Supporting Student Attendance

Generally attendance at Coatesville School is excellent.

Late arrivals
The handbell rings at 8.55 to signal the official start of school is near.
At 9am the electronic bell rings.
If a child is not in class by then they must report to the office to be recorded as ‘late’.
The start of the day is critical to be prepared academically, socially and emotionally.
We have seen an improvement in the number of students being late during the year but there is still room for improvement. Being late on the odd occasion is not the issue - regular lateness is.

Early departures
School finishes at 3pm. It is important students stay until the end of the school day, unless there is a very good reason for leaving early.
From discussion with staff, it seems there are a number of children being taken before the bell - some regularly.  If possible please schedule any appointments/commitments outside school hours.
We do have important processes which need to be consistently followed.
All students who leave before 3pm MUST be ‘signed out’ at the office (even 5-10 minutes early). Parents/caregivers must tell the teacher and then go to the office to record their child’s departure in the book on the office counter. This is a health and safety requirement so we officially know which students are onsite.
Also student attendance is recorded after lunch at 1.50pm each day - only the office is able to subsequently change the attendance to indicate an early departure.

Holidays during term time
Holidays outside of official school holiday times are a reality for many families, due to a range of very valid factors. On odd occasions staff need to do the same.
We are supportive of families taking holidays outside designated holiday periods if it required for their family circumstances. A number of families enjoy wonderful trips which are a fantastic learning experience in themselves.
We simply ask for the timing and/or regularity of these holidays to be carefully considered by families. And we ask for people to communicate their intentions with plenty of notice so teachers are aware and can plan accordingly (eg. special events, activities, assessment, reports, etc.)
To support this we have a new ‘Holiday Leave’ form which we would like people to use when they have confirmed a holiday of 5 or more school days. Using the simple form officially gets the communication to the office, the principal and classroom teachers quickly and efficiently.
Many people already do this very effectively so we are just helping consistency for everyone with the communication process.   

Justified absences during term time
Please communicate via phone, face-to-face, or in writing, with the classroom teacher or the office to let them know about any other absences (eg. illness, appointment, family commitment, special occasion, etc.)

If any attendance aspects do become an issue for your child I will make contact with you. It will be done in a very supportive way, to better understand the circumstances and to help in any way possible.
School is a partnership and we are sharing these aspects with all parents to ensure we do all we can to support positive student learning.
Thank you for your support.

​​‘Holiday Leave’ form 

Please fill in this form if your child will be absent for 5 days or more.
Do not fill in if a medical/sickness absence.​