School Absenteeism

In reply to Mr GARDNER (Morialta) (28 July 2017). (Estimates Committee A)

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

Schools are required to monitor attendance of all students. They must ensure that any unsatisfactory participation or unexplained absence is investigated (including frequent absences due to illness or for family reasons). Initial follow-up often includes phone calls, notes in the student diary, face to face meetings with parents at the school or the home, and connection to relevant services. Some schools also have text messaging systems, which alert parents to student absences on the day it occurs.

The Department for Education and Child Development (DECD) has adopted definitions to identify students at risk through non-attendance:

Habitual non-attendance: where a student has 5 or more absences in a term (average of 1 day per fortnight)

Chronic non-attendance: where a student is absent for 10 days or more in a term (average of 1 day per week).

These thresholds provide a mechanism by which schools can be alerted to the need to assess a child's circumstances and the degree of risk posed by their non-attendance.

If schools feel they need extra support to re-engage these children with school they can refer to our DECD attendance and engagement social workers. These workers employ a suite of responses, including case management support and interagency responses with other agencies, to address the issues that result in student non-attendance.

New referrals to attendance and engagement social workers are as follows:

2017 (to date as at 17 August 2017) – 561

2016 – 1,415

2015 – 1,600