Promoting a culture of attendance
| 14) | Many public schools have a culture of punctual and regular learner attendance. The government's goal is that all South African public schools will establish and maintain such a culture, which is a mark of pride in our schools and a prerequisite for quality teaching and learning. This will be achieved if - |
| a) | principals, teachers and district officials show zero tolerance for absence from school without valid reason; |
| b) | schools tackle the alienation of learners by creating a supportive and safe school environment; providing interesting and challenging curricula, including stimulating extracurricular activities; and teaching learners well; |
| c) | schools and social agencies give appropriate support to learners whose families struggle under the burden of poverty, serious illness and bereavement, especially learners who are compelled by circumstances to be caregivers or to head their own households; |
| d) | district offices support schools by promoting and monitoring learner attendance and following up where there is evidence that a school has a problem of learner absence; and |
| e) | provincial and national education departments raise public awareness of the importance of regular and punctual school attendance. |
Learner's responsibilities
| 15) | A learner has a responsibility to attend school punctually and regularly. The government depends on parents, SGBs, school management teams (SMTs), teachers and PEDs to play their part in ensuring that learners accept and act on this responsibility. The example set by parents, SMTs and teachers is of decisive importance in building the culture of punctual and regular attendance. |
| 16) | Except for Grade 12 learners, a learner may not take leave from school to study for examinations or when examinations have ended. Grade 12 learners may take study leave to prepare for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations five school days before the first day of the NSC examination. Such learners need not attend school on days when they do not write examinations and after completing the examinations. |
| 17) | In schools with Grade 8 and above, the representative council of learners (RCL) should contribute to the development and application of school policy on learner attendance; and inform the SMT of barriers to learner attendance. |
Parent's responsibilities
| a) | ensure that the learner attends school daily, on time and for the whole school day unless there is a valid reason for absence; |
| b) | ensure that the learner is not taken out of school without valid reason (family holidays are not a valid reason); |
| c) | inform the principal or class teacher if the learner is absent or expected to be absent or to be late for school with valid reason; |
| d) | cooperate with the school in resolving the problem if the learner is absent from school without valid reason; and |
| e) | encourage and if possible assist the learner to make up for time lost for absence from school. |
School's responsibilities
| 19) | The school community, led by the principal and SGB, is responsible for promoting and monitoring school attendance in order to give learners the best chance of benefiting from their school experience. |
SGB's responsibilities
| 20) | Rules dealing with punctuality and regular attendance should be part of an SGB's code of conduct for learners. |
| 21) | An SGB is expected to take an active interest in the rate of attendance of learners at its school. In particular, an SGB should request from the principal a quarterly report on learner attendance trends (in terms of section 16A(2)(c) of SASA) and consider the report at a meeting. |
Principal's responsibilities
| 22) | A principal, working with the SMT and the SGB, is responsible for developing a culture of punctual and regular attendance at a school. |
| 23) | A principal is responsible for fostering a caring school environment in which the SMT and educators take an interest in each learner's well-being and are alert to problems that might affect a learner's attendance. |
| 24) | Subject to section 16A of SASA and section 4 of the Personnel Administrative Measures (PAM), a principal may allocate a duty or responsibility envisaged in this policy to a member of staff. |
| 25) | The principal must develop a school policy on learner attendance after consultation with the school staff, RCL (where applicable) and SGB. A school attendance policy must- |
| a) | make clear that absence without valid reason is unacceptable and will be followed up promptly; |
| b) | specify how the parent should communicate with the school if a learner is absent; |
| c) | specify whether the class register will be marked once or twice per day; |
| d) | state what follow-up action the school will take if a learner is absent; |
| e) | state what support the school will give a learner who has been absent, in order to make up for time lost or assessments missed; |
| g) | specify how often the period register must be marked and when it must be brought to the school office for safekeeping; and |
| h) | state how staff duties and responsibilities for (d)-(g) are allocated. |
| 26) | A principal must ensure that staff members who are allocated responsibility for school attendance matters understand the importance of accurate records and careful monitoring, and carry out their responsibilities competently. |
| 27) | A principal is responsible for ensuring that class registers and period registers are compiled, marked and monitored properly and are stored safely in terms of this policy. At schools with electronic administration systems, the principal is responsible for ensuring that electronically generated registers are properly maintained and backed up and that hard copies are made in accordance with this policy. |
| 28) | A principal must follow up learner absence as contemplated in paragraphs 50-53. |
| 29) | A principal must cancel a learner's record in the class register in terms of paragraphs 54-59. |
| 30) | A principal must monitor and analyse learners' attendance rates by grade and must include such information in the reports the principal makes to the HOD or SGB in terms of section 16A of SASA. |
| 31) | A principal must consult the district office in order to find an acceptable solution if, during the NSC examination period, learner attendance is likely to be disrupted by accommodation difficulties or the absence of teachers on examination marking duty. |
Class teacher's responsibilities
| 32) | A class teacher is responsible for compiling and marking the class register in the class registration period on each school day, maintaining it accurately and taking it to the school office for safekeeping. |
| 33) | A class teacher must inform the principal when a learner is absent without explanation for three consecutive school days and must draw the principal's attention to cases of repeated absence so that the matter may be followed up with the parent in an appropriate manner. |
Teacher's responsibilities
| 34) | A teacher is responsible for marking the period register, maintaining it accurately and taking it to the school office for safekeeping. |
| 35) | A teacher who has reason to believe that a learner is absent from a period without valid reason must report such absence to the school office. |
PED's responsibilities
| 36) | An HOD, acting mainly through district and circuit managers, has the responsibility to promote punctual and regular learner attendance by |
| a) | raising public awareness of the educational and social importance of regular school attendance; |
| b) | giving appropriate administrative direction and management support to district offices and schools in accordance with this policy and PED policy; |
| c) | ensuring that authorised district office staff monitor class registers when they visit a school; |
| d) | analysing school quarterly attendance returns to identify patterns of absence in schools; and |
| e) | taking appropriate follow-up action in the case of schools that have high rates of learner absence. |
| 37) | An HOD must ensure that specific staff members are allocated responsibility for school attendance matters in the PED head office and at each district and circuit office; that they understand the importance of accurate attendance records and careful monitoring; and that they carry out their responsibilities competently. |
| 38) | An HOD must ensure that every school that does not have an electronic administration system has sufficient class registers, period registers and quarterly returns. |
