Attendance

Our attendance goal

Improved attendance is one of our school’s main goals this year, in line with the national attendance drive from the Department Every School Day Counts. In order to achieve this we need your support at home. Getting off to a strong start this year is key for achieving success with this goal. In January we had 93 students achieve full attendance for the month and in February we had 95 students do so. We want to increase this by 30% for March and have over 120 of our students achieve full attendance for the month.

Is there a problem with attendance?

Yes, there is a problem with casual non-attendance! Our attendance rates are not where we want them to be for our students to feel good and achieve their potential. Too many of our students are missing out on their learning and achieving their potential due to casual non-attendance. We know that Covid has taken its toll on us all. There is a problem with attendance nationwide since Covid, and our school is no exception. The best place for a child in terms of wellbeing and achievement is in school. The routine of connecting with their peers and the team members in the school is so supportive of student growth and achievement.

What are we doing about it?

We have:

• created a warm and welcoming learning environment
• met with the Student Council and heard their feedback
• developed an attendance drive to be emphasised in Check and Connect with all students that started in January (raises awareness on importance of attendance and statistics with aim of enabling students to take personal accountability for their own attendance, attached at bottom of page).
• assigned One Good Adult to students we have identified as casual non-attenders (positive relationship as a mentor and motivator to attend).

In consultation with the students we are working on amendments to the school journal and considering projects to be run to support student attendance.

What do we need you to do?

• Know your child's current attendance percentage on VSware. Consider have any days been due to casual non-attendance?
• For contextualising your child’s attendance rate percentage, Satisfactory/Regular Attendance is considered to be 95% or higher; this would be the equivalent of only having missed 4 days or less so far this academic year as at end of January.
• You can get a month-by-month breakdown of your child’s attendance percentage on VSware, pictured below

• Ensure your child attends school when not sick as per document below ‘Attendance in Firhouse ETSS’.
• Establish a good routine in the mornings and evenings so your child is prepared for the school day ahead.
• Make sure your child goes to school regularly and follows the school’s expectations.
• Ensure your child arrives at school on time.
• Arrange dental and medical appointments outside school hours when possible.
• Take family holidays outside term time.
• Always inform the school if your child is absent due to illness on VSware.
• Take truancy seriously – if your child is not attending school as you expect they may be putting themselves at risk – Who are they with? What are they doing?
• Talk to your child about school and take an interest in their schoolwork (including homework).
• Attend parent information evenings, student progress meetings and school events.
• Praise your child’s achievements at home.
• Always support the team in their efforts to build and maintain positive relationships.
• Discuss any problems or difficulties with the school – the team are there to help. Do not be afraid to ask for help if a problem arises.
• Familiarise yourself with the below information from TUSLA: Every School Day Counts: Tips for Parents by Parents.

Why bother?

Learning in our school is active and immersive. The online classroom does not exist and is no substitute for the experiential learning that the students have the privilege of undertaking with our amazing teaching team. As you know consistent attendance is crucial for your childrens success. Bernard Gloster, Chief Executive of TUSLA has said, “Research has shown again and again that regular school attendance is vital in helping children get the best possible start in life. It lays the foundation for developing good social skills, building relationships and achieving success later in life”.

What's the Department of Education and TUSLA doing?

The Department of Education has recently launched a National School Attendance Campaign 2023 where you will find lots of information about the attendance situation in schools nationally and the supports being put in place.

For more information see TUSLA’s publications: ‘Don’t let your child miss out; School Attendance information for parents’: https://www.tusla.ie/uploads/content/english_leaflet.pdf and ‘Supporting your Child when they are Reluctant to Attend School: Guidance for Parents and Guardians of Post ­Primary School Children’: https://assets.gov.ie/195241/6bcbfd8d-067b-41f1-b704-8f97b6901fab.pdf

January Check and Connect Attendance Drive