Student Attendance
Attendance Expectations
Attendance Management Plan
Long Bay College is committed to ensuring all students maximise their educational opportunities. Regular attendance at school is important in helping get young people closer to their goals.
Regular attendance at school is important to your child’s success and there is a clear connection between going to school regularly and doing well in the classroom. Making sure students attend and engage in learning is a shared responsibility.
Students who attend school regularly learn more and achieve better results. It is an important role of parents/caregivers to ensure their child is regularly attending school.
- Students must attend and be punctual to school and all classes.
- Students must remain on the premises during the school day unless permission to leave is granted by the school, and they have signed out with the Student Centre. After 4.00pm, students may remain at school only under supervision.
- 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 3 days from the start of the absence.
- If a student is absent for 3 days of medical absence, attendance will be marked as “M” (Medical). Subsequent consecutive days are marked “E” (Unjustified Absence) until a Medical Certificate can be provided. Please submit the medical certificate through SchoolBridge – report student absence.
- If a student has 9 non-consecutive days within a term for medical reasons, a Medical Certificate is required. The first three days will be marked as “M” (Medical), and the additional 6 days will be changed to “E” (Unjustified Absence) until one can be provided. Please submit the medical certificate through SchoolBridge – report student absence.
As a parent, you are responsible for making sure your child attends school every day. If your child is going to be absent for any reason it is essential that you let us know as soon as possible. It is important that you use the SchoolBridge web portal or App to confirm your child’s absence and provide us with the reason. Further details can be found below.
We acknowledge that there are genuine reasons students may occasionally be absent. However, without regular attendance your child will struggle to make progress. If your child is absent regularly, or for extended periods, we will reach out to you to discuss the situation. We are committed to supporting your child to attend school. If you’re having difficulty getting your child to school, you can ask for support by:
- speaking with your child’s Atawhai Leader or Year Level Deans
- sending us a message on SchooBridge App, or
- calling us on 09 477 9009 and ask to speak to your child’ Year Level Deans
We can work with you to develop a support plan that addresses any barriers to regular attendance.
- If students frequently miss school without an explanation provided, the school will contact the student’s parents/caregivers to request a meeting and to discuss ways to support the student’s attendance. If unexplained absences persist, a formal letter will be sent to parents/caregivers and external agencies may be contacted to follow up on the reason for absences. This will follow our Stepped Attendance Response (STAR).
Please see Attendance Management Plan for more details.
STUDENT ABSENCES
New Zealand law requires children from the age of 6 to be present at school except in special circumstances such as illness etc. Parents must notify the school if their child is absent from school.
In order to ensure the Health and Safety of all students, please remember that if you wish to remove your student from school during the day, we can only allow this, if you are recorded as a contact on your child’s profile.
Please do not be offended if we are unable to sign your child out due to incorrect details showing on their profile.
If you need to update your child’s records, please contact the office at [email protected].
SCHOOLBRIDGE PARENT PORTAL
It is our preference at Long Bay College that parents/caregivers use the SchoolBridge web portal or App to notify us of student absences, lateness or if they have a scheduled appointment. Instructions on how to access SchoolBridge can be found on the sign in page: www.longbaycollege.com/portal
If parents/caregivers are unable to access the SchoolBridge web portal or App, they can email or phone the Student Centre ensuring that they include the student’s first and last names, date of absence and reason for absence or lateness.
Please Note: Reporting an absence/lateness must come from a parent/caregiver recorded on your child’s profile, not from the student themselves. The SchoolBridge portal is a secure way of ensuring only parents/caregivers are sending through the reports and it also keeps a track of what you have sent through. Therefore, it is essential for parents/caregivers to keep login information private. Sharing login details with your child may compromise the integrity of the absence system. Should you have a query regarding your child’s attendance please contact their year level Dean.
REPORT STUDENT ABSENCE
DAILY ABSENCES
It is a Ministry requirement to have caregiver notification of a student’s absence in order for the correct attendance code to be assigned and to ensure good records are maintained. Parents/caregivers should contact the school using SchoolBridge before 8.45am if their child is absent.
If a student has been marked absent and the Student Centre have not received notification from a parent/caregiver, then a message will be sent to parents/caregivers regarding the whereabouts of their child. The reason for notifications is to let parents/caregivers know if their child has made it to school on time for the day.
This message may cause concern for some parents/caregivers which is understandable however, please note this does not necessarily mean they have not arrived at all. If you receive a notification text message you can reply “Y” followed by an explanation for the absence, or “N” if you are unaware of absence or disregard the message if you have already informed the school of your child’s absence.
If your child arrives late and does not sign in via the correct avenues it is highly likely they will be marked absent, and you will receive a text message/email.
SIGNING IN OR OUT DURING A SCHOOL DAY
Please make specialist and other essential appointments at times which allow students to attend school for the majority of the day. Parents/caregivers can request an Exit Pass for their child using SchoolBridge prior to 9.00am on the day of the appointment. Please include the reason that your child will be signing out and whether you expect them to return during school that day.
Students can then collect a pass from the Student Centre during interval or lunchtime which will allow the teacher to release the student from their class at the designated time. The student must then report to the Student Centre to sign out before leaving the school grounds.
If parents/caregivers are unable to access SchoolBridge, they can email or phone the Student Centre ensuring that they include the student’s first and last names, the reason your child will be signing out and whether you expect them to return during school that day.
COLLECTING YOUR CHILD AT SHORT NOTICE
We appreciate that occasionally emergency appointments need to be made at the last minute; however, parents/caregivers should be aware that it is not always possible to find students in class promptly. While staff will do everything they can to help, it may take a little while.
If you anticipate needing to get your child out urgently it would be helpful to give at least half an hour notice. You can phone the school office on 09 477 9009 extn 878. Please do not turn up at the school and expect to be able to get your child out of class immediately.
Parents/caregivers should also note that the school gates are shut for safety reasons between 3.05pm and 3.25pm.
Please provide appointment slip through SchoolBridge.
LATE PASSES
Whenever a student arrives late to school for any reason, or they are late to their class during the day, they must report to the Student Centre. The student will receive a late slip which they must hand to their classroom teacher.
Parents/caregivers should notify the Student Centre if their child will be late by using SchoolBridge. Please include the reason for being late. If there is no justified reason provided by a caregiver, a lunchtime detention will be issued to the student.
If parents/caregivers are unable to access SchoolBridge, they can email or phone the Student Centre or provide a written note signed by a caregiver ensuring that they include the student’s first and last names, and the reason for being late.
UNWELL DURING THE DAY
Students should not be sent to school when they are unwell and not able to function properly or are contagious. Guidance for parents/caregivers to help you decide whether your child is well enough to attend school can be found here on the website: Health New Zealand
Students who become sick, or injured, during school hours must report to the medical room. Only when a parent or caregiver has been contacted by the Nurse or administrative staff, will the student be released. Students are NOT to text parents/caregivers to collect them from school, without following the correct procedures.
PROLONGED LEAVE
(more than three consecutive school days)
Extended periods of absence disadvantage students. Holidays and similar reasons are considered ‘unapproved absence’ and are actively discouraged. Therefore, please avoid taking students for holidays or other non-approved reasons during term time.
If the absence simply cannot be avoided and the planned absence is for more than three consecutive school days, parents/caregivers are requested to notify the Student Centre and the Principal in writing at least two weeks prior to the leave using the Prolonged Absence icon on your SchoolBridge dashboard. If the prolonged absence is due to medical reasons, then please ensure that a medical certificate is provided.
