Attendance & Absence

Attendance Procedures

At Onehunga Primary School, we have clear procedures for recording and monitoring attendance. We work to identify and follow up on any attendance concerns. We make sure students and their whānau are aware of the attendance expectations, and our staff are responsible for reminding students about these expectations. You can find more information about our attendance procedures below.

Absence

Reporting Absence


If your child is going to be away for the day due to sickness, an appointment or any other reason, please notify the school as soon as possible by using the Hero app.


There is a ‘Report an Absence’ icon right on the homepage of the app
1. Click on the ‘Report an Absence’ icon
2. Select the reason for absence (add in any message if you need to)
3. Click ‘Send Message’ and you’re done!


If you cannot access the HERO app,  you can email office@onehungaprimary.school.nz or Phone: 09 636 6256 - you can leave a message at any time.


To sign up to the HERO APP - please click on this link

School Follow Up on Absence

The office staff, responsible for day to day attendance follow up, will follow up on unreported absences as follows:


Attendance Goals (Ministry of Education)

Attendance is closely monitored and categorised into four subgroups.

Regular attendance: students with over 90% attendance 

Irregular absence: students with more than 80% and up to 90% attendance

Moderate absence: students with more than 70% and up to 80% attendance

Chronic absence: students 70% attendance or less

Our classroom teachers and office staff regularly monitor attendance patterns and will reach out to whānau to offer support in maintaining consistent attendance. If these patterns persist, the classroom teacher will refer the matter to the Senior Leadership Team, who will then contact whānau to explore further support options."


Lateness and Early Departure

Lateness

We understand that mornings can be busy, but it’s important for students to arrive on time. Starting the day on time helps them get settled and prepared for their day of learning. When students are late, it can be harder for them to catch up on important routines that help them stay organised throughout the day. Regular lateness can build up over time and affect their learning progress and confidence. We appreciate your support in helping your child arrive on time.

School Hours

Monday to Friday: 8.45am - 3.00pm (The first song bell goes at 8.42am for student to make their way to class). 

Leaving School Early

For safety reasons, students must follow the correct procedures when leaving school during the day. Parents or guardians need to sign their child out in person at the reception, using the VISTAB system. The reason for leaving must be clear and specific. If the reason doesn’t meet our criteria for a justified absence (see below), it will be marked as E (Explained and considered unjustified).

To make the most of their time in class, students will stay in class until a parent or guardian arrives. Once on site, the student will then be called to the reception.

Please also remember that only adults listed in our Student Management System are authorised to pick up your child. If someone not listed in the system will be picking up your child, please call the office at 09 636 6256 to inform us.

Recording Attendance

We record student attendance using specific codes. Absences can be either justified (e.g., for medical reasons) or unjustified (e.g., for an unapproved holiday or other reasons). These are noted in our attendance register. For more details, please refer to the "Attendance Code Resource" guide from the Ministry.


Below are some attendance codes we used often at Onehunga Primary School



(M) Medical Absences - Justified

Student is at home, or in hospital, because of illness or other medical reasons. A medical certificate may be requested for prolonged illness. E.g. absent for more than three days 


Please note: COVID is now coded as a regular medical absence. We appreciate that whānau will be observing isolation but COVID is no longer coded differently. The rule of thumb is if you are too sick to attend school, please stay home. 

This information helps you decide when it is okay to send your child to school, when you should keep your child at home and when you should contact a health professional for advice.

Phone: 09 636 6256 - you can leave a message at any time.

(J) Bereavement and/or Exceptional Family Circumstances

We acknowledge the valuable time required during bereavement and/or exceptional family circumstances. We greatly appreciate your communication in letting us know what challenges you and your family may be facing. Pending the information we receive, we can code absence of this type for up to 5 days as J (justified). This is judged on a case by case basis. Should the absence require more than 5 days, from the 6th day onwards, the absence will be coded as E (Explained and considered unjustified).


Phone: 09 636 6256 - you can leave a message at any time.

(D) Appointments

If your child needs to leave school for an appointment or arrives late afterwards, we ask that they attend either the morning or afternoon roll call. If they miss both, the absence will be marked as "M" for medical.

If possible, please provide the school with confirmation of the appointment (such as an email or phone call) to help us update your child's absence record and confirm communication with whānau.

Phone: 09 636 6256 - you can leave a message at any time.

(Q) Sports Tournament (Internal and External)

We value sports opportunities for young people and have different criteria for marking absences related to them. For in-school events, absences are marked as Q (Justified). If a student participates in a national tournament representing their country, the absence is marked as J (Justified), with proof required. For club competitions, the absence is marked as E (Explained but unjustified). If a student competes overseas and represents their country, the absence is J (Justified), but if they are not representing their country, it’s marked G (Overseas Trip – Unjustified)

Phone: 09 636 6256 - you can leave a message at any time.

(G) Overseas Trip/Family Trip during Term Time

According to the Ministry guidelines, family trips during school term are not considered a valid reason for missing school. Because of this, we need to mark your child’s absence as G (Overseas Trip). This means we understand why your child was absent, but it doesn’t meet the rules for a justified absence. If it is for a Cultural Event in New Zealand or Overseas, this is considered as J (Justified).

 Phone: 09 636 6256 - you can leave a message at any time.

Truancy


If a student misses school and we don’t hear from the family in advance or follow our usual procedures for reporting an absence, the student will be marked as "T" (Truant). If a student misses four days in a row without any explanation, we will refer the case to the Auckland City Education Services Attendance Department, who will follow up to make sure the student returns to school.

We can change the "Truancy" mark later if needed, but the best way to avoid this is for families to contact the school in advance or on the day of the absence.


Chronic Absence
If a student misses school more than 30% of the time (or has 3 or more days of truancy in a row) and the school has tried to work with the family, we will refer the student to Auckland City Education Services (Attendance Service). This service helps students and whānau improve attendance.

For more information, visit: https://www.aces.school.nz/attendance-services


Examples of Unacceptable Reasons for Missing School
Absences are not excused if the reason is not valid or is something like:


To make sure the student’s attendance record is correct, we need clear and valid reasons for any absences.