Attendance at school is a legal requirement in New Zealand and it’s important that our school expectations are clarified with our parent community.

Parents, in partnership with schools, are legally required to ensure that students are at school each day. Once enrolled, it is compulsory for students to attend school regularly. Regular attendance is defined as 90%+ and means your child is at school for 4.5 days out of 5 each week.

The Government target is to have 80% of students at school 90% of the time.

Monitoring Student Attendance at Marlborough Boys’ College

We monitor daily attendance to ensure students are safe, attend school and parents are meeting their legal responsibilities.

• We expect you to use your SchoolBridge App (preferrable), email or phone message to contact the school by 8.50am each morning if your child has a justifiable reason for being absent.

• Students are expected to arrange personal appointments (haircuts, family days out, treats, shopping trips) outside of school hours.

• Our Attendance Staff and Deans monitor attendance and liaises with the Marlborough Attendance Service, Police and Oranga Tamariki if required.

What do we do to Improve Attendance?

• Deans / Attendance will contact home if we are concerned about your child’s attendance.

• We aim to work in partnership and have a positive approach to removing any barriers and providing support for families.

• We send formal warning letters to parents if we have concerns about unjustified absences.

• Deans will meet with whānau if attendance doesn’t improve.

What happens if there are persistent unjustified absences?

• Referral to the Marlborough Attendance Service so an attendance officer can complete home visits. This happens when a child’s attendance falls below 70%.

• Engagement of multiple agencies (Police, Oranga Tamariki, iCAMHS).

• Formal section 19 notification to Oranga Tamariki raising concerns about the level of care being provided. Non-attendance at school is a care and protection issue.

• Send final warning letters.

• Request prosecution by the Ministry of Education.

• Unenrol the student from our school.

Noho Ora Mai – Jarrod Dunn, Principal | Tumuaki

Know your attendance codes: