Attendance
Attendance Requirements
Attendance at school is compulsory in Australia for all school aged children.
At Westall we aim for >90% attendance (that's about only 10 days away per year).
Students need to be at school every-day, unless they are sick enough to be at home in bed, have a reasonable excuse, or have a communicable condition such as:
* Head-Lice (can return after treatment)
* Covid-19
* Flu
* More information here
If a student is away, parents have an obligation to inform the school of the reasons for this, and schools must keep a record of this.
The school's SMS system will alert you each day if your child is marked absent by their classroom teacher. Please contact the front office if there are any discrepancies.
Why is attendance important
Attendance is vitally important for:
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Making friends and being connected
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Helping students to learn
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Improving student wellbeing
Students who are away more often, get disconnected from their friends, classmates, teachers and their learning. It can be very confusing for them when they return and have missed work, even if they have been doing work at home.
What to do if my child is absent?
If you child is away please contact the front office by phone so we can mark their reason for absence, or send an email, or use the schools app to mark the reason for absence.
Phone: 9546 8965
Email: westall.ps@education.vic.gov.au
If your child is going to be away for a long period of time - travelling, or overseas or away due to an extended illness, please contact the classroom teacher so we can negotiate an absence learning plan.
If you child persistently refuses to attend school, please contact the Assistant Principal, so we can work together to develop a return to school plan.
The school will contact parents/guardians of students with particularly low attendance and arrange meetings so we can work together to support better attendance.
More Information
For more information please see the Education Departments website and our attendance policy