Absence from school

The issue of school attendance in both remote and urban school situations is one continuing to attract attention. That has been so for the past 40 years.  Solutions are proposed but often not followed  up by authorities.

In 2009 the  enrolment of school age children became compulsory. However, there are still many school aged children in the Territory who have never been enrolled.

 For children in urban schools, absence for a host of reasons  occurs during term time . A major factor is that of families taking holidays during school terms when airfares and accomodation are cheaper. Attendance can be a problem for all schools.

Lead from the front.

Principals,  school leadership teams and school councils need to be proactive when  dealing with attendance issues. One strategy that works, is to encourage students on term time holidays, to develop a travelogue covering their experiences. This helps reinforce the learning children do while on family travels. Using  media (photos and videos) to embellish adventures, adds to the written word.  Trip diaries can be shared with classes and may even attract commendation and awards from classroom teachers and principals.

With a little imagination and by recognising travel as providing learning opportunities, these times away from school can become significant learning journeys for children.

While some parents request holiday assignments and worksheets, these are often not completed. That does not justify the time and effort taken by staff setting up these individual programs.

More than legislation needed

Legislating  to solve attendance problems can be pretentious. The Tasmanian Government has decreed that from the beginning of 2018, no family holidays during term time will be allowed. Families will be liable for penalties of up to $2000 if  they fail to follow this attendance directive. 

Tasmania could have learned from the NT. We have legislation about school attendance, but when tested in court it has had very limited success. Further, the many steps that have to be actioned  prior to any court hearing, are both lengthy and onerous.    

There needs to be some follow up for all students on this issue, including recognition of children with outstanding attendance records.  Mention in school newsletters and the presentation of merit certificates are two ways of acknowledging conscientious attenders. However, absences which result from family circumstances ought not be punitively treated. Encouraging children toward educational enrichment through their travels is 

Published 13 years ago

Teachers, particularly Primary School teachers often wonder whether schools are schools. It seems that many including parents, politicians and the community at large think of them as creches. Accord hij ing to the Macquarie Dictionary a school is a place where instruction is given for children. A creche is a nursery where children are cared for while their parents work. It seems to many educators  that parents and primary caregivers are muddled between the two.

I am not blaming parents for the social malaise of the early 21st century. Talking about parents, schools and children Jeff Wells (Weekend Australian 20-21 April 1991) wrote it is a sign of the economic times that many families have to offer their children to be brought up by institutions alternate the nuclear family because of economic imperatives.

Changes in Educational Perception and School Definition

During the past fifteen to twenty years, for instance, teachers and office staff have become increasingly the minders for sick children, They are sent to school when unwell because parents cannot afford the time off work to care for them. The phenomena of unwell children spending their days in school medical rooms is exacerbated by industrial relations laws that either don’t recognise or are unkind to the needs of parents. This is still the case, notwithstanding the changes to legislation that has lead to some apparent enlightenment and added employee entitlement under the Fair Work Act.This puts school staff into a position of being minders, with school too often like unto health centres. 

Front and centre to this are children who will endure as much as they can when sent to school ill, because they fear consequences if  parents are contacted by the school about their unwellness. Over my years as a school principal, I became all too aware of this phenomena.

It is during the past twenty odd years that vacation school care, outside school hours care  (before and after school) homework centres, school extracurricular programs for sport and so on, have sprung up. I have the greatest respect for the support these programs offer, but make the point that their necessity has been occasioned by parents who are increasingly obligated to work and occupational commitment. The modern world and economic necessity have prioritised their time, largely taking family destiny out of their parental hands.

Expecations coming down from On High

Added to this role expansion (some would say distortion) are in-school imperatives increasingly driven by Australian Government compliance requirement setting detailed agendas which put a real squash on school, learning and teaching time. principals and teachers in schools are feeling the squeeze like never before. Be it wise or not, school based educators appear to be increasingly supplicant to these demands; rarely if ever is debate about the wisdom or otherwise of imposed agendas initiated at school or system level. Schools and staff are expected to ‘stretch’ and cover curricular demands.

I recall Jim Spinks, a prominent Tasmanian school Principal and ‘practical academic’ advising that if things are added onto the school curriculum, items have to be dropped off in order to enable sensible accommodation. This exhortation is rarely followed meaning that schools and staff members become overwhelmed by requirements.

 Metaphorically, schools are like sponges, given more and more to soak up: The capacity to endlessly absorb responsibility is reaching toward a perilous end-point. Confirming this is both anecdotal and empirical evidence attesting to teachers leaving the profession in increasing numbers. There is only so much a body can take and there is a huge lack of appreciation offered schools  and staff members.

Aspiration and Actuality

Caring educators believing in and practising quality education always aim to meet the needs of learners. However there is an onus on society, its governments and its institutions to make sure  schools and educators are affirmatively recognised and appreciated. Meeting the needs of children and students will be more likely to happen if education’s key servants – teachers and support staff – are given support, credit and recognition deserved for they role they play in educational and developmental partnerships.