Page Contents

• Purpose, Scope, Definition

• Attendance Records

• Same day notification of unexplained absences

• Implementation

• Following up absences

• VCE and VET attendance

• Communication of this policy

• Further information and resources

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to:

• ensure all children of compulsory school age are enrolled in a registered school and attend school every day the school is open for instruction

• ensure students, staff and parents/carers have a shared understanding of the importance of attending school

• explain to school staff and parents the key practices and procedures Templestowe College has in place to

  • support, monitor and maintain student attendance

  • record, monitor and follow up student absences.

Attendance has a direct impact on student achievement.

In accordance with the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic), schooling is compulsory for children and young people aged from 6 to 17 years unless an exemption has been granted.

Parents/carers must enrol a child of compulsory school age at a registered school and ensure the child attends school at all times when the school is open for instruction.

For the purpose of this policy, full time attendance at Templestowe College for a non VCE Student is 6 blocks of subjects, or 4 VCE subjects in line with the Department of Education Attendance Policy. Amendments to this need to be agreed to by the Principal in line with VCAA guidelines around the use of Individualised Learning Plans.

The policy aims to maximise student learning opportunities and performance by ensuring that children required to attend school do so regularly, and without unnecessary or frivolous absences.

Scope

This policy applies to all students at Templestowe College.

This policy should be read in conjunction with the Department of Education and Training’s School Attendance Guidelines. It does not replace or change the obligations of Templestowe College, parents and School Attendance Officers under legislation or the School Attendance Guidelines.

Definition

Parent – includes a guardian and every person who has parental responsibility for the child, including parental responsibility under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) and any person with whom a child normally or regularly resides.

Policy

Students are expected to attend the school in which they are enrolled, during normal school hours every day of each term, unless:

• there is an approved exemption from school attendance or attendance and enrolment for the student, or

• the student is registered for home schooling and has only a partial enrolment in a school for particular activities.

A principal or regional director (depending on the circumstances) may authorise an exemption and provide written approval for student attendance or attendance and enrolment to be exempt or reduced to less than full time. Refer to the Exemption from School Attendance and Enrolment Policy for more information.

For absences where there is no exemption in place, the parent/carer must promptly provide an explanation on each occasion to the school. The school will determine if the explanation provided is a reasonable excuse for the purposes of the parent meeting their responsibilities under the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic). Schools must refer to the Guidelines for guidance on what constitutes a 'reasonable excuse'.

TC staff record student attendance in every class via Compass which is then uploaded to CASES21. This is necessary to:

• meet legislative requirements

• discharge schools’ duty of care for all students

• assist calculation of the school’s funding

• enable school councils to report on student attendance annually

• meet Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) requirements (for VCE students).

All registered schools must ensure their system for recording student attendance meets the requirements above. Government schools must ensure attendance data is recorded in the DET System of Record. Schools using third party software must ensure that the software is compatible with the System of Record and are required to import attendance data on a monthly basis.

Schools that do not have current attendance data recorded in CASES21 will receive regular email notifications reminding them to import their data. Parents/carers are required to provide an explanation for their child's absence from school, and a principal must record in writing the reason (if any) given by the parent/carer.

All schools must report the annual rates of student attendance for the year to the school community at least once a year.

TC will contact parents/carers on the same day of an unexplained student absence. This supports student safety and wellbeing. TC uses automated email correspondence and/or text messages on the day of an unexplained absence. TC needs 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, via Compass, or by telephone (9850-6333), or by emailing the Community Executive Teams.

Education is a sequential process. Absences often mean students miss important stages in the development of topics, causing them to find ‘catching up’ difficult.

Please note the following:

• Aggregated student attendance data is reported to the Department of Education and the wider community each year as part of the annual report.

• All enrolled students are required to attend school unless reasonable and valid grounds exist for them to be absent.

• Independent students not living with parents/carers are also required to contact or provide notes.

• Ongoing unexplained absences or lack of cooperation regarding student attendance will result in an attendance meeting with the relevant Community Executive Team and Assistant Principal

• Parents/carers have a responsibility to ensure that their children attend school regularly and are only absent if ill or if necessary. Parents have a further responsibility to provide a written note or to contact the school explaining why an absence has occurred.

• Parents of students who are to be absent are required provide reasons for absences by logging into Compass, calling the school reception (9850-6333) or by emailing the Community Executive Teams.

• The Department of Education and enrolment auditors may seek student attendance records.

