Attendance Expectations

Absences – Parents must notify the school each day their child is absent. If your child has a prearranged appointment, please inform the office in advance. For extended absences, such as holidays or trips, the office requires the dates your child will be away.

Teachers and office staff mark attendance in the morning and afternoon. If a student is absent when the roll is taken, parents will receive a text message. This process helps us ensure the safety and whereabouts of all students.

Attendance Goal – Attendance is closely monitored at Whenuapai School. In 2026, our school’s attendance goal is for 70% of our students to be attending school regularly (regular attendance is defined by the Ministry of Education as students attending school 90% of the time).

In order to support that, we are utilising the new STAR (Stepped Attendance Response) system. Below is an infographic of the steps that we will use to support students and whānau with regular school attendance.

Lateness – Students are expected to be on time, as per school hours in the morning. Continued lateness is recorded and followed up on by our teachers and team leaders. We want every student at Whenuapai School to have the best possible start to their day. Our morning routines are key for establishing the organisation and focus needed to succeed in their many learning and extracurricular activities. Lateness, even by a few minutes, adds up quickly, resulting in a meaningful impact on a student’s valuable learning time.

Leaving school early – In the event that your child needs to leave school early, the parent/guardian collecting them must sign them out at reception through VISTAB. It would be appreciated if parents could inform the class teacher and office of an upcoming early pick up, so that we can support the student to be prepared.

Attendance Codes

Bereavement and/or Exceptional Family Circumstances (Justified) – We understand and respect that bereavement or exceptional family circumstances require significant time and attention. Your willingness to keep us informed about the challenges you and your family are experiencing, whether it’s a family emergency, a loss, or an important cultural event, is highly valued.

Medical (Justified) – For any medical absence lasting more than three consecutive school days (excluding weekends), the school requests an official medical certificate. This is necessary to continue coding the absence under the Medical Code (M – Justified). If a medical certificate cannot be provided by the parents or caregiver, any subsequent absence will regrettably be marked as E (Explained and considered unjustified).

Appointments (Justified) – We understand that medical appointments may need to be made during school hours. If students miss either the morning or afternoon roll call, their absence will be recorded under the Appointment Code (D – Justified). I If they miss both the morning and afternoon roll, their absence will be recorded under the Medical Code (M – Justified).

Overseas Trips – Our school is strongly committed to both maximising attendance and upholding the academic progress and well-being of all students. Although we appreciate the enrichment that family leisure and travel provide, we recommend, guided by the Ministry of Education directives, that holidays and trips be taken during the school holidays.

In the event that this is not possible, we request that you contact the school office before your holiday to inform us of the dates that your child will be absent. As much as we value academic progress, our teachers are not able to provide home learning or learning to be completed while you are away, as the value of our learning programs are within our structured programs.

Please note: Events such as birthdays or special outings are not considered justified absences. If a student is absent and the reason provided does not meet the school’s policy for a justifiable reason that can also be considered as an unjustified leave.