Last Updated: 2021-09-13
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
All students have a right to an education. This gives them the best opportunity to reach their full potential. We have a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment where students can learn and grow. Each student is engaged in their learning. Parents and carers are important partners in this process. We keep a check on any students who might fall behind. We work with parents, carers and students to find out why someone is missing school. We provide supports that are specific to each student’s needs. A number of learners enrolled at Adelaide West Special Education Centre are absent from school for significant lengths of time because of their general physical frailty. Some learners spend regular periods of time in hospital. Issues around changes in medication and the medical management of their specific conditions can result in longer than usual absences. Common childhood illnesses can become serious for some learners enrolled at Adelaide West Special Education Centre. Families are encouraged to keep their children home when they have common ailments because of the possible deleterious effect on the health of other learners.
How we follow up if a student misses school
Teachers and leadership will contact families if their child is absent for more than three days.
- If a student misses school, we record their absence. We also record the reason given by the parent or carer.
- If we receive no reason, we follow up with the parent or carer. This is usually by phone or text (SMS).
- 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 Adelaide West Special Education Ctr 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.
A number of learners enrolled at Adelaide West Special Education Centre are absent from school for significant lengths of time because of their general physical frailty. Some learners spend regular periods of time in hospital. Issues around changes in medication and the medical management of their specific conditions can result in longer than usual absences. Common childhood illnesses can become serious for some learners enrolled at Adelaide West Special Education Centre. Families are encouraged to keep their children home when they have common ailments because of the possible deleterious effect on the health of other learners. Management of learners’ impairment specific issues requires attendance at appointments for medical intervention and/or equipment fitting and modifications. These appointments are of necessity made at the convenience of the service provider and the family and most usually result in one or more day’s absence. If a student is to be absent for an extended period of time due to therapy requirements, family holidays etc. these needs will be discussed and the process for approved exemptions will be followed.
Our approach to improving attendance
At Adelaide West Special Education Ctr 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.
