Consistent attendance at school is critical to achieving positive educational outcomes and keeping students engaged in their learning. Parents/guardians have a legal obligation to ensure a child is enrolled in and attending school, or is registered for home education.

Further, making timely contact with families to inquire into reasons for absences and to offer support is an important aspect of building respectful and supportive relationships with students and their families.

Therefore it is important that schools have effective, reliable local practices and systems that record student attendance accurately and in a timely manner, to enable schools to identify whether any interventions or additional supports are required to promote consistent students engagement and attendance.