One of the things we are continuing to focus on in 2025 is student attendance. The government's target is for 80% of all students to attend regularly, that is to attend school more than 90% of the time.

“New Zealand attendance rates are low by national and international standards. In 2023, 80.6% of students in England and 61.6% of students in Australia were attending using a measure similar to the Term 2 New Zealand regular attendance rate, which was only 47.1%. "

The basic premise of the STAR is that no child is left behind. Every student, parent, teacher, and school has a role to play. Each school will develop its STAR system to suit its community and school.

It will be mandatory for all schools to have an attendance management plan based on STAR from the beginning of the 2026 school year.

As a result, we have reviewed our current attendance policy and procedures and have made the following changes in support of these new expectations.

• From the beginning of Term 2 you will be able to see your children's daily attendance on your HERO Portal. This way you can better track your child's attendance and support the school to ensure regular attendance (90% or above) is achieved.

• This year, the school has set a clear ATTENDANCE TARGET. Based on the 2024 Term 4 MOE Attendance Summary, 67% of our students attended school regularly (90% or above). Our target is the raise the figure of regular school attendance to 72% by Term 4, 2025.

• We will continue to track student attendance closely and may be in contact via phone or email should individual students' attendance falls below more than 5 school days per term.

• The school may ask for a medical certificate if a student is absence for more than 3 days continual absence due to sickness.

As you know, all students are legally required to attend school every day, and it is a shared responsibility to ensure students attend and engage in learning from when they first start school.

From Term 1, 2025, daily attendance must be recorded every day schools are open for instruction and entered into HERO by our staff each day with the correct codes.

If we do not have the correct information from you, we have to mark your child as unjustified or truant, dependent on what information we have or have not received from you. Details provided after an event will not alter the coding, we must know beforehand.

• It is vital that you communicate with the school office about why your child is not at school.

• You must specify the reason, simply saying that they are away is not enough

• Holidays during term time are coded as G, these are unjustified absences. Permission must before sought in advance by emailing admin@rolleston.school.nz or office@rolleston.school.nz

Attendance Codes are NZ Government directives. When coding absences we must comply with the legislation.

Justified Absences include:

• Illness /medical absence

• Justified overseas posting

• Stood down or suspended

• Explained and approved by the School Principal or Deputy Principal (not including Holidays during term time)

Unjustified Absences include:

• Truant

• Explained but not accepted

• Holiday during term time

Knowing if your child is well enough to go to school can be tricky. If you are still unsure, get in touch with us, and let’s work together to support your learner.

If you're struggling at home with getting your child to school, talk to us.

If you are finding it hard to get your child to school, please talk with us so we can work together. Our school is committed to supporting your child to attend school.

Our school continues to build a culture that fosters attendance every day by having:

·       School staff who have strong relationships with students and family.

·       A school culture that recognises your child and your family for who you are, where you come from, and what you value.

·       A school whānau that takes all practical steps to make sure your child is at school and progressing in their learning.

·       A school that is safe and welcoming for everyone in our school community.

If you have any attendance queries or issues, please contact us so we can work together.