School Attendance

In reply to Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (17 May 2017).

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Minister for Education and Child Development, Minister for Higher Education and Skills): I have been advised:

The triggers for consideration of referral vary widely for each case; however policy and legislative requirements must have been met before prosecution can be considered.

Schools are required to record, monitor and follow up on non-attendance.

Students must have been absent a certain amount of days that highlights early concerns about a student's attendance. These are categorised as the:

Habitual at five absences per term

Chronic non-attendance at ten absences per term

It is noted however, in practice, the matters that have been referred for prosecution have involved significantly more serious non-attendance than the ten days per term chronic non-attendance criterion.

Referral to and involvement of local support services personnel is a mandatory requirement in order to move towards the prosecution process.

The Department for Education and Child Development (DECD) will only consider prosecution of a parent in cases where it is determined to be in the best interest of the child; all other interventions have been unsuccessful; and fair warnings have been provided.

Fair warnings are given to families before undertaking this action.

The process to put a case forward for prosecution involves considerable review of the circumstances of the non-attendance, the family context capacity, interagency collaborations and the outcome that might be achieved.

Legal advice is also sought on whether DECD could proceed to prosecution under the Education Act 1972 in relation to non-attendance.

My approval is required under the law for the initiation of such an action.

Due to the complexity of the issues involved in non-attendance, many factors are taken into account when developing a plan to support re-engagement.

There are a range of departmental and social policies in place to support the safety, wellbeing and learning success of children. These are all considered and applied in order to address the issues which may contribute to the non-attendance.

The children and young people who are involved in this process are carefully monitored and supported by schools and support service personnel to ensure that they re-engage with education. The family is also offered and connected to appropriate support services.