REGULAR ATTENDANCEOver 90% attendance (missing fewer than 5 days across a term).
Regular Attendance
The Importance of Regular Attendance – Every Day Counts!
At Tamaoho School, we have a positive attitude toward learning and expect regular attendance to ensure every learner has the best opportunity to succeed. Attendance is reported to the Ministry daily.
The New Zealand Government has set a national attendance target of 90%, which means learners should have no more than five days off per term. Establishing good attendance habits early on is key to success in learning and life.
Attendance Categories
Why Attendance Matters
Research shows that regular attendance is one of the biggest factors in learner achievement, well-being, and lifelong success. Missing school can lead to:
Gaps in learning that can be difficult to catch up on.
Challenges with routines and friendships making school feel harder.
Increased disengagement which can affect future learning and opportunities.
Your Role as Whaanau
It is a legal requirement for all learners enrolled in a registered New Zealand school to attend every day that school is open. Whaanau play a crucial role in ensuring their child (ren) are at school and engaged in learning.
Reporting Absences: Sickness, Appointments & Lateness
To ensure accurate attendance records and the safety of our learners, all absences, including sickness, appointments, lateness, or early finishes, should be reported through one of the following methods:
📌 HERO App: The quickest and easiest way to notify us.
📞 Phone: 09 884 9350
Please notify the school before 9:00 am each day your child is unwell.
If your child is absent for three days or more due to illness, a doctor’s certificate may be requested.
We have a legal requirement to follow up with all children who are not at school, so you will receive a text message asking for the reason. If we do not hear from you, we have to record this a Truant from school.
Irregular to Chronic Absence
If a child’s attendance falls below 90%, we work closely with whaanau through meeting and phone calls or emails to understand any challenges and put a support plan in place, celebrating improvements along the way. We hope with a reminder you will work with us to improve your child’s attendance.
If attendance does not improve, we may refer to the Franklin Attendance Service, who will visit your home to work alongside you to support regular attendance. Our goal is to ensure every learner is at school, engaged, and thriving in their learning journey.
Is Your Child Well Enough to Attend School?
If you are unsure whether your child is well enough to attend school, we encourage you to follow Ministry of Health guidelines or speak with your doctor for advice.
Absences Due to Travel or Holidays
All absences due to travel or holidays should be advised to the school in advance via the Principal (email link below). We understand that there may be times when travel outside of school holidays is necessary. However, this should be a rare occurrence and only in exceptional circumstances.
The Impact of Time Away From School due to Holidays During School time
Affect your child’s educational progress and achievement, and learners will not get access to additional support for learning.
Create difficulties in catching up on missed learning. As a school, your child will not be able to access additional learning opportunities if attendance is below 90% as this is due to being away from school.
Disrupt classroom routines and friendships. Often, when learners come back, they have missed what has been happening at school and sometimes, new friendships have be formed.
Teachers will not set additional work if learners are away for holidays as the priority is teaching the learners who are at school.
The school cannot authorise holidays during school time, and any time away for travel will be recorded as explained but unjustified in attendance records and Ministry of Education reports.