Deputies Update 7/6: Attendance Procedures for Primary and High School

WCCS Attendance Procedures for Primary and High School Students

“Every day counts and there is no ‘safe’ threshold for absences”

– Hancock et al., 2013

Let me explain with reference to some research.

The impacts of absenteeism, according to Hancock et al. (2013) are significant and cumulative: “The effects of non-attendance on achievement are cumulative and can impact both academic achievement and attendance in future years of schooling” (Gershenson et al., 2017; Gottfried, 2009; Zubrick, 2014).

The school is required by the Education Reform Act 1990 to monitor the daily attendance or absence of students in the school by maintaining a daily register for each class of students.  

Please read below for reminders on the WCCS process for absence and student leave:

Parents/ Carers have seven days in which to provide a satisfactory reason as to why your child was absent before it cannot be changed in our system and is listed as an “unjustified reason”.

You are informed of your child’s absence (partial or full day) in two ways:

1.       At around 10:00 am an SMS alert will be sent from ‘WCCS’
2.       Daily at 4pm, you will receive an emailed absentee letter 

If you think your child is at school and the message is a mistake, please ring the student office for clarification.

Providing reasons for absences:

There are three options for how you can explain your child’s absences:

1.       A written note or doctors certificate, OR
2.       Print the pdf document from the email and fill it in, OR
3.       Open Edumate (before noon on the day) or on the School App (at the end of the day) and record the absence.

Please be aware that when providing a reason on Edumate or the school App, you only have a choice of two options: Sick or Other

If a child is absent for 3 days or more, parents/carers are required to submit a doctor’s certificate.  Please send this with your child to hand in or email to the student office.

If you provide the reason ‘other’ the school needs to be satisfied that the reason provided fits within the acceptable reasons.  For example, the reasons given below are unacceptable reasons for leave, therefore an ‘A’ will be recorded;

o   to stay home from school to study

o   Visiting a friend

Acceptable Leave may be:

o    a domestic necessity such as a serious illness of an immediate family member

o    attendance at funeral

Family Holidays / Vacations

Families, wherever possible, should schedule appointments and holidays out of school hours and between terms. When this is not possible, and the leave is for more than two days, the principal can provide a Leave Certificate for students.

Approved Leave for a family holiday

Please fill out the appropriate form at least 2 weeks in advance, and send it to the Principal for approval before the leave is required.

High School students are required to visit Head Teachers to negotiate adjusted due dates for assessment tasks that would be missed whilst on leave. The state government legislates this process. 

If travel during the school term is necessary, the following considerations apply:

• If the Principal accepts the reason for the absence, the absence will be recorded as ‘approved leave’.
• If the Principal does not believe the absence is in the student’s best interests and does not accept the reason, the absence is unjustified and will be recorded as an absence with an unacceptable reason.

Exemption from Attendance

If you are applying for an exemption, parents/carers need to apply at least a week before they leave. Principals may grant exemptions due to:

• Exceptional circumstances  (including the health of the student where sick leave or alternative enrolment is not appropriate)
• The child is prevented from attending school because of a principal’s direction under the  Public Health Act 2010. (Note that in the case of an outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease. The parent is not required to complete an application for exemption.)
• Employment in the entertainment industry
• Participation in elite arts or elite sporting events (i.e.  national/international sports events)

Both forms, ‘Application for Leave’ and  ‘Exemption from Attendance’ can be found on the School App under documents.