Effective from: Term 1, 2026
Review cycle: Annually or upon Ministry updates
Published: www.peps.school.nz
Board approved: 1 December 2025
This plan outlines Pukekohe East School's approach to monitoring, supporting, and improving student attendance to ensure every child engages fully in learning. It aligns with the Education and Training Act, Ministry guidelines, and the Stepped Attendance Response (STAR) framework, aiming for at least 80% of students attending over 90% of the time.
By end of 2026: 85% of students at 90%+ regular attendance.
By end of 2027: Reduce chronic absence (<70%) to under 5%.
Termly: Monitor by year level, ethnicity, and gender via SMS dashboard.
Teachers' mark rolls in SMS (e.g., eTAP) by 9:05am and 1:45pm daily.
Office follows up on unexplained absences the same day via text/phone.
Caregivers notify absences with reason; medical notes required after 3 days illness.
Use this tiered table for thresholds per term (approx. 10 weeks).
Tier
Threshold (days absent/term)
Actions
0-4 days absent
Universal: Celebrate good attendance; share progress with whānau .
5-9 days absent
Teacher emails/calls caregiver; offer catch-up support .
10-14 absent
SLT hui with whānau; collaborative plan; SENCO involvement if needed .
15+ or patterns absent
Formal letter; Attendance Service referral; multi-agency support .
Board: Approves plan, reviews termly reports, ensures resourcing.
Principal/SLT: Leads data analysis, interventions, external partnerships.
Teachers: Accurate rolls, family relationships, early Tier 2 actions.
Office: Daily follow-ups, coding (e.g., J=justified, U=unjustified).
Whānau: Notify absences daily; partner on plans.
Identify causes via hui (e.g., transport, wellbeing, engagement); provide supports like catch-up programs, pastoral referrals, or whānau surveys. Promote "every day counts" via newsletters and events.
Weekly: SLT reviews red/amber students.
Termly: Board report on trends and STAR effectiveness.
Annually: Full review with staff/whānau input; update for regulations