Student Attendance 

The Education and Training Act 2020 (s35) requires that learners between six  and sixteen years of age must be enrolled at school. Once enrolled it is compulsory to attend school regularly, unless a specific exemption has been approved by the school and the Ministry of Education. The Board takes all reasonable steps to ensure the regular attendance of students. The Board acknowledges the importance of regular attendance to support learner well-being and help them to achieve their educational potential.

To monitor attendance:

The School

Advises, and regularly reminds parents, of the need to contact school when their child is away.
Shares attendance expectations and requires learners to be present when they are well, and to attend classes on time.

Parents/caregivers

Parents and guardians have the legal responsibility of ensuring their children attend school.
We expect parents/ caregivers to:

• Notify the school before 9:10 if their child is going to be absent or late.

• Arrange appointments and trips outside of school hours or during school holidays where possible.

• Contact the school to manage any attendance concerns.

Teachers

Complete the attendance register (See below).

Attendance Register

Attendance registers are official legal documents, audited regularly by the Ministry of Education. Recording attendance electronically highlights patterns of attendance that can then be appropriately managed.

Full guidelines are in the Ministry of Education Circular 1997/24.

Follow this process to record attendance:

Classroom teachers

Open Edge at the beginning of the morning.

By 9:10 am, record and save attendance information in Edge:

• Amend children who arrive after 9:10 am as L (for late) and note time of arrival.

• Record children who are absent for a known reason with the appropriate code:(Fill the afternoon attendance with the same code.)
  M for medical, J for justified, E for explained but not approved reason, D for dental/medical appointment, G in term holiday, Q off-site school activity.
  NOTE: If a child attends an appointment in part of the day but does not return, then the other part of the day is recorded as E.
  Removal from class before 2:30pm is to have afternoon coded as above. Note time leaving. (Less than two hours of instruction)

• Record children who are absent for an unknown reason with a question mark (?). The attendance officer will change this later if the reason is established.

• Amend afternoon information as/if needed.

School attendance officer (usually office manager)

3. At 9.15 am, check absences room by room, and change codes after following up any children who are unexplained absences. Ring all supplied contact numbers listed for the student. If reciprocal contact is not made, the attempt at contact is noted, and child marked truant.

4. By end of working day all absences are recorded in Edge.

Relievers

• If the reliever does not have access to Edge then record absences on a class list and send this with a child to the attendance officer.
  The attendance officer will record this.

Illness

• Classroom teachers must inform the office of any students who go home sick, and record the absences. 

Reporting Unacceptable Levels of Absence

• The classroom teacher and the attendance officer are responsible for alerting the principal if any student has an unacceptable level of absence (more than 10 half-days per term).

• The attendance officer will follow up after discussion with the classroom teacher, parents, principal...

• If the school cannot satisfactorily deal with a child's irregular attendance, the case will be referred to the Attendance Service and the Ministry of Education.

The MOE has developed a Stepped Attendance Response (STAR). Accessible on www.education.govt.nz 

Legislation:

• Education and Training Act 2020

• Education (School Attendance) Regulations 2024