Attendance and Absences
Regardless of the model of education used, attendance is undeniably one of the most important factors in any student genuinely taking control of their own education.
To support students in this area, attendance at TC is looked at in several different ways:
General Attendance
General Attendance looks at a student’s attendance by ‘am’ and ‘pm’ (this is the school column on your child’s Compass attendance record). TC recommends that students aim to attend no less than at least 90% of the time – a student’s engagement, learning and achievement is often directly proportional to their levels of attendance, so above 90% is highly recommended as a minimum.
Any students with ongoing needs that affect attendance should make contact with their Community Executive Team to discuss available supports. Community Executive Teams will work with students and their respective families/out of school supports in a personalised manner to facilitate attendance support and improvement strategies.
Please be aware that if our support and work with a student and their family is not able to remedy high levels of non-attendance then the matter may be referred to the Department of Education; this is reviewed on an individual needs’ basis.
Late Arrival Process
When a student arrives late to school, they should go through the following process:
Go to Jeremy in S-Wing or to Front Office to get a Late Pass
The Late Pass only confirms that the student is at school, but not that they are in class
The student must then go to their scheduled class and be marked as present by the classroom teacher
If the student does not do this, families will get alerted to the student’s absence via text message and Compass automatic notifications
Leaving College Grounds
Graduating students are permitted to leave the College grounds if they do not have scheduled class.
Students studying a VET course at an external venue have permission to attend and this is recorded as part of the Compass program. Student absence requires students to contact the relevant VET provider to notify them of the absence.
Leaving Early
Students who wish to leave before the end of the school day for an appointment must follow the following process:
Student goes to the front office or CET offices sometime in the morning.
They will need to show that they have approval to leave early:
Parent has already approved on Compass
Parent has left a voicemail or email with their Community Team
The student brings a parent note with them
If they do not have any of these, office staff will ring home to confirm that the student has approval to leave early.
The student will then receive a pink Early Leavers Pass. This will have their name, the date and time when they need to leave and will be signed and stamped by office staff.
Later in the day, when it is time for the student to leave, they will present the Early Leavers Pass to their class teacher.
The teacher will then dismiss them from class.
They will sign out at the main office via the Compass Kiosk and leave the Early Leavers Pass at reception
FAQs:
Q: When do I need to go through the Early Leavers Pass process?
A: For when you have a one-off appointment where you will need to leave school early.
Q: When do I get the pink Early Leavers Pass?
A: At break time earlier in the day than when you will need to leave.
Q: What are the ways I can verify that I’m allowed to leave?
A: Parent Compass approval, physical note, parent voicemail to CET, parent email to CET (otherwise office staff will need to call home to get approval)
Q: If I am leaving during a recess or lunch do I need to get a pink Early Leavers Pass?
A: No, you just need to make sure to sign out of the main office and the office staff will verify that you have approval to leave (see above).
Q: Do I need an Early Leavers Pass if I am going to a school meeting, Wellbeing session, Music class or other school event.
A: No.
Q: If I am a Grad and I wish to be offsite during a study period do I need an Early Leavers Pass.
A: No.
Q: If I have VET and need to leave early on Wednesdays, do I need an Early Leavers Pass.
A: No, this program will already be entered on your Compass timetable as an approved absence.
Q: Can I give my student permission to go offsite during lunchtimes?
A: No, Students in ENTRY and FLE1-4 are not permitted to be offsite during the school day. Graduate students are permitted to be offsite during lunchtimes and when they do not have scheduled classes.
Unexplained Absence(s)
Working with our Community to Improve Unexplained Absences from School
All Victorian government schools must contact parents/carers as soon as practicable on the same day of an unexplained student absence. This requirement supports student safety and wellbeing. Schools need to know when and why a child is absent, and parents/carers need to know if their child is not at school. Prompt communication also promotes daily school attendance.
Parents and carers must notify the school of their child’s absence as soon as possible on the day of absence using the school’s preferred method, including online, by telephone or by email.
Schools and parents working together
Building positive and collaborative relationships through clear communications with parents/carers is critical to the successful implementation of the same-day notification requirement.
The responsibility needs to be underpinned by a shared understanding and expectations about the procedures for monitoring, recording and follow-up of student attendance as outlined in the school’s attendance policy, which can be viewed here.
The school’s responsibilities:
Notify parents/carers
TC will notify parents and carers as soon as practicable on the same day of an unexplained absence. This should occur in the morning to allow time for our parent or carers to respond.
Schools can choose how they advise parents and carers based on their local context – for example by email, push notification via downloaded app, SMS or phone call. TC will utilise both the text and email options as part of our automated notification suite.
The parent/carer’s responsibilities:
Inform the school of the reason for all absences
Reasons for absences can be provided by logging into Compass, calling the school reception (9850-6333) or by emailing the Community teams:
VCE/VM & VET Attendance
Good attendance at VCE/VM and VET is a pre-requisite for achieving an ‘S’ outcome. Missing lessons, without good reason, has a major negative impact on the student who is absent.
Students who are completing a VCE subject must achieve an attendance requirement of 80% or over to pass the subject
Any students who miss a VCE class must provide a medical certificate to the school to have that attendance approved under Department of Education guidelines (a Statutory Declaration is not sufficient). A valid form of medical certificate is from one of the following medical practitioners: GP, hospital, paediatrician, physiotherapist, osteopath, chiropractor, orthopaedic surgeon, dentist, psychologist or psychiatrist.
Reason for absence should be recorded via the Compass portal on the day of absence
Students studying VCE should not be taking holidays during term time as this will severely affect their attendance and ability to complete course work and pass subjects
The date of semester completion will be communicated to students and their families at the beginning of each semester via Next Week@TC and in VCE information sessions
The best way to improve attendance is to attend!
If you believe your student was in class but has been marked absent, please contact the relevant classroom teacher to discuss
Should you have any queries regarding attendance, or if you would like further support from the school, please contact the relevant Community Team.