Principal Team Report

Every. Day. Counts.

Each day that students attend school, increases their potential to achieve their outcomes. Outcomes are not solely academic but also encompass, wellbeing, social and emotional development achievements.

Over the last few years, you may have seen reports in the news regarding decreased student attendance to school. Trends in Victorian government schools have seen decreased attendance rates since COVID which is consistent with national and international trends. This was reflected at an Improving School Attendance workshop late last year, including presentations by Department of Education North-East Region Leaders and researchers from Melbourne University’s ‘Pathways to Participation’ project. 

Research has identified significant long-term outcomes of low school attendance for young people, their family and the community, and increased adverse effects on already at-risk populations. Apart from in school outcomes, other impacts include:

• Difficulties with transition from school to post-school education, training and employment
• Difficulties with friendships/peer relationships
• Mental health difficulties 
• Problems attaining and maintaining employment 
• Conflict and strained relationships within the family
• Decreased income in the family
• Increased risk of family violence 

Student chronic absenteeism is described as students being absent for 20 or more days across the school year. This could be achieved if a student misses as little as 5 days in each term. In 2024, 64% of Wheelers Hill Secondary College students accumulated 20 or more days of absence, compared to 33% as the average across all government schools in the North-Eastern Region of Victoria.

Schools have numerous measures for assessing attendance and absence rates. Two key metrics Wheelers Hill SC use are outlined below with school data in recent years.

Chronic Absenteeism

Table 1 outlines chronic absentee rates for each year level. 2023 and 2024 rates are a summary across the whole year and 2025 rates are measured as the percentage of students with 5 or more days of absence in the first seven weeks of Term 1 this year. The rate of chronic absenteeism for the same cohort across the years is observed by following diagonally adjacent cells of the same colour. Table 1 data is not inclusive of explained absence reasons (ie parent choice, medical/illness etc) recorded by families or the college on a student’s Compass profile.

“Accounted For” Attendance

Table 2 outlines the percentage of students in each year level with 100% accounted for attendance in the first seven weeks of Term 1 from 2023 to 2025. Accounted for attendance is inclusive of students marked present or late on their class rolls plus explained reasons for absences recorded on a student’s Compass profile by home or the college. The aim for every student and year level is to achieve 100% accounted for attendance. The progress of this data will be included in subsequent weekly bulletins and fortnightly newsletters. 

Responsibilities for Student Attendance and Recording

Recent Updates to Systems and Supportive Interventions for Student Attendance

Wheelers Hill Secondary College has implemented the following in addition to our current student attendance and absence practices:

• Employment of dedicated Attendance Officers at each Sub School
• Weekly staff meetings for students attendance and absences with Attendance Team
• Identification of students on track for chronic absenteeism at College wellbeing, staff and leadership meetings
• Monthly distribution of student absence letters to clear ‘unexplained student absences’
• Inclusion of the Learning and Wellbeing Centre as a supervised onsite space for students to complete ‘remote learning’ in a modified attendance plan
• Regular sharing of ‘accounted for’ attendance data with school community 

Supporting students to attend school every day is a partnership between home and school. Communication is essential to address any potential barriers. Together, we look forward to achieving our goals of reducing the rate of chronic absenteeism of our students and achieving 100% accounted for attendance for all students. While this data informs part of the attendance narrative for students, ultimately improvements in attendance will better equip students with skills and knowledge to prepare them for life after secondary school and to achieve their future goals and aspirations.

If you have any further questions or would like to discuss supports for your student, please contact the General Office and ask for your student’s Learning and Wellbeing Leader (Coordinator).

Key events – remainder of Term 1

NAPLAN – Wednesday 13th to Monday 17th March - Years 7 & 9 students have completed three of four tests for 2025. Well done to students for their efforts so far. Reschedule sessions will be conducted from Tuesday 18th to Thursday 20th March for students absent during the initial test sessions.

College Open Day – Wednesday 26th March – opportunity for prospective students and families to attend the College, gain an overview of Wheelers Hill SC, student pathways and see the college in action.

House Athletics Carnival – Monday 31st March – all students are expected to attend. Payments for students to attend are due by Monday 24th March. The event will be held at Casey Fields for the second year in a row.

Cycle 1 Progress Reports – teachers will soon be commencing Term 1 Progress Reports which are scheduled to be released on Friday 4th April. The reports provide a snapshot of student’s learning behaviours and achievement in Term 1 and will be part of the discussion in next term’s Learning and Wellbeing Conferences (Parent-Student-Teacher Interviews).

Learning and Wellbeing Conferences – Thursday May 1st (Term 2 Week 2) – information will soon be shared regarding a hybrid model for Semester 1’s Conferences which will allow a time bracket for families to attend onsite for face-to-face interviews. Bookings via Compass will open on Monday 24th March.

On behalf of the Principal Team, we hope the remaining weeks of Term 1 are productive for students.

Jeremy Woods

Assistant Principal