Attending school regularly is crucial for maintaining learning. This is a current Government priority, as it is compulsory to attend school regularly.

The majority of our students attend school regularly and consistently. This is supported by effective communication between home and school. We thank you, our whānau for your commitment to regular school attendance.

Te Rito Harakeke - Marshland school has attendance policies and procedures and we regularly report attendance data to the Ministry of Education. This includes a responsibility to take reasonable steps to make sure enrolled students attend whenever the school is open.

Attendance categories used for reporting include:

• Regular attendance - Is identified as attendance over 90% which is equivalent to missing fewer than 5 days across a term.

• Irregular absence - Is identified as 80% and up to 90% attendance, which is equivalent to being absent between 5 and 9 days across a term days across a term.

• Moderate absence - Is identified as more than 70% and up to 80% attendance, which is equivalent to being absent between 10 and 14 days across a term days across a term.

• Chronic absence - Is identified as 70% attendance or less, which is equivalent to being absent more than 15 days across a term days across a term.

We are expected to communicate to parents and whānau if a student is presenting with irregular, moderate or chronic absence, particularly if this relates to unjustified absences.

An unjustified absence could relate to:

• An unknown reason or truancy, where parents or whānau have not notified the school.

• An explained, but unjustified reason that doesn't fit within our school policy.

• A holiday during term time.

While attendance data is visible to whānau for individual students on Hero (our Student Management System), we wanted you to know that we may engage in additional communication with parents and whānau, as part of our monitoring processes.

We welcome you to discuss any information with classroom teachers or Team Leaders regarding your child's attendance at any time. We acknowledge there may be wider circumstances related to irregular absence and we want to work in partnership with whānau to support our students.

If a student presents with moderate or chronic Absence, we are required to follow our school procedures which could mean seeking external agency intervention. If this is required, communication will occur through the school Management Team (e.g. Principal or Deputy Principals).

You can view our School Attendance Policy and Procedures on School Docs.

By attending school regularly, students have the opportunity to interact with staff and classmates, engage in discussions, and participate in activities that enhance their learning. We are lucky to have a community that values school attendance and appreciate the impact regular attendance has on maintaining learning progress.