Under law, parents must ensure their children are enrolled and attending school on all school days unless there is a reasonable excuse. If your child does not want to go to school, or is missing school days without you knowing, contact the school for assistance.
Schools will:
- Monitor student attendance
- Notify you if your child has unexplained absences
- Help with strategies to engage your child in learning
- Provide support for families
Some tips for parents include:
Help your child maintain daily routines such as finishing homework and getting a good night’s sleep. On average, children need 8-9 hours sleep to be healthy and alert. You may also need to monitor their use of the Internet, mobile phone and TV at night to ensure they are not staying up too late or being disturbed while sleeping.
Don’t let your child stay home unless genuinely sick. Complaints of headaches or stomach aches may be signs of anxiety.
Be sure to set a good example – how you meet your commitments impacts on how they will meet theirs.
Talk to your child. What are their feelings about school? What interests them at school? Are there any difficult situations? It helps if you open these discussions in a relaxed way so that your child knows you are demonstrating concern, not authority.