Who's not here...? Working towards keeping "absentee students" at school

Appendix Two : One Way of Integrating Attendance Matters into the General School System

This appendix contains a description of how one school went about integrating its attendance follow-up into the general school system for monitoring behaviour.

The following is a description of a demerit system used by this school where attendance at school had been a problem for some years. The effectiveness of its system as it runs now is borne out by the 10% per term decline in non-attendance (of all types), identified by the school, since the beginning of 1991.

The attendance monitoring systems had been in place for several years but it was not until the attendance officer was appointed in 1991 that any dramatic changes were seen in the patterns of non-attendance at this school. The system for monitoring attendance and following up absences tied in very closely with the demerit point system the school had established to monitor discipline measures being used with students in the school. Within the demerit system was a series of clearly defined steps and actions to be taken, which were clearly communicated to the pupils and their parents.

The underlying aims of the demerit system were:

1. To protect the interests of all members of the school by setting the boundaries of acceptable behaviour required for the school to function effectively.
2. To signal clearly to the students what standards of behaviour are required. From this they should be encouraged to manage their own behaviour in a manner that is considerate of others.
   

The number of demerit points earned for a misdemeanour was governed by the severity of that action. Detentions from the assistant or deputy principals earned 10 points. These were given for offences which warranted a punishment greater than a lunchtime detention - eg. smoking - and were held after school. Most attendance offences earned 5 demerit points as well as a lunchtime detention. Offences may include such things as arriving late to school or class. Failure to produce an absence note was not an offence in the first instance. Students who did this were referred first, to the attendance officer, then, if they failed to produce a note after this, they earned a detention and demerit points. Failure to attend detentions without good reason incurred further demerit points. Persistent wagging very quickly accumulated points under this system.

The accumulation of demerit paints by students was recorded and monitored closely. It was clear just how quickly demerit points earned for unjustified absences could accumulate and reach a point where the school would take action.

At 40 paints a letter was sent home to parents telling them how the demerit points had been earned and asking them to come to the school to discuss the problems. Most parents tended to come to the school at that stage to discuss this,

At 70 points parents were ‘required’ to come to the school. A letter was sent home and follow-up made -

‘They are required to come in and discuss their child’s problems with the school. Now often at that stage things are arrested and things start turning and start coming right because the parents are in here and they are listening with the student in the room as well, to what it is the student is doing, why they are doing it, and what we can do that will help it. It is really at that stage that we are bringing in a three-way system - that is, the parents and the school and the students - and everybody has responsibility and everybody has to work together for the best result - for the best learning outcome.’

If a parent does not come to the school or a student does not respond to the agreed action, then at 100 points the student is indefinitely suspended and they come up before the board of trustees. It is up to the board of trustees to decide if they are allowed back into the school. Unless it is for some serious offence the board brings the student back on contract -

‘A fairly simple contract - such as - so and so agrees to attend school everyday and turn up at class on time… according to what the offences are that have incurred the dement points.’

The final step comes at 150 points, when the student will be either indefinitely suspended if under 15 years of age or expelled if they are over 15.

The points are accumulated within a given year, so if the student accumulates 150 points in that year they are then expelled. Each student starts the year with a ‘clean slate’.

A behaviour modification programme had also been instituted, whereby students could opt to ‘earn points back’ each week by exhibiting exemplary behaviour related to the misdemeanours for which the demerit points were imposed.

Once the student starts building up demerit points through this system there is more and more home contact - the discipline staff are phoning, the dean’s staff are phoning, the parents are being brought in, and the problem is being discussed. Everybody knows that the points are accumulating and what the results will be if things do not change. The system tended -

‘…for most students and their families to bring them together and to pull in the same direction. Some, it doesn’t work with, some we lose, but in fact the system is quite effective.’

As already mentioned this school had employed an attendance officer whose role was central to the success of their attendance procedures. The job description drawn up by the school prior to employing the attendance officer clearly outlines the responsibilities and duties this person has within the school (see Appendix Three).