ARRIVE TO THRIVE - ATTENDANCE

In this and future newsletters, we will focus on sections of the new Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) Attendance Policy and Procedures to help foster a deeper understanding of the important role parents play in ensuring their child's regular school attendance. Our goal is to support you in your partnership with the school, as we work together to promote consistent attendance, which is key to your child’s learning and development.

Regular attendance at school is vital to a child’s educational journey. It is integral not only to academic achievement but also to students’ overall wellbeing and their future opportunities. Each day a student attends school, they are given the opportunity to feel a sense of belonging, grow in their faith, and reach their full learning potential.

According to the Education Act 1990 (NSW), parents have a legal responsibility to ensure that their child attends school regularly. In partnership with families, CEDoW schools are committed to encouraging and supporting students' consistent attendance.

We look forward to partnering with you in the coming weeks and months to highlight the importance of regular attendance and to explore the shared responsibilities we all have in supporting your child’s success in learning.

This week we look at Parent Responsibility taken from the policy and the procedures for Travel.

Parents are responsible for:

• communicating to the school any concerns they have identified in relation to their child’s pattern of attendance;
• working in partnership with the school to plan and implement strategies to support their child’s regular attendance at school;
• promptly, and within seven calendar days, explaining to the school any absence of their child from school. For the avoidance of doubt, the explanation must be provided to the school within seven calendar days of the first day of any period of absence;
• providing to the school reasonable advance notice of any extended absence for their child;
• providing to the school reasonable advance notice when seeking an exemption from enrolment or exemption from attendance for their child;
• promptly providing to the school any documentation required by the school in relation to attendance or enrolment.

Attendance - Travel

We encourage all families to plan travel outside of the four school terms, unless an exceptional circumstance, as outlined below, applies. This ensures alignment with the principles of the new CEDoW Attendance Policy. We greatly appreciate your support as we work together to prioritise your child’s educational success.

If the extended absence is for the purpose of travel, parents must submit the Notification of Extended Absence form along with relevant travel documentation. This documentation should include:

• The intended dates of travel
• The locations of travel
• The purpose of the travel
• The reasons for undertaking the travel outside the school holiday period

After reviewing the submitted form, the school will issue an Acknowledgement of Extended Absence to the parent. This acknowledgment will be provided regardless of whether the Principal accepts or does not accept the explanation for the absence. It may also outline specific matters related to the student’s learning and wellbeing that have been agreed upon with the parent.