• The principal will ensure all student absences are recorded each period by teachers, are aggregated on the CASES database and communicated to the Department of Education.

General Attendance is recorded, via Compass, twice daily, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Students with attendance concerns will work with Community Executive Team staff to ensure that attendance levels are improved.

Where absences are of concern due to their nature or frequency, the school will involve the parents/carers and the student as appropriate in developing strategies to improve attendance.

Parents are regularly informed that if a student has repeated absences without a reasonable excuse or explanation through an attendance notice from a School Attendance Officer.

Whilst making parents/carers and students aware, the school then seeks to implement a support structure to improve attendance. This is initiated through the student’s respective Community Executive Team and may include a range of additional service personnel from the broader Student Services Team and Assistant Principal – Community and Wellbeing, depending on the individual student’s circumstances.

Referral to a School Attendance Officer

When a principal feels that they have exhausted strategies for addressing a student's unsatisfactory attendance and deems it appropriate to make a referral to a School Attendance Officer, they must adhere to the requirements set out in the International student program quality standards School Attendance Guidelines.

Good attendance at VCE and VET is a pre-requisite for achieving an ‘S’. Missing lessons, without good reason, has a major negative impact on the student who is absent. TC is committed to helping students attend in order to optimise their levels of progress and learning. If a student has known cause to be absent, then it is imperative that the school is informed. Parents/Carers can inform the school of the reason for absences by logging the reason on Compass, contacting the school reception by phone or emailing the Community Executive Team.

The following is important to note re VCE and VET attendance:

• Students who are absent on any day when School Assessed Coursework (SACs) or School Assessed Tasks (SATs) are due must provide a medical certificate for their absence within 2 days of their return to school.

• A grade of zero may be awarded to SATs and SACs if absences due to illness are not supported by a medical certificate. The Pathways Team will manage how to proceed in cases of a student having an unapproved absence on the day of a SAC or SAT.

• If a student is absent with an approved reason on the day of a SAC/SAT they are required to complete a SAC Reschedule Form within 2 days of returning to school following the absence. This form is to be submitted to the Pathways Team responsible for final approval of all rescheduled tasks.

• All absences from school are expected to be explained by a record on Compass.

• As a student of TC, all VET students, even if off-site for learning, are expected to attend all scheduled classes and excursions to achieve the requisite 80% attendance level needed for a successful outcome

• At the VCE level a medical certificate is required for all absences. Special approval should be sought through the Director of Senior Certificates or Assistant Principal - Community and Wellbeing for exceptional or other unavoidable absences in order for them to be approved.

• At VCE and VET level attendance is a requirement for satisfactory completion of an outcome or unit. This level of attendance is set at 80%. Ongoing absences for any reason be it medical, authorised or unauthorised may result in a student being unable to satisfactorily complete a unit.

• Students attending sport and excursions for other subject areas must ensure that they inform the class teacher one week before a SAC that there is a clash of the two events. Where the SAC is external to the school and so can’t be rescheduled, the student is required to attend the SAC activity rather than the alternative activity.

• Teachers should, wherever possible, avoid VET days for set assessment tasks and mandatory excursions and activities. Where this does happen, alternative arrangements must be made by the teacher to enable the VET student to meet course requirements.

• VET students who are absent from their VET course should also notify the provider.

• Students and parents/carers will receive notifications via Compass if attendance requirements are not being met at VCE and VET level.

• Community Executive Teams will seek to resolve attendance concerns with students and their families.

• If necessary, attendance issues unable to be resolved by the school will be referred to the Department of Education.

Students that have VCE and VET Attendance of less than 80% will be informed that their attendance is below optimum levels. Parents/carers and students will receive an email and/or letter through Compass to inform them that this is the current situation.

VCE and VET Attendance is recorded, via Compass, every lesson. This information is used to semi-automate communication to parents/carers and students to make them aware of the issue and inform what the student must do the resolve the situation.

Whilst making parents/carers and students aware, the school then seeks to implement a support structure. It is the responsibility of parents/carers and students to inform the school of any specific reasons for absences. The school will support each student with known and valid reasons for absences at VCE and VET.

This policy will be communicated to our school community in the following ways:

• Available publicly on the school website

• Included in staff induction processes

• Included in transition correspondence to new families

• Annually referenced in Next Week @TC

• Hard copy available from school administration upon request

The Department’s Policy and Advisory Library (PAL):

• Attendance