Dear Parents and Carers

This week I would like to offer you another article by Michael Grose. As Michael states in the article the rates of absenteeism, especially in Primary schools have grown to worrying proportions during the past twenty years.

It’s not okay to be away ... nor to be late to school

When children miss school, not only is their academic progress impeded, forcing them to catch up on missed work (which some never do), they often miss important interactions with their peers which can compound issues of social isolation and low self-esteem.

One of the most important things you can do to ensure your child has a bright future is to make sure he or she goes to school every day—and gets there on time. The correlation between school attendance and children’s achievement levels is well-established. The more time children spend at school, the more likely they are to experience school success.

Conversely, according to a report from the Victorian Auditor General, students who are regularly absent from school are at the greatest risk of dropping out of school early, and of experiencing long-term unemployment.

Of course, most people know this intuitively, yet school absenteeism is a huge problem in Australian schools—and much of it is parent-condoned. It’s hard to get an accurate picture across the country but Australian students miss an average of between 12 and 15 days per school year, with parent-condoned absenteeism highest among young primary-aged children. That adds up to a year’s lost schooling over the school-life of a child.

 It’s now commonplace for children to stay away from school for reasons that would have been unheard of just twenty years ago. These include staying away to celebrate their own or a sibling’s birthday; being absent because they stayed up too late watching television; going shopping for clothes; an extended long weekend; and children not wanting to take part in a sports day or special school event.

This type of absenteeism sends a strong message to children that parents don’t really value learning or their children’s school experiences. Australian children only spend 15% of their total time at school. They spend more time asleep than they do at school. So, we need to maximise every day to get full value. That means turning up to school every day, on time.

Being late is not okay either, missing a few minutes each day may not seem like a big deal, but your child may be missing more than you realise if he or she is continually late. Current research shows that mornings for most children are the most productive time of the day, with 10.00am the peak period for productivity. When children arrive late and take time to settle as they inevitably do, valuable learning time is lost.

As parents we need to make a commitment that our children make the most of their precious time at school. That means that we send them to school every day, on time and ready to make the most of the school day. Of course, there will be times, such as illness or genuinely extenuating family circumstances, when children should be away. But these need to be a rarity rather than the norm.

It’s reassuring to know that you increase your children’s chances of future success just by making sure they turn up to school every day. And of course, regular school attendance also helps children prepare for the workforce, where it will be expected that they turn up each day work ready. The real world is unforgiving of those who stay away with NO EXCUSE.

Graham Pollard
Principal