Attendance Report 

Dear Parents and Carers,

Non-attendance has a variety of effects on students, both academically and socially. Absenteeism can increase social isolation, including alienation and lack of engagement with the school community and peers, leading to emotional and behavioural difficulties. It is also associated with an increased likelihood of drop-out. 

There are a variety of interrelated factors that influence attendance rates. Some factors are school-related while others relate to individual and family contexts. Critically, the evidence suggests that early attendance and declining attendance habits from primary to secondary school have important ramifications for later years of schooling and student outcomes. Hancock et al. (2013) investigated the relationship between Australian student attendance and achievement across the NAPLAN domains of numeracy, reading and writing, across various school (e.g. school SES and school remoteness), individual and carer characteristics. 

They found a number of key insights about non-attendance.

There are many factors that influence student achievement, including teacher quality and student engagement. Attendance is also an important contributor to a student’s academic achievement – all school days matter. The correlation between absence and achievement is consistently negative and declines in achievement are evident with any level of absence. Although authorised absences and smaller amounts of absence were associated with only small declines in achievement, all absences count, and the impact of absence increases with the number of absences. Here at Melton West Primary School we really advocate the idea that ‘every day counts!’ 

Kind Regards

Aira Agarano  

Engagement and Attendance Officer