As we start a new year we would like to highlight our attendance procedures.

The Ministry of Education has set a target for 75% of all students to reach attendance rates of 90% or higher by the end of 2026.

We would like to take the opportunity to reiterate our attendance procedures to ensure that we are accurately tracking attendance and so that we can identify students who require additional support to attend school regularly.

REPORTING STUDENT ABSENCES 

Please remember to email, phone, or use the School App to report any absences (preferably before 8:50am) and please state the reason for the absence. 

1. Call 03 474 0496 and press line 1. You can leave a message for Mrs Louise Smith, our Attendance Officer.  Please use this phone line rather than calling line zero and being redirected back to the main office. Leaving a message on the attendance phone line helps to centralise absence messages and streamline the communication.

2. Using the School App to report any absences.https://schoolappsnz.co.nz/ 

SchoolAppsNZ – Apps on Google Play OR  SchoolAppsNZ - App Store - Apple   

3. Emailing directly to this specific email absences@otagogirls.school.nzMrs Smith will access these daily.

Students must have parent/caregiver/staff member permission to leave school during the day for any appointments (e.g. doctor/dentist). The Attendance Officer needs to be notified about these. If possible we encourage appointments to be made outside of school hours, but appreciate this is not always possible. Students must sign out at the Attendance Desk in the office using the self-service sign-in tablet and then receive a blue exit slip from the Attendance Officer. 

Monitoring Attendance 

The Attendance Officer monitors daily attendance and updates the attendance data on the Helix system using information from the School App, phone messages and emails. The Attendance Officer will contact the caregivers of any students who are not marked present in their timetabled class if no explanation from a caregiver has been received. Our Attendance Officer Mrs Smith will make contact through automated attendance texts, email or via phone calls with the caregivers of students who have not been marked present in their first two classes. She will ask for confirmation of any reason for the student’s absence and update Helix with the appropriate attendance code. 

Additional times throughout the day the Attendance Officer may contact students’ caregivers via attendance texts or via phone calls if they note concerning unexplained absences (?) from classes.

Automated Weekly Attendance Summaries for students under an 80% attendance threshold will be emailed to parents/caregivers on Saturday evening. This report shows whether a student has been present, absent or late during the previous week. It assists parents to stay informed and encourages early intervention.

Early Pick-up Procedure  (prior to 3:05pm)

Parents or caregivers must sign the student out on the tablet at the Attendance Desk in the office. 

Verification Process: The office staff will sight the parent or caregiver picking up the student.  If the person is unfamiliar/not named as an authorised contact on Helix, the office staff will confirm their identity and gain verbal consent from the parent or caregiver before the student is released.

Planned Absences

Legally, students need to be at school during the school term. For extended absences which are planned in advance, such as whānau holidays or overseas trips, a letter/email requesting leave is to be sent to the Principal giving details and the applicable dates. Email requests to principal@otagogirls.school.nz

If we identify a concerning or unexplained pattern of attendance, the year level dean / SLT will make contact with you to discuss appropriate support and interventions to increase your child’s attendance. If needed, students may be referred to Otago Youth Wellness Trust to be allocated a Case Worker if their attendance drops below the 70% threshold, which is their referral criteria.

We look forward to working together to enhance our attendance rates.