Attendance

Henderson Valley School  Attendance Management Plan

Attendance at Henderson Valley School

At Henderson Valley School we know that consistent and regular attendance at school is vital for the success and wellbeing of our ākonga. Attending school every day supports our tamariki to develop strong relationships with peers, teachers and an overall sense of belonging. Regular attendance also promotes achievement success as tamariki are able to consistently build on their learning.

We aim to ensure all tamariki are provided with the opportunity to engage in high quality teaching and learning through regular attendance at school.

At Henderson Valley School, we have clear procedures for recording and monitoring attendance and we work to identify and follow up on any attendance concerns. 

We have a variety of ways to encourage excellent attendance through reducing barriers to learning and regular promotion of attendance expectations in communication to tamariki and whānau. Kaiako are expected to play a role in promoting regular attendance every day. 

School Hours  

Monday - Friday: 9.00am - 3.00pm

Children who arrive before 8.30am need to wait by the top courts until the 8.30am bell goes. Kaiako are usually in classrooms from 8.30am. We encourage children and their whānau to be at school between 8.30 and 9.00am so tamariki can meet with their friends, play, connect with their teachers and settle into the day, ready for learning.

SKIDS operates at Henderson Valley School both before and after school.

Lateness and Leaving Early 

Lateness

Regular lateness can build up over time and affect learning progress and confidence. We appreciate whānau support in helping their child arrive on time. If tamariki arrive after 9.00am they need to sign in at the office and collect a late slip. They will be marked as L on the roll. 

Leaving Early

For safety reasons, students must follow the correct procedures when leaving school during the day. Parents or guardians must sign their child out in person at the office. No child is permitted to leave without having been signed out at the office first.

Reporting an Absence

Whānau are required to communicate with the school if their child can not attend school, explaining the reason for their absence. 

Whānau can...

• Complete the absence form on HERO

• Call the office on 090 8397010

• Email: office@hvschool.co.nz

Attendance Processes & Follow up Procedures

Teachers take the attendance roll on Hero at the start of the day and again after lunch at 1.45pm. 

Our Student Services/Attendance person in the office monitors these rolls and makes contact through texts, phone calls and emails to whānau of students who have not communicated with the school to explain an absence. If the office does not receive a response from whānau the student is marked as Truant (T). 

Attendance Codes

At Henderson Valley School we follow Ministry guidelines and use specific codes when recording attendance and absences onto HERO. Absences can be either justified (e.g.  for medical reasons) or unjustified (e.g. for an unapproved holiday or other reasons). 

Attendance Targets

In alignment with The Ministry of Education's attendance goal Henderson Valley School aims to ensure 80% of our students attend school regularly, which is considered to b e 90% or more of the time. 

Attendance is closely monitored and categorised into four subgroups.

Attendance Response Plan

As a school and leadership team we receive automatic alerts from our school management system (HERO) when a student is absent for more than 5 plus days in a term. These absences may be either justified or unjustified.

Once a notification has been received we follow the below response plan. This plan is in line with the Ministry of Education's, 'Stepped Attendance Response' (STAR).  For more information please follow this link STAR

For Regular absence (Good attendance) - less than 5 days absence per term: 

• The school communicates with whānau about every absence (via text message when absent)

For Irregular absence (Worrying attendance) - up to 10 days absence per term: 

• Whānau will receive an email/letter highlighting the attendance concern and inviting them to discuss any issues, challenges or barriers to attendance. If no response is received after 48 hours, this will be followed up by a phone call from the school’s Deputy Principal/Attendance Officer.

For Moderate attendance (Concerning attendance) -up to 15 days absence per term:

• In addition to whānau receiving a second email/letter, whānau will be invited to a meeting with the school’s Deputy Principal/Attendance Officer to co-construct a collaborative support plan to support the student to improve attendance.  Outside agency support may be accessed at this point if appropriate.

For Chronic attendance (Very concerning attendance): 

• The collaborative support plan will continue to be implemented and monitored

• In cases of chronic and very concerning absence, the school will engage with outside agencies, requesting  support to improve the student’s attendance. For Henderson Valley School  this will be Attendance West https://attendancewest.com/ 

Personal Attendance Records

Whānau can access their child's personal attendance records at any time on HERO at the top of their report page.