School attendance

Missing school can have serious consequences for your teenager. If your teenager starts to miss school on a regular basis it can be very difficult for them to catch up and it is more likely they will skip more days in the future and do poorly in exams.

If you are worried about your teenager skipping school try to find out why they are missing school. Once you know why they are skipping school it is easier to do something about it. They may skip school for a number of reasons including being bullied, lack of confidence, or being worried about school work.

School attendance and the law

As a parent it is your legal responsibility to make sure your teenager receives an education up to the school leaving age. If your teenager started Year 7 before August 2008 they are legally allowed to leave school on the last Friday in June during the school year in which they become 16. If they started Year 7 after July 2008 they will have to stay on in learning to age 17 as a minimum. Learning includes full-time education, an apprenticeship, or going into employment with training.

If your teenager is not attending school regularly you will be asked to agree a plan with the school to get your teenager attendance back on track. If your teenager's attendance fails to improve then the school will take further action. This might include involving other education professionals such as an Education Welfare Officer who will work with your teenager to get them to attend regularly.

Education Welfare Officers can also help if your teenager has been missing school because of family circumstances for example caring for a parent because of illness. If your child's school attendance still doesn't improve you might be fined, receive a jail sentence, a community sentence, or offered a parenting order (an agreement between you and the school or local authority to improve attendance).

Find out more about school attendance and truancy on the Parents' centre website

If you are a parent of a student who has entered year 7 in September 2009 you can find out more by downloading the Moving Up booklet.