Attendance is the cornerstone of student welfare and academic progress. Monitoring attendance is therefore an essential part of every teacher’s duty of care. "The marking of the roll is a matter for regularity and accuracy". (Regulation 3.2.2)
As the roll can be called into a court of law and presented as a legal document, teachers should take great care when marking them.
Students are required to attend daily and should be in the school grounds by 8.20 a.m. (the first bell of the day). A total of all late days appears on student reports and parent phone calls are made regularly to address this.
The process for Years 7-10 is as follows:
• A student must bring a note if they are late to school, signed by the Parent/Guardian explaining the lateness. This is Department of School Education policy for all partial and whole day absences.
• Students sign in late at the window with the clock, in the Administration courtyard. (a SMS message is sent automatically to the Parent/Guardian if a student is late to School)
• If a student is late to school without a note, on the third and subsequent occasion the student will be issued with a half lunch detention for that day.
• Failure to attend half lunch detentions will be considered disobedience and an intentional breach of school rules. Stronger disciplinary sanctions then applied.
• If a student is late due to a bus running behind schedule they are to show their bus pass when signing in.
• At St Clair High School we want to encourage positive traits such as punctuality, which will benefit students now and in the future.
The process for Years 11-12 is as follows:
• A student must bring a note if they are late to school, signed by the Parent/Guardian explaining the lateness. This is Department of School Education policy for all partial and whole day absences.
• Students sign in late at the window with the clock, in the Administration courtyard.
• If a student is late to school without a note, three times or more in a fortnight the student will be issued with an after-school detention.
• Failure to attend after school detentions will be considered disobedience and an intentional breach of school rules. Stronger disciplinary sanctions then applied.
• If a student is late due to a bus running behind schedule they are to show their bus pass when signing in.
STUDENT LEAVE SITUATIONS (Partial Day)
Students should see either of the Deputy Principals or the Head Teacher Administration before school to have leave approved. The note is then taken to roll call and the note is shown to the teacher.
When the child is leaving, the signed note is used to get out of class (if necessary) and the note is brought to the Roll Office, handed in, with details being noted in the "leave book" and a leave pass is issued. The child can then leave the school at the time specified. Leave must be noted in the roll by the roll teacher. The leave notes will be filed in the Roll Office.
FRACTIONAL TRUANCY
If a student is missing from class and is not listed on the absentee sheet, note it on the table on the back of the absentee sheet (N.B. If a student leaves class without permission, this is a classroom discipline matter). You should then:
• Check Daily Notice for excursions, etc.
• Question the student next lesson about missing class and investigate if necessary.
• Complete a notification sheet if truancy is proven or admission is made by the student and hand to your Faculty Head Teacher, who will pass it on to Head Teacher Administration (all four copies). The notification sheet should contain all details of the truancy, not simply "truanted".
The Head Teacher Administration will do one of the following:
• 1st offence-issue and monitor an attendance card and send a letter to parents
• 2nd and subsequent offence- issue after school detention (1 period-1 detention, >1 period-2 detentions) and letter to parents
• Repeated truancy-The student will be referred to the Deputy Principal. Where appropriate, the student will also be referred to the HSLO (Home School Liaison Officer) School Counsellor, Careers Adviser or outside Welfare Agency. If of post-compulsory age, consult with the Principal regarding their place at the school.
The Head Teacher Administration will distribute the truancy and action lists at the Welfare and Executive meetings, listing all students who have been detected as truants or action has been taken regarding lateness or poor attendance. Random school-wide attendance checks will be made on a regular basis during classtime.
SENIOR SCHOOL ROLL MARKING
Senior students are marked present by swiping their student cards on the scanners outside the Roll Office. If students forget their card, they will need to register their attendance at the Roll Office window.
Lost cards will be replaced at a cost, by arrangement with the Head Teacher Administration.
If the swipe system is not functioning students will:
• Have the roll marked in Period One
• if they have a late start, sign-in on the clipboard in the Roll Office
• if they are late, sign-in late at the Roll Office window
Notes for absences will be handed in at the Roll Office (a letterbox will be provide for this purpose).
For more information check page 13 of the St Clair High School Policies document