School Hours 

8.20am First Bell – Teacher on duty  

8.45am  Second Bell - make way to class  

8.50am  Classes commence  

10.50am to 11.20am  Recess 

1.20pm to 2.00pm  Lunch 

2.50pm  School concludes 

Parents are reminded that the playground is unsupervised before 8.20am and as such, children should not arrive at school until at least 8.20am. OOSH facilities are available for parents for care before and after school hours. School concludes at 2.50pm. Teachers supervise children to various exit locations as part of afternoon duty. Staff are not able to supervise children after this time nor are children able to wait unsupervised for collection by parents / carers.

Attendance

Education in NSW is compulsory. All students from six years of age and under the minimum school leaving age of 17 are legally required to attend school. Students of school age (6 to minimum school leaving age) resident in New South Wales are required to be in fulltime attendance at a government or registered non-government school unless they are receiving approved home schooling, attending shared school settings or are granted an exemption from attendance.

Regular attendance at schools is essential if students are to maximise their potential. Schools, in partnership with parents, are responsible for promoting the regular attendance of students. While parents are legally responsible for the regular attendance of their children, school staff monitor part and whole day absences as part of their duty of care for students’ welfare.

Parents are responsible for:

• enrolling their children of compulsory school age in a government or registered non-government school or registering them with the Board of Studies NSW for home schooling;
• ensuring that their children attend school regularly;
• explaining to the school the absences of their children promptly and within seven days
• taking measures to resolve attendance issues involving their children.

Absence from School

The school must be advised of a child’s absence. Parents are encouraged to enter their child’s absence on COMPASS through the Parent Portal, stating a reason. Parents may also notify staff of absences by note, email, phone call or verbal message. Staff will then log details on COMPASS. An SMS will be sent to parents whose child is unaccounted for without explanation at 9:15am. Parents requiring extended leave for travel of 10 or more days must seek permission from the Principal for their child to travel during the school terms.

Procedures for managing unexplained/unjustified absences

If your child is absent unexplained or unjustified from school on a regular basis or a pattern of partial absences (including late arrivals & early departures) is noted, the school is obligated as a duty of care to follow school procedures for managing non-attendance:

• between 1-3 days a phone call to parent
• between 4-10 days contact parents, letter outlining issues of poor attendance
• between 11-20 days contact parents, letter outlining issues of poor attendance and meeting request to arrange an Attendance Improvement Plan
• greater than 20 days acceleration to Assistant Director and notification to Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ)

Late arrivals/ early departures

Any time after 8:50am is classified as a late arrival or before 2:50pm is an early departure.

Parents must sign their child in / out at the Kiosk in the Administration building before dropping / collecting their child.

Illness

If your child becomes ill a member of the Staff Team will make a judgment about whether to contact you, the parent. We are reluctant to call parents, especially from work, for what appears to be minor indispositions. However, if the sickness persists or seems serious, we will request that arrangements are made for your child to be collected from school. If you are unavailable at any stage, an emergency contact number is required.

Medications

Parents must complete a Consent Form to Dispense Medicine for any medications that must be taken at school. These forms are available from the school office. Office Administration staff only are responsible for dispensing medication. All prescribed medication must be in the original packaging from the pharmacy.