Regular attendance at school is important to your child’s success and there is a clear connection between going to school regularly and doing well in the classroom. Making sure students attend and engage in learning is a shared responsibility. As a parent, you are responsible for making sure your child attends school every day. The government views ‘regular’ attendance as 5 or fewer days away from school per term.

If your child is going to be absent for any reason it is essential that you let us know as soon as possible. It is important that you fill in our absence form on HERO, phone us on 06 354 9359, or send an email to school@newbury.school.nz, to confirm your child’s absence and provide us with the reason.

We acknowledge that there are genuine reasons students may occasionally be absent. However, without regular attendance your child may struggle to make progress. If your child is absent regularly, or for extended periods, we will reach out to you to discuss the situation.

We are committed to supporting your child to attend school. We can work with you to develop a support plan that addresses any barriers to regular attendance. More information on attendance, including your rights and responsibilities as parents or caregivers, is available on the Ministry of Education’s website.

We are very lucky to have tamariki that love coming to school each day. It's also clear our kaiako love being here too!

We also want to acknowledge our school context and considerations for meeting the national targets. These are areas we’ve noticed and tracked over the years.

• Our whānau are exceptionally good at sharing absences, justified or explained, to the school.

• Our community is active in getting support with sickness and medical interventions.

• We have a diverse school culture; some of our families have extended whānau residing overseas. It is important for the identity of pupils, to have contact with their whānau, their language, and their culture. This sometimes includes overseas trips to do so.

• While we do not encourage overseas holidays during term, however, some of our families, through their workplaces, are offered short-term overseas experiences that are also offered to the whole family, or specific holiday schedules that do not align with school. These excursions help enrich the knowledge and experiences of pupils involved.

• Our school actively promotes physical development and competition. Many of our families also desire to see their children thrive in competitions at a regional and national level. All these events have a corresponding positive impact upon a child’s overall development.

We look forward to seeing what we can achieve together in 2026.