Parents are allowing their children to skip school to go shopping or celebrate a birthday and one Warrnambool school has had enough.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Brauer College principal Jane Boyle is taking a stand on unnecessary days off and said school attendance rates were a growing regional issue.
“We have to build the south-west and this is something that needs support from the community,” Ms Boyle said.
“This type of absenteeism sends a strong message to students that parents don’t really value learning - a terrible message to send to our young people.”
Ms Boyle wrote to families in the college newsletter on March 10.
“As parents, one of the most important things you can do to ensure your child has a successful future is to make sure they get to school every day and get there on time.
“The correlation between school attendance and student achievement levels is well established. The more time students spend at school, the more likely they are to experience school success.”
Ms Boyle said a Victorian Auditor-General report found students who were regularly absent were at the greatest risk of dropping out of school early and long-term employment.
Reasons parents gave when students missed school included celebrating a sibling’s birthday, “they partied too hard on the weekend”, wanting a longer weekend or not wanting to participate in sports days or other school activities.
Warrnambool College principal David Clift said primary and secondary schools across the region were working together to address the issue.
“We’re wanting to focus on strategies to ensure everyone can improve the attendance rates, particularly improving non-explained attendance rates so we can work collaboratively with parents and carers to make sure we understand why students aren’t here and the times they can’t be here,” he said
“It’s really positive that the whole region is looking at strategies. It’s not individual schools working in isolation but how we can work together.”
King’s College principal Allister Rouse said while attendance had been an issue, at schools he had taught at it wasn’t a concern.
“I think it’s a problem or an issue in some schools but not other schools,” Mr Rouse said.
