Every Day Counts

In NSW all children between the ages of 6 and 17 are legally required to attend school.

The Department of Education has produced some resources around the  importance of school attendance.  Research highlights a clear correlation between student attendance and the achievement of quality academic, socio-economic and health outcomes. This research tells us that students with an attendance rate below 90% are educationally at risk. At Yarrawarrah, our expected student attendance is above 95%. It is vital that your child attends school every day unless they are unwell.

As parents, we all want the best for our children and you can help your child succeed at school by supporting the school in the following ways:

• Ensure your child arrives at school on time. Every class at YPS starts the day at 9:20am with Morning Routine. This lesson is specially designed to wake up our brains and provide a strong foundation for the day’s learning. We need every student to be part of Morning Routine as it sets them up for success.
• Stay the whole day. The last session of the day at YPS is only 50 minutes long, but it is a very important time. It is the time when our students enjoy learning activities that are often creative and involve group work and collaboration. It is a wonderful time for students to enjoy learning with their friends, so we need everyone to stay until 3:20pm.
• Make appointments in suitable hours. Please make appointments during hours that will not require you to sign your child out of school before they have finished their learning.

Time away from learning adds up quickly. If you would like to know your child's attendance rate, please contact us.

If children are absent from school, a text message is auto generated from School Bytes each day, please reply to this message to explain your child/ren’s absence, alternatively, you can advise of an absence via the School Bytes Parent portal, this can be done in advance. Appointments and holidays should not be scheduled during school hours. Absences for these reasons will be marked as unjustified. In the event of overseas travel please contact the office for a Travel Certificate application. This must be signed by the Principal prior to going on leave. Other acceptable absence notifications are a written note to the teacher or an email to the school email address. Absences should not be sent directly to the teacher.

If your child is late to school, they must come to the office for a ‘late note’. Our Attendance and Wellbeing Officer will be in contact over the year to keep parents informed of your child’s attendance rate.

Students who achieve >95% attendance in a term are rewarded with a special “Attendance Certificate”. Those children who achieve 100% attendance for the whole school year are given a special attendance Bronze Award which can be used in attaining the next level in the school’s award system.

Have a question for our principal or teachers?

Our friendly office team can help you get in touch.

Contact us