There has been a Ministry review of the guidelines for Attendance and Absences at Schools in NZ. Schools and parents are legally responsible for making sure students attend school every day.

Absence Procedures - What to Do

Please see the article in this newsletter on how to access the Edge Portal and download the Edge App. Please no longer use the Skool Loop App. If your child is going to be absent from school, please use the Edge App, ring the absence line at 03 304-7108 ext 1 or email the office - office@akaroa.school.nz

Please leave your child's name and the reason for the absence.

If you tell your child's teacher of their absence, please also notify the office.

If your child is not at school and we have not heard from you, we will send you a text message and if we get no response, we will follow up with a phone call.

If your child is absent for an extended period of three days or longer for medical reasons, a doctor's certificate is required.

Late

If your child is late to school, they need to sign in at the office or it is likely you will receive a message.

Leaving Early & Appointments

If your child needs to leave school early or leave for an appointment please make sure that 'you or their caregiver' sign them out of the office or it is likely you will receive a message. In the case of an emergency, we don't want to be looking for a student who is not at school.

Attendance & Safety

If your child is not at school and we have not heard from you, we will send you a text message and if we get no response, we will follow up with a phone call. Please reply to this message stating the reason for their absence or contact us immediately by phone if your child should be at school. This is to ensure your child’s safety.

Planned Absence

If you have advanced notice of an absence, an email to the office may prevent us from contacting you on a daily basis (our automated student management system, Edge, will send parents/whanau a text if a child has not been marked as present at school that morning). If you tell your child's teacher of their absence, please also notify the office.

Applications for leave must be made in writing, in advance to the Principal, stating the reason and duration of the absence.

Unjustified Absence

Unexplained absence, in terms of the Ministry rules, are truancy, so for the benefit of your student’s attendance record please consider the following:

• It is important that you state the reason for an absence especially if due to doctor or dentist appointments or for bereavement, so that the absence can be coded as justified.
  

• Contact made but no reason given will be marked as unjustified.

• If you make no contact your student will be marked as truant.

• Family holidays taken in term/school time are also coded as unjustified.

We really appreciate your help with this as it helps our school to report accurate information to the Ministry.