Students must come to school every day the school is open. This is known as regular attendance.

Students are more likely to want to come to school and achieve if they feel:

• included
• valued
• respected
• supported.

Students who miss school often

The attendance policy defines the following groups of students as at risk because of how often they miss school.

• Habitual non-attendance: a student misses 5 to 9 school days in a term. This is for any reason.
• Chronic non-attendance: a student misses 10 or more days in a term. This is for any reason.

For students in these groups, we assess the level of risk to their learning and wellbeing. When a student is at risk we will talk with the family about the issues.

Our school's vision

We are committed to providing a safe and supportive learning environment for all students which addresses their educational needs. We expect students to be at school all day, every school day. This means that students will be in class ready to start learning at 8.50am and remain until 3.15pm. Our attendance policy aims to ensure that students are reaching their full potential by attending school all day, every day and where that is not possible, our attendance policy sets out procedures to minimise the impact of non-attendance. It is important that students, staff and parents / carers have a shared understanding of the importance of attending school. Virginia Primary School: • Is committed to promoting the message that everyday counts; • Believes all children should be enrolled at school and attend all day, every school day; • Monitors, communicates and implements strategies to improve regular school attendance; and • Believes that attendance at school is the responsibility of everyone in the community.

How we follow up if a student misses school

Virginia Primary School has developed the Attendance Policy to: • Improve student access and participation; • Improve student achievement and success; • Develop lifelong positive routines and practices; • Intervene early if the need arises; • Provide support for students, parents/caregivers and teachers; • Maximise learning opportunities by ensuring student absenteeism is kept to a minimum; • Ensure that the maintenance and approach towards regular school attendance is the responsibility of all school staff, parents/guardians and students; and • Put in place agreed processes for managing students’ absences within the school.

1. If a student misses school, we record their absence. We also record the reason given by the parent or carer.
2. If we receive no reason, we follow up with the parent or carer. This is usually by phone or text (SMS).
3. If the absences continue or there are concerns raised by the absence, we keep following up. This might be by phone, email, meeting or a letter.
   • We support the family to look at any issues that stop the student from going to school.
   • If needed, we connect the family to other services. For example student support services.

Our data

At Virginia Primary School our student attendance records help us to plan how we improve school attendance.

We routinely analyse data. We look at patterns. For example the attendance of different year levels. We also look at individual student attendance.

Our attendance rate has decreased since 2018. This might be due to: - We shared information in newsletters and at assemblies. We talked about why attendance is important for learning, wellbeing and future success. - We shared information in staff bulletins e.g. attendance rate percentages, share habitual and chronic non-attenders - We included individual attendance rates in student reports. This makes sure parents know how many times their child was away from school in a term. - Teachers talked about absences at parent-teacher interviews. - We reward students who have 100% attendance. We presented them with certificates.

Our approach to improving attendance

At Virginia Primary School our attendance strategies are guided by the South Australian Department for Education's attendance policy.

We will plan, implement and review the following attendance improvement actions. We will do this with our governing council, staff, students, families and local community.

Promote

We will promote the importance of education from the earliest years of life and throughout the schooling years as a school community priority of the highest value.

Our actions

Assess

We will assess patterns of non-attendance and circumstances. We will use this to inform the development of appropriate targeted, intensive and coordinated interventions.

Our actions

Engage

We will actively engage and include all children, young people and their families in education and interventions which support attendance.

Our actions

Support

We will provide support to address the barriers to attendance, learning and wellbeing. We will make sure there is inclusive support for children and young people so they can be physically present and engaged in education.

Our actions

Monitor

We will monitor attendance to make sure that risks are identified, supports are in place, and progress is monitored.

Our actions

Evaluate

We will evaluate the need for further or ongoing interventions, referrals for external support and mandatory notifications.

Our actions