ATTENDANCE & PUNCTUALITY
Every Day Counts
Regular attendance is one of the most important factors in a child’s success at school. When students are present and on time, they build stronger connections with their learning, their teachers, and their peers. At Renwick School, we work together with whānau to support every student in developing the habits and routines that set them up for life.
Ensure your child attends school daily.
Notify the school with a valid reason (e.g. medical).
Establish consistent routines and discuss the importance of daily attendance.
The school will contact you to discuss the absence. Understand the reasons and reinforce consistency.
Collaborate with the school to identify issues and solutions.
A meeting is held involving school leadership, yourself and your child. Identify barriers and develop a plan to address them.
Access to additional resources or services.
The school escalates to the Attendance Service.
Implement further support. Legal action may be considered if support is declined without valid reason.
- Regular attendance is crucial for your child’s learning and wellbeing.
- Early intervention helps prevent prolonged absences.
- Open communication with the school is essential — support is always available.
STAR Attendance Flowchart
(Our school and government target is 80% of students attending regularly — that is, attending more than 90% of the time.)
Attendance Management Plan
Attendance policy: Schooldocs – Attendance Procedures (to be updated by 1 January 2026) & Student Attendance
Attendance expectations
Parents/caregivers are expected to notify the school as soon as possible if their child is absent. Renwick School will contact parents/caregivers directly if no explanation is provided for a student absence.
Under the Education and Training Act (2020), the principal may allow a student to be absent for up to 5 days where there is a justified reason. For planned absences, requests must be made to the principal at least one week before the planned event.
Our follow-up actions include:
- Analysing attendance data for patterns of absence
- Contacting parents/caregivers to outline attendance expectations
- Meeting with students and their parents/caregivers to discuss strategies for improving attendance
- Working with relevant staff and the Ministry of Education Attendance Services to better meet the needs of students at risk of disengagement
How we support students back to school
- With family support, we discuss learning programmes and offer Te Whare Māanaki space to aid the transition back to class full time
- We provide extra support for classroom teachers to ensure learning loss is understood and strategies are identified
- Classroom teachers keep parents informed about progress, including learning, social, and involvement
Monitoring and measuring progress
Attendance information is available to all parents/caregivers through our student management system, Hero
Attendance data is discussed each week by the Administration and Management team
Our PB4L school team provides and monitors values-based learning and recognition programmes based on our school values: respect, resilience and resourcefulness
Attendance data is shared with students regularly, celebrating those who have reached the school’s target of attending 90% or more of the time