Rules and policies are in place to make sure your child remains safe and well at school.
Visit the NSW Department of Education’s policy library for all current operational policies.
Attendance and absences
Students must attend school regularly so they can achieve their educational best and increase their career and life options.
In NSW, all children from the age of 6 are legally required to attend school or be registered for home schooling through the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA). All students must complete Year 10, or its equivalent.
Young people below the age of 17 who have completed Year 10 must be:
in school, or registered for home schooling
in approved education or training, such as a traineeship, apprenticeship or TAFE
in full-time paid employment (average 25 hours a week)
in a combination of work, education and/or training (average of 25 hours a week combined).
Students 17 years and over who are enrolled in school must attend school regularly to meet HSC course requirements.
As a parent or carer, you are responsible for ensuring your child attends school every day when they are of compulsory school age. You must explain all absences to the school within 7 days.
For more information about compulsory school attendance, visit:
Attendance procedures
Roll Call
Roll Call begins at 8:45am at the start of the daily assembly. All students are to arrive at school prior to this time.
Late Arrival
When a student arrives at school after 8.52am, they must sign in at the Front Office to obtain a late pass. The student should have a parent/caregiver note giving an acceptable reason for the late arrival.
- Teachers will not accept students to class without a late pass. If students fail to report to the Front Office when late, they will be marked absent for the day and parents will be informed via SMS.
- Persistent lateness to school will be regarded as a discipline matter and at the very least will result in parent contact and placed on a Deputy Principal or Executive Detention.
Absence
If a student is absent from school, the parent/caregiver should provide an appropriate explanation at the earliest opportunity. This can be in the form of a medical certificate, letter, text message, through the School App or email to sylvania-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au. In each case the information provided should include the date, student’s name, Roll Call class, the days and dates the student was absent, the reasons for the absence and, for letters, a parent signature. If the student is going to be absent from school for more than three days, parents need to notify the school.
Early Leave
In cases of necessity, students may be granted permission to leave school before the end of the school day. A letter or email from parents is required and should show the date it is written, student’s name, Roll Call class, the time and date when the student wishes to leave, a complete reason for the request and a signature of a parent or guardian.
Extended Leave - Travel
From the beginning of 2016, family holidays and travel are no longer considered as sufficient reason for schools to grant an exemption from attendance. Prior to 2016 students were granted leave when families sought to take children out of school for travel purposes outside of allocated vacation periods. Travel is considered to be any domestic or international travel for the purpose of a family holiday, family business, bereavement or other reasons. It includes single and multiple days. Principals are now expected to record travel outside of vacation period as an absence for statistical purposes.
Parents wishing to be granted leave for travel and thereby receive an exemption for this period are required to make application on a prescribed DoE form available on the school website at least seven (7) days prior to departure. Principals are expected to consult with parents about the intention of the travel and in the case of family holidays encourage parents to take holidays with their child during school vacation periods. Principals are required to request travel documentation, such as travel itinerary or e-ticket, and ensure this is attached to the application.
A Principal is not to accept a reason for travel during school term as leave if it is not in the best interests of the student. The educational, social and participation reasons to support the leave request should be specified in the application. The essence of these new rules is to discourage parents from taking students out of school unnecessarily during school time. As such, Principals will be expected to decline many such applications for leave and record any such absence as unjustified.
Where a Principal considers that the travel is appropriate during school term, the Principal should issue the parent with an Application for Extended Leave – Travel for completion and inform the parent that if the application is accepted. If so the absences will be recorded as “L” – Leave.