Attendance Matters

Reporting and recording attendance - Parent responsibilities

Parents are required to ensure their child attends school and to provide an explanation for their child's absence from school.  The principal must record in writing the reason (if any) for an absence given by the parent.  The principal must be able to determine from the records if the excuse given was reasonable in terms of the parent meeting their legal obligations.

Parents should promptly inform the school of the reason for their child's absence so that the school can:

• determine if the child's absence needs to be excused by the principal, in line with school policy and these guidelines (*see below for the School Attendance Policy)
• determine the appropriate follow up to ensure the child's education and wellbeing is supported
• record if the parent has a reasonable excuse for not meeting their obligation to ensure their child attends school each day

Where possible, parents should inform the school in advance of upcoming absences.

To ensure a child's education and wellbeing are supported, parents are encouraged to communicate openly with the school where a child has an ongoing medical condition that may result in ongoing absences or medical appointments during school hours.

Please note: Birthdays are not an approved absence.