School Attendance Procedures

The following information is a guide for parents and students to explain the school’s attendance procedures.

It is a legal requirement that the school receives a written explanation from a parent/carer for all absences, late arrivals, and early departures.

Use one of the following written methods to notify the school of your child's absence.

1. SMS text reply to the school

If your child is marked absent, you will receive an SMS text from the school. You can reply to this text with an explanation for their lateness or whole-day absence. This is the best option because the reply text message you send is saved to your child’s individual attendance record.

NOTE: Parents can ONLY REPLY to the absence text message they receive from the school. Parents CANNOT initiate their own message.

2. Sentral Parent Portal

To log a whole-day absence only.

3. Email the school

To log a partial OR whole-day absence, please email us at chatswood-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Please include: student’s full name, class year, date, and reason for the absence/late arrival.

Late Arrival Procedure for Students

ALL students arriving LATE to school must go to the office and sign in at the student desk.

A student is LATE when they arrive to class after the start of their first timetabled lesson and miss Roll Call.

If they do not sign in at the office a whole-day absence will be recorded on their attendance record, and parents will receive a text message that says they are absent.

Early Departure Procedure for Students

If students need to leave school early, their parent or carer must send an email to the school with an explanation for their early departure.

The email should include:

• Student’s full name & Class Year
• Date and time of early departure

Students go to the office and let the staff at the student desk know that an email has bee sent. The staff will consider the explanation and sign the student out if the reasoning is valid. If students do not do this a truancy may be recorded against their attendance record.

Application for Extended Leave

Parents/carers must complete an Application for Extended Leave – Travel, PRIOR to departure for any leave longer than 3 consecutive school days. These are available under forms on SchoolBytes portal and the Chatswood High School website. Applicants must include details of the educational and cultural benefits to the student for Approval of Leave to be reviewed.

If you require any further information regarding the School’s Attendance Procedures please refer to the school’s website or contact the school on telephone: 9419 3611.