The Department of Education is looking to bring the number of students in classrooms back to pre-COVID levels with the launch of a new campaign.
Welcoming the Every Day Matters campaign, the Minister for Education and Early Learning, Prue Car said the overall attendance rate in NSW public schools for Term 1 of this year was 89.4 per cent, below the target rate of 95 per cent.
“Good attendance is vital to help students develop a sense of belonging, maintain friendships and do well in their studies,” Ms Car said.
“The data shows that NSW students who develop positive attendance behaviour in Year 7 are, on average, three months ahead in their learning by Year 9,” she said.
“This is a wake-up call that we need to prioritise good attendance across the State, and work with schools and the wider community to ensure our children are back at school.”
Ms Car said the Every Day Matters campaign aimed to drive behavioural change among parents and students to reduce absenteeism close to weekends and/or public holidays, reduce family trips during term, and reduce arbitrary days off due to convenience or pressure from students.
She said missing just one day of school each fortnight added up to four weeks of lost learning a year, and equated to an entire year of missed learning over a student’s school life.
“The campaign will be supported by school leaders using data-driven analysis and strategies to lift student attendance, with a daily attendance dashboard to identify reasons and trends for student absences,” the Minister said.
