Information for parents – Attendance at secondary school

Going to school every day is vitally important so your child does not miss out on important ideas, concepts, knowledge and skills for future learning.  At Kalamunda SHS we want your teenager to do their very best.  To get the best education, they need to go to school every day.

The teenage years are a time for young people to develop independence and find their place in the world, including how they take part in their school life. By working together, our school community can support your child’s attendance.

What can you do to help?

Act early.  It is important to understand and work on the underlying reasons why your teenager is not going to school.

On average, teenagers need eight to nine hours sleep a night to be healthy and alert. Maintaining a daily routine helps.  This may include monitoring internet, mobile phone and television use at night to ensure sleep is not disturbed.

Try not to make appointments or take holidays during school time.  This can make it difficult to catch up on missed school-work, and cause anxiety about attending school.

Don’t let your teenager stay home unless they are genuinely sick.

Don’t let your teenager stay home to finish an assignment that is due.  Make attendance the number one priority.

Teach them that attending to commitments is important.

Do you need to let the school know if your teenager will be away from school?

Yes, you need to let the attendance officer/ absentee line know the reason why your teenager is going to be or has been absent from school as soon as possible.

Don’t feel the need to ‘cover up’ the reason for your teenager’s absence.

Be honest so we can work with you and your teenager to improve their attendance.

Having information about why your teenager is missing school helps us plan for their return, and to work out whether we can provide any further help to you.

Have clear expectations about after school jobs. Make sure work does not impact on their ability to get to school each day or interfere with study.

Encourage extracurricular activities such as sport and creative activities.

They can help your teenager develop positive relationships and experience success, helping them feel more motivated.

Monitor your teenager’s attendance and learning at school.  Periodically check with their Mentor teacher or Year coordinator to find out how things are going.

Avoid taking over or giving your teenager the impression you are solving their problems for them.  Improving attendance requires the school, parent and student to work together.

If your teenager delays getting ready for school so they are late, encourage them to still go to school.

Ask school staff for help if you are struggling to get your teenager to school.

What will staff at Kalamunda SHS do to help?

Offer relevant and culturally responsive learning opportunities to engage students.

Monitor every student’s attendance and work with you to overcome problems affecting your teenager’s attendance.

Talk with you about involving support staff such as school psychologist, chaplain, year Coordinator, program coordinators and other external agencies.

Talk with you about local services that may also be able to help such as Headspace, and the Family Support Network.

Amanda Morton
Program Coordinator - Student Support