (this includes days such as Best Start testing for Kindergarten, excursions and sports events). 

The table below highlights how even the ‘odd day off’ can accumulate over time, potentially affecting a child’s learning and future success.

We deeply appreciate your partnership in fostering a strong, connected school community. Let’s continue working together to ensure every student feels safe, valued and supported.