Absenteeism & Time-keeping

School Attendance & Time Keeping / TUSLA.

• Attendance is recorded daily by the class teacher at 09.30am, on our online roll books via Aladdin.
• You are marked late if you arrive after 08:50 am. 
• If your child is not present in the classroom for 09:30 am, then your child is marked absent (Rules for National School). If your child attends school after 09:30 am, you have the facility to note this in the reason for absenteeism on Aladdin Connect. This will be considered when reporting to TUSLA. 
• If your child is absent please note the reason for their absence on Aladdin Connect. Do not phone the school unless it is contagious or could impact the class’. 
• Please keep the school updated if you have extended periods of absenteeism. 

1.School Attendance Reports

There are two reporting periods in the year, September to December and January to June. The twice annual School Attendance Returns are due in December and June.

CWETNS submit the school attendance returns now for September to December and again in June. On this form we are required to list any pupils, over the age of 6, who have missed 20 school days for any reason. CWENTS will inform you if your child is included in the report. It is rare that these reports lead to any follow up, unless it was significantly more days missed, but it is possible.

If it is followed up, the Education Welfare Officer will ask if the absences were explained. Explained absences, due to illness etc, are not a cause for concern and shouldn’t cause any worry at all. A large number of unexplained absences may lead to further involvement from the Education Welfare Officer.

If you get a letter from us saying your child has been included in the report, please don’t be concerned. While attendance is hugely important and good attendance correlates strongly with improved outcomes, there are also very valid reasons for children to miss school and this is understood.

2. Discretionary Referrals

Discretionary referrals are only made if a school is worried about the attendance of a pupil. This could be because of  a lot of unexplained absences, a pattern of absence or significant ongoing issues with punctuality, leading to a lot of missed learning time. A school will refer a child to the Education Welfare Officer where they have these concerns. The role of the Education Welfare Officer is primarily to offer support to families to improve attendance. The school will always contact parents before referring to the Education Welfare Officer and support where possible.

The aim of attendance and punctuality procedures are to ensure the child gets the best experience of education and maximises learning time. We are available to support you whenever needed. There is no need for concern if you get a letter saying your child has been included on the attendance report. Explained absences are recorded as such. Be sure to enter your absence reason on Aladdin each time your child is absent, to keep that on record.

Aim to have your child in school for 8.30 am each day. We understand this isn’t always possible, and understanding is always there for extenuating circumstances. Please come in and have a chat with us if you are experiencing difficulty with school attendance.