School Absenteeism

Mr GARDNER (Morialta) (14:37): In relation to that answer, in which the minister stated that the data for truancy or chronic absenteeism is not captured at a system-wide level but only at the school level, and then later in the same answer identified that 3 per cent of students are absent without explanation—and this is a figure she has used publicly—is the minister able to identify how the department captures that figure of 3 per cent and what levels of data provision are provided at a central level?

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Minister for Education and Child Development, Minister for Higher Education and Skills) (14:38): I will bring back a detailed answer for the member and the house to understand the system. In part, that is because we are improving and changing it at present. While each individual student is only tracked at a school level, and the awareness of how many cumulative days that child has been absent is known at the school level, we do have mechanisms to report through on attendance in schools across the system.

The categories are a little blunt—so, the category of unexplained absence. As a parent, I confess that two or three times in the time my children have been at school I have been asked to provide an explanation, because between my partner and myself we have managed not to remember to tell the school about a medical appointment—

Mr Gardner: Will that get you an expiation notice?

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE: I hope I won't be subject to an expiation notice; it would sharpen my attention, though, wouldn't it? Making sure that we clear out that kind of noise and to know who is actually in trouble is best done at the school-by-school level, so I am comfortable with that. As we improve the data collection, we will be able to have a much better picture at a system level of chronic absenteeism, albeit that it still ought to be handled largely through the school processes.