STAR - Stepped Attendance Response

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.

Below we will outline all of the attendance codes we use as a 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.

(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).

(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.

(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).

(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).

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 more than five days in a row without any explanation, our LSC will refer the case to the Palmerston North Attendance Services or ROCK ON, who will follow up to make sure the student returns to school. This service helps students and whānau improve attendance.

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.

Examples of absences that are not valid can include, but are not limited to: