Education for your child is important and regular attendance at school is essential for your child to achieve their educational best and increase their career and life options. Education in NSW is compulsory for all children between the ages of six years and below the minimum school leaving age. The Education Act 1990 requires that parents ensure their children of compulsory school age are enrolled at, and regularly attend school, or are registered with NESA, Teaching and Educational Standards for home schooling.
The NSW Government provides some helpful information to inform parents of what is expected of them. Some of the key areas are outlined below.
Arriving at school and class on time:
Student learning is more successful when students are present consistently for the whole school day. Students who arrive “just a few minutes late...” miss out on vital information on the day ahead including opportunities they could get involved in at St Pius X to enrich their learning and school experience.
On occasion, your child may need to be absent from school. Justified reasons for student absences may include:
Following an absence from school, you must ensure that within seven days you provide St Pius X with a verbal or written explanation for the absence. However, if the school has not received an explanation from you within two days, the school may contact you to discuss the absence.
Families are encouraged to travel during school holidays. If travel during school term is necessary, please discuss with the House Coordinator first. An Application for Extended Leave may need to be completed. Such applications must be submitted to the school at least 7 school days before the proposed absence. The application cannot be back-dated. The relevant forms (A1 & A2) are located under the Related Documents heading at the right-hand side of this page.
Absences relating to travel will be marked as leave on the roll and therefore contribute to your child’s total absences for the year. In some circumstances, students may be eligible to enrol in distance education for travel periods over 50 school days.
For further information on compulsory school attendance, visit the NSW Department of Education website.
Under certain very specific circumstances it is permissible to be granted an exemption from attendance at school. This includes, for example, participation in elite sport or employment in the entertainment industry. Should you wish to apply for such leave please contact your House Coordinator. Exemption from attendance means that the absence will not be counted as an absence from school.
Applications for exemption from school must be submitted to the school at least 7 school days before the proposed absence. The application cannot be back-dated. The relevant forms (B1 & B2) are located under the Related Documents heading at the right-hand side of this page.
