The Attendance Policy of Callystown National School includes the encouragement of children to participate and attend school every day the school is open.  This is facilitated by encouraging parents to send their children to school on a regular basis.  On the junior-infant induction night, parents are informed of their responsibilities and the legal implications if negligent in this area.  Children’s attendance is also marked on the report card at the end of the year.  The role of the class teacher is to monitor the attendance of children in their class and to encourage everyone to attend while highlighting the importance of attending school.  Under the Education Act 2000it is compulsory for each child to attend school between the ages of 6 and 16.

Implementation of policy

• It is compulsory for each teacher to record attendances daily in the class roll book at roll time:  approximately 10am. The numbers from the teachers’ roll book are e mailed to the secretary and then transferred to the school’s leabhar tinreamh.
• Children must have written explanation of any absences.  These notes are to be written into their homework journal and monitored by the class teacher.
• If a child misses more than 20 days and is over the age of 6, it will be reported to the national education welfare board (NEWB) through the school return website.
• In order to promote good attendance pupils who have not missed a day during the school year will receive a gold certificate for attendance.  Pupils who have missed three or fewer days will receive a silver certificate at the end of year assembly.
• When a pupil has been absent for 15 days, the class teacher will inform the Principal.  A letter from the school will be sent to the pupil’s parents to inform them that if their child reaches 20 absences then the N.E.W.B. will be informed.
• At parent/teacher meetings, teachers will give the parents their child’s cumulative total of days missed since starting school.
• At the end of each school year an average attendance figure will be calculated by the Principal and will be forwarded to the Board of Management.