Attendance Policy

Drogheda Grammar School places a strong emphasis on attendance and punctuality.

• Good attendance is essential if students are to take full advantage of school and gain the appropriate skills which will equip them for life.
• The school aims to achieve good attendance among its students by operating an attendance policy within which students, staff, parents and TUSLA – The national child and family agency can work in partnership.
• The school will monitor attendance and ensure quick and early intervention if a problem is identified.
• All staff will encourage punctuality and good attendance. Pastoral staff will liaise with home and other agencies about a child’s attendance where appropriate.
• Good attendance will be seen as an achievement in its own right and recognised as such with awards such as certificates and prizes at the end of each year.

Principles:

• A student should attend school and all timetabled classes each day.
• A student should arrive to school and each scheduled class in time and prepared.
• A student should be absent only if the absence is unavoidable.
• An absence for a full /half-day must be classified by the school as authorised or unauthorised.
• An absence will be recorded as unexplained unless the school receives notification from a parent/guardian.
• Parents should in the first instance record an absence in VsWare the school’s cloud-based student management system. From time to time, some students need encouragement to attend school.  In this instance good communication between the school and parents is encouraged at an early stage to help resolve any problems.
• If a problem cannot be resolved in this manner the school may refer the student to TUSLA – national child and family agency.
• Likewise, if the school has a particular concern, the school may refer the student to TUSLA.

Attendance Procedure

• Registration is taken at each scheduled class period.
• If a student is absent for period 1 registration a text will be sent to the primary text number.
• Parents must provide the school with contact details.
• Unexplained absences, in particular if they are cumulative are followed up by a phone call from Year Heads and up-dated on the students database records.
• A record of your son/daughter’s attendance will be provided on assessment reports.
• Parent’s can view their student’s attendance details on VsWare.

Late Attendance

• Students arriving late for class will be required to present themselves at the school office to confirm they are late.
• Failure to report to the school office will incur a text home.
• Parents should in the first instance record if their son/daughter will be late on their VsWare App. Administration will then update the student’s attendance record accordingly.
• If a student is habitually late, the Year Head will contact the parent/guardian.

Leaving School Early

• Students are not permitted to leave school early without notification from parent/guardian. This notification shall be communicated through the students VsWare app.
• When permission is granted parents should telephone the school office to indicate they are in the car park and student will be sent out to them.
• When a student leaves the premises without permission a parent/guardian is notified and the Year Head addresses the situation as per the school’s code of conduct.

Missed Work

It is expected that in all cases of absence, students will catch up with work missed at the earliest opportunity.

TUSLA – Educational Welfare Services Child & Family Agency

The Attendance Officer is responsible for all absence reporting to TUSLA as per their guidelines. 

The school is obliged to report a student who has acquired twenty days or more absence to TUSLA – Educational Welfare Services, Child and Family Agency.