At South Halls Head Primary School, we want your child to achieve their very best. To get the best education, they need to attend school every day.

Developing a habit of going to school every day is vitally important so that your child does not miss out on important ideas and skills they need for future learning. Going to school every day helps children learn the important life skill of ‘showing up’ – at school, at work, to sport, and other commitments.

Absences, Holidays and Late to School

The School Education Act 1999 requires that we maintain accurate records in order to identify patterns of absence at both a school and individual student level.

There are several ways to advise of your child’s absence:

• Entering an Attendance Note in Compass. This is preferred option as it notifies the office and classroom teachers at the same time,
• Sending an email to ps@education.wa.edu.au
• Calling the school office

If your child us unwell, please advise the school on the day of absence. If they are off for several days, you will need to let us each day that they are still away unwell. Medical certificates will be requested for absences longer than three days, or for low attendance due to illness.

If you are planning a holiday during term, we require prior notification in writing of the first and last dates of absence. This will allow us to enter a note for this period which will stop further correspondence regarding absence during this period.

If it is necessary for your child to be late (after 8:20am), they will need to enter via the administration office and state the reason for lateness, to be signed in. Please note that a late arrival after 8:50am will be marked as an absence for the morning session. Similarly, if your child must leave prior to the end of the school day, a departure prior to 2:10pm will be marked as an absence for the afternoon session.

We know that some children may need extra encouragement to go to school regularly. By working together, our school community can address some of the reasons why your child may not want to go to school. Please contact the school if your child is refusing to attend so that we can provide support and assistance. The below resources also contain useful strategies you can implement as well.