1. Rationale

At East Otago High School, our attendance procedures ensure students are accounted for during school hours and activities as well as emergency events. This allows school staff to identify and respond to student attendance concerns. We recognise the importance of regular attendance to support student welfare and help students achieve their educational potential.

The purpose of this Attendance Management Plan is to:

• Outline clear expectations for student attendance.
• Establish consistent procedures for monitoring, recording, and managing student
  attendance.
• Provide a framework for early intervention and support for students whose attendance is a concern.
• Promote effective communication between the school, students, and whānau/caregivers regarding attendance matters.
• Comply with Ministry of Education regulations regarding student enrolment and attendance.

2. Target

The East Otago High School target for 2025 was to have 85% of students attending 80% of the time. The target was not met with 74% of our students attending 80% of the time. This was different from the government target because we realise there will be some steps towards achieving the national target to have 85% of students attending 90% of the time. As of the end of 2025, the attendance rate for regularly attending students is 47%, with a daily attendance rate of 86.5%. The rate of attendance or justified absence for students at EOHS was 81.2%. Lifting attendance rates will be a significant goal for EOHS during 2026.

3. Policy

As required by the Education and Training Act 2020 (s 35), students between six and sixteen years old must be enrolled at school. Once enrolled, it is compulsory to attend school regularly, unless a specific exemption has been approved by the school and the Ministry of Education. The board takes all reasonable steps to ensure all students enrolled at East Otago High School attend school when it is open (Education and Training Act, s 36).

East Otago High School records and monitors attendance using set attendance procedures. We have annual targets for student attendance, and work with students, parents and caregivers, staff, and external agencies where necessary to improve our levels of student attendance. We share our attendance information with the Ministry of Education, which ensures we receive correct funding and staffing entitlements. We keep our attendance registers for seven years from the date of last entry.

 

Parent/Guardian and student responsibilities

Parents and guardians have legal obligations to ensure their children attend school (Education and Training Act, s 244). We expect parents/guardians to:

• notify the school as soon as possible if their child is going to be late or absent
• arrange appointments and trips outside school hours or during school holidays where possible
• work with the school to manage attendance

We share attendance expectations with students and their parents/guardians and caregivers and require students to be present and attend classes on time.

School hours and supervision

East Otago High School staff comply with our schedule and release students at set times.

Students are not allowed to leave the school during school hours unless permission is requested by parents/caregivers and given by the school. The student must sign out at the office.

Senior students may be allowed to leave school grounds (e.g. during lunch time or study periods). This is at the discretion of the principal and permission may be withdrawn if students do not return on time or do not meet our behaviour expectations while away from the school.

If a student is ill or injured at the school or a school-related activity and needs to be taken elsewhere (e.g. home or a medical facility), we follow our procedures for Managing Injuries and Illness.

Attendance Management Procedures

East Otago High School has procedures to record and monitor attendance, and to identify and follow up concerns. We share attendance expectations with students and their parents/caregivers, and staff are responsible for reminding students of these expectations.

Recording attendance

We record attendance accurately to ensure all students are accounted for, including for emergency situations. The school provides attendance data to the Ministry of Education each day, as required by the

Education and Training Act 2020 and Education (School Attendance) Regulations 2024. We monitor absence patterns using our student management system and notify parents/caregivers of any concerns.

Classroom teachers, learning support staff, and office staff work together to ensure attendance is recorded correctly. Relievers, itinerant teachers, and specialist teachers provide attendance information as necessary to the relevant teacher, or directly to the school office.

We record students as present or absent using Ministry of Education attendance codes. An absence may be justified (e.g. for medical reasons) or unjustified (e.g. for an unapproved holiday or other unsatisfactory

reason), and we record this in our attendance register.

Monitoring attendance

The school office receives attendance information from classroom teachers and/or relievers, itinerant, or specialist teachers, and is responsible for checking and updating attendance information (e.g. due to students arriving late or going home early). Office staff follow up absences, monitor for changes or trends in student attendance, and coordinate with relevant staff as needed.

Staff are encouraged to report any attendance concerns to the principal.

The Ministry of Education collects attendance data from the school, including:

• the proportion of students who attend regularly
• students with five or more full days of unjustified absence in a term
• absences remaining unexplained at the end of each

Student absences

Parents/Caregivers are expected to notify the school as soon as possible (before or during the school day) if their child will be absent. A reason for absence must be provided no later than the end of the school week. East Otago High School will contact parents/caregivers directly if no explanation is provided for student absence.

Under the Education and Training Act 2020 (s 45), the principal may allow a student to be absent from school for up to five days if there is a justified reason for absence (e.g. due to illness, a funeral or tangihanga, or other approved reason at the discretion of the school). For planned absences, requests must be made to the principal at least one week before the planned event.

The principal has discretion to approve or deny requests, based on criteria including:

• the benefit to education for the student (including qualifications and experience of course providers as relevant)
• the length of time away from regular school programmes that the activity will

If a student does not arrive at school or goes missing during the day (including from an EOTC event), we check there are no errors in how attendance information was recorded or updated (e.g. if a student has gone home due to illness). If necessary, we follow up with parents/guardians and/or emergency contacts. We may also follow our Missing Student Procedure.

Following up unexplained absences

East Otago High School takes all reasonable steps to ensure students attend school while it is open, including following up unexplained absences.

Our follow-up actions may include:

• analysing attendance data for patterns of absence
• contacting parents/caregivers to outline attendance expectations
• meeting with students and their parents/caregivers to discuss strategies for improving attendance
• discussing school programmes with relevant staff to better meet the needs of students at risk of disengagement.
• Refer students with extended or persistent absences to Attendance