Attendance Management Plan and Supporting STAR Procedures
Strategic Priorities
Regular school attendance is essential for students to achieve their educational potential. The government target is that 80% of students will be regularly attending school by 2030
As of Term 4, 2025, James Street School has 56% regular attendance. Our target is to lift regular attendance to 80% by the end of 2026.
Board Responsibilities
The board is responsible for taking all reasonable steps to ensure that the school's students attend the school when it is open for instruction. The board will comply with the provisions in the legislation in relation to student attendance by:
having a commitment to support students' return to regular attendance
Implementing processes and procedures to support a Stepped Attendance Response (STAR) that uses data-based thresholds to identify students
Investigating student absences, responding in line with the Attendance Management Plan, and ensuring all actions taken are recorded in the Student Management System (SMS)
Maintaining an effective method for identifying and monitoring student absence, including identifying patterns and barriers to attendance (such as the current 40% rate of "Unexplained/Trivial" absences)
Publishing this attendance management plan on the school's website
Principal Responsibilities
The principal is responsible for:
Developing and implementing the STAR framework aligned with attendance thresholds
Ensuring student absence is investigated and responded to, with all actions recorded in the SMS
Ensuring all students, whānau, and staff understand the processes and procedures that support attendance
Identifying and responding to attendance barriers and underlying causes of absences
Reporting to the board on trends, barriers, and the effectiveness of interventions
Monitoring and Progress Measurement
The school will monitor and measure progress toward board and government targets through the following:
Daily Data: The LSC will maintain reporting of daily attendance data
Termly Reporting: The board will receive twice termly attendance reports, including information provided by the Every Day Matters report
Trend Analysis: Reporting will include emerging trends (e.g., monitoring the 84% average attendance on Fridays) and areas of concern for board consideration
Plan Review Date: November 2025. Next Scheduled Review: Annually
2026 Term-by-Term Attendance Goals
These targets aim to move the school from its current 56% regular attendance to the 80% target by the end of 2026.
Term
Regular
(90%+)
Irregular
(80-90%)
Moderate
(70-80%)
Chronic
(<70%)
Term 1
60%
20%
12%
8%
Term 2
65%
18%
10%
7%
Term 3
75%
15%
5%
5%
Term 4
80%
12%
5%
3%
Stepped Attendance Response (STAR) Procedures
Consistent
Threshold 1: Regular Attendance (0 - 5 days absent per term) - 90% + attendance
Goal: To maintain and reinforce regular attendance patterns
Activities
What we do
How we do it
Who is responsible
Communication
Clear communication to parents on attendance expectations on enrolment, at the start of school year, and each term
Communicate to parents what steps the school will take in the event their child is absent from school
Include a newsletter on attendance requirements with enrolment packs,
to go out with new students and to remind all students of attendance protocols at beginning of year and each term
Explain to parents the codes used to record attendance of each student at enrolment.
Include attendance requirements in enrolment packs and termly newsletters
Attendance letters to update parents of rates and requirements
Attendance codes on display
LSC
Monitoring
Daily roll marking and data collation
Teachers mark rolls in the am and pm attendance officer collates data weekly.
Teachers / LSC
Reporting
Provide students with regular updates on their attendance
Celebrate regular attendance in assemblies.
Accurate data in school reports.
Celebrate success regularly on social media and school newsletter
Teachers LSC
Support
Rewards e.g. certificates, coc fish, newsletter
Publicly recognise and award students with high or improved attendance
Teachers
Attendance Team
All absences need to be followed up to ensure the correct code is recorded against the absence. Any students already on the attendance list from previous terms will be identified by the LSC at their weekly meetings.
Worrying
Threshold 2: Irregular Absence (5 - 9 days absent per term) - 80% attendance
Goal: To restore student attendance to above 90%.
Activities
What we do
How we do it
Who is responsible
Communication
Contact parent/guardian to discuss reasons for absence and impact on learning
Weekly attendance patterns are identified
After 5 days send email to parent
Phone contact to be used if this is not the first time student has met the threshold
A plan regarding attendance is put in place
Teacher
Monitoring
Track unexplained absences
Follow up on all unexplained codes daily
Discuss the week's attendance at staff or team meetings
LSC
Reporting
Report regularly to parents on attendance of their child
Via Dojo, phone call or email
Teacher
Support
Identify and address early barriers to attendance
Support students to catch up missed learning where required
Informal meeting with student and/or whānau to discuss barriers
Identify missed learning opportunities and consider activities to bring student back up to speed
Teacher
Investigate reasons for this absence and if there is a pattern across the year consider actions listed at higher thresholds. Record all actions taken to address non-attendance.
For students that have progressed from having higher absences, provide feedback on the positive improvement on their attendance to both student and whānau.
If there is no action taken due to individual circumstance - record this against the student record.
Concerning
Threshold 3: Moderate Absence (10 - 14.5 days absent per term) - 70% attendance
Goal: To intervene and prevent chronic absence.
Activities
What we do
How we do it
Who is responsible
Communication
Formal notification and meeting with parents inviting whānau to be part of solution
Develop and implement a plan tailored to the reasons and circumstances around the child’s absence
Arrange a prompt meeting with parents to analyse reasons for absence
Letter sent to whānau
LSC
Monitoring
Intensified monitoring of attendance patterns
Record all intervention actions and meeting notes
LSC
Support
Develop and implement a support plan tailored to address specific student needs or barriers around the child’s absence
Use in-school resources as appropriate to remove barriers and request support from as needed
Hold everyone accountable for their part in the plan
Discuss with SENCO what further supports are available
LSC
Investigate reasons for this absence and if there is a pattern across the year consider actions listed at higher thresholds. Record all actions taken to address non-attendance.
If there is no action taken due to individual circumstance- record this against the student record.
Chronic
Threshold 4: Chronic Absence (15+ days absent per term) < 70% attendance
Goal: Intensive response and multi-agency support for students with 70% attendance or less.
Activities
What we do
How we do it
Who is responsible
Communication
In-depth investigation into underlying causes
Contact parent to escalate concerns
Focus on high-risk groups to understand complex barriers.
LSC
Monitoring
Monitor implementation of the support plan.
Hold all parties accountable for their part in the plan; take action quickly if expectations aren't met.
LSC
Support
Request support from Attendance Service or other agencies as needed
Participate in multi-agency response
Maintain implementation and monitoring of support plan
Refer to the Ministry of Education, Attendance Services or other specialist agencies.
LSC
Investigate reasons for this absence and refer to the attendance team for further actions. Record all actions taken to address non-attendance. If there is no action taken due to individual circumstance - record this against the student record.