Resources
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- Lucan Community College has an Attendance and Participation Strategy which can be read here: Attendance Strategy (Draft July 2021)
- Useful information for parents/guardians and students is available on the Tusla Education Support Service website: https://www.tusla.ie/tess/
- Parent access to VSware is available through the parental VSware app. Access support is available here: VSware access help for parents/guardians
Policy and Procedure
All students are encouraged to attend punctually for school each day. The attendance and punctuality system is explained to students by their class tutor and/or year head at the start of each school year.
Student/Parent/Guardian responsibilities
- Any time students are absent through sickness etc., parents should get a message to the school on the first day, either by phone to the secretary or by means of a note sent with a fellow student.
- If students know in advance that they will be absent they must show a note or an appointment note beforehand to their Class Tutor/teacher taking morning registration.
- On return after an absence a student must have a note from his/her parents in their journal.
- Students shall not use any absence as an excuse for falling behind in classwork or homework.
Registration
A register of student attendance is taken in the morning and afternoon. Students who miss any class must provide a note from parent/guardian explaining the absence. This includes absence from class due to late arrival. Parents/guardians can monitor their child’s attendance on the VSware parental app.
Punctuality
Students who are late for first class are met at the front door usually by the Deputy Principal. Students receive a late stamp in their journals and sign the late sheet with the time that they arrive to school. Students proceed to class and show the late stamp to the teacher whose class they join. The office staff use the late book to update the registers. A number of lates per week result in a community service sanction/detention administered by the relevant post-holder.
Chronic lateness results in referral to the Year Head for application of more serious sanctions due to the impact on teaching and learning.
Reporting on attendance
Quarterly totals of days absent for each student are calculated and parents of students who have been absent many days in the term are sent a letter. A copy of this letter is given to the year head who follows up on absences as appropriate. A photocopy is taken of each register for the most recently completed month and stored in the front office to guard against loss of information.
Students who are absent for more than 20 days in the school year are referred to Tusla (Educational Welfare Service) by the Principal and the parents/guardians are informed.
Students leaving the building
If students need to leave the building other than at lunch-time (for those with an appropriate lunch pass) or the end of the school day, they must sign out
in the sign-out book kept in the front office.
- Students leaving early need a note from a parent or guardian in their journal. Please use ‘Absence Notes’ section at the rear of the journal.
- Write your name, class and the exact time of departure and the Year Head/Assistant Principal/Deputy Principal of Principal who gave permission to leave after showing your note to a Front Office staff member.
