Engagement

Every Day Counts

Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s education. Students learn new things at school every day – missing school puts them behind.

To get the most out of education, children need to go to school every day. School attendance has a major influence on educational outcomes. Students who attend school regularly are more likely to achieve better results at school and are more likely to complete their schooling.

It is important that from the first day of school parents set an expectation that their children will be at school every day. Missing an average of ten days of school a term adds up to missing two full years of schooling by the end of Year 10.

Why it’s important

Learning is a progressive activity, each days lesson builds upon the previous day(s).
Many classes use discussion, demonstrations, experiments and participation as part of the learning activities, and these cannot be made up by those who are absent.
Students develop good habits by going to school every day – habits that are necessary to succeed after school, whether in the workplace or in further study.
Missing school can have a big impact on students academically and socially. It can affect their test results, including VCE, and, just as importantly, it can affect their relationships with other students, and lead to social isolation.
There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind, and can affect their educational outcomes.
Each missed day is associated with falling behind in subject topics and assessment tasks, and lead to fewer subject choices and may impact on achievement in years 11 and 12.

Are there any benefits for my Child?

Students with good attendance generally achieve higher grades and enjoy school more.
Having a good education gives your child the best start in life.
Regular school attendance patterns encourage the development of other patterns of behaviour.

What are the Risks of frequent absences?

A child who does not attend regularly will be unlikely to keep up with the work and gaps in their learning will begin to appear.
The more students miss school, the lower their grades; the lower their grades the less likely they are to want to come to school.

What can you do?

Parents must model the value of education, including the importance of regular attendance.
Make sure your child goes to school regularly and arrives on time- you will establish a good lifetime skill.
If your child starts missing school for some reason, work with us to put things right. Make sure your child understands you do not approve of him/her missing school.
If your child is ill then home is the best place for them. Please contact us to notify us of the absence. If you ask for homework make sure your child completes it.
Whenever possible arrange family holidays during school holidays so that your child misses as little school as possible.
Take an interest in your child’s school work and be involved as much as possible. Your child will value school more if you do!

If you’re having attendance issues with your child, please let the year level coordinator, Engagement Coordinator (Adrienne Tanner), Attendance Officer (Sharon Cocks) or another relevant staff member know so you can work together to get your child to school every day.

Adrienne Tanner

Engagement Coordinator