The safety and wellbeing of students are the highest priorities for the Department of Education and Training and for the Queensland Government.
On Monday, 11th July, 2016, the report When a child is missing: Remembering Tialeigh – a report into Queensland's children missing from out-of-home care was released and the Queensland Government has accepted a recommendation from the Queensland Family and Child Commission that the Department will implement same day notifications advising parents/carers when a child has an unexplained absence from school.
The new Education Queensland initiative of same day absence follow up will begin at Coorparoo State School at the start of 2017. This is a big change for our school. So what does it mean for parents/carers? It means that you must notify the school on the same day your child is away or the school will be contacting you to ask for clarification of the absence. Coorparoo State School will contact parents/carers via a text messaging system, SMS4Schools.
All Day Absent from School
If your child will be absent you are required to advise the school via QParents or by calling the absentee line.
The dedicated Absentee Line (07 3421 0360) should be called by 9:00am stating;
- Child’s name,
- Class,
- Reason for absence,
- Unless you know the specific length of time the child will be absent, please phone the Absentee Line each day.
Once the Roll has been marked an SMS will be generated and sent to all parents/carers where there is an Unexplained Absence. You can either reply to the SMS or call the office to explain the absence. Unexplained Absences will be recorded on Report Cards.
If the length of absence exceeds ten consecutive school days then an Exemption Form needs to be completed. This form can be obtained from the School Office.
Early Arrivals at School
Unless specifically requested, it is desirable that children do not arrive at school before 8:30am. Supervision of children commences at 8:50am. No children to be in classrooms without teacher supervision.
If it is necessary for parents to drop their children at school before 8:30am please utilise the OSHC service for Before School Care (Outside School Hours Care).
Late Arrivals / Early Departures from School – Late Slip
All students who ARRIVE LATE to school (after 8:50am) must be signed in at the office in the Sign In / Sign Out Register. Students will be issued with a Late Slip to be handed to the teacher.
If a child is late and not signed in you will receive an SMS to advise you that your child is not at school.
Students that need to DEPART EARLY must be signed out at the office. The parent/carer will be issued with a Late Slip. This must be handed to the teacher to show that the child has been signed out.
SMS4SCHOOLS
What do Parents/Carers need to do in readiness for SMS4Schools?
- Parents and Carers need to ensure that their current contacts are up to date and if there has been a recent change in mobile number or street address, alert us immediately.
- The system will automatically default to the first parent contact on the school's operating platform, OneSchool, and will only send to one contact per child. If you receive an SMS alert for an absence and it needed to go to the other parent/carer instead, please make contact with the Office to change the parent/carer contact preference.
SMS4SCHOOLS - How will it work?
It is critical your child arrives on time each day. If your child is late they may be marked absent. As you know, if your child arrives after 8:50am they need to be signed in at the office. If you receive an SMS and know your child arrived late please contact the office via SMS or Phone.
Once the roll has been marked an SMS will be generated and sent to all parents/carers where there is an unexplained absence. You can either reply to the SMS or call the office to explain the absence.
Please remember that teachers mark the roll twice a day and it is important for you to contact the teacher or the school to explain absences. Absences are also recorded on student Report Cards either as explained or unexplained.
Thank you to the majority of parents/caregivers of Coorparoo State School for doing an excellent job in letting the school know when your child is away. We ask all families to adopt this policy and let the school know as soon as possible that their child is going to be absent and for what reason.
Sport and Off-Campus Activities
Please record any absences for sport or off-campus activities via QParents or phone the dedicated school Absentee Line (07 3421 0360) to report an absence if your child is attending a Rep Sport Trial or another school activity off-campus during school time.