School Attendance

As part of the Education Welfare Act 2000, The National Education Welfare Board (N.E.W.B) was established but is now part of Tusla. The Tusla is required to ensure that every child attends a recognised school or otherwise receives an appropriate education. Tusla has appointed Educational Welfare Officers to support regular school attendance. The school is obliged to keep a record of all student absences and the reasons for such absences.

The school is also obliged to make a report to Tusla if a child is absent from school for more than 20 days in the year or if there are concerns about attendance for other reasons. Parents are required to notify the school by filling the form provided and to explain the reason for absence even if absent for just for one day.

Roll Book Rules:According to the Department of Education Rules for National Schools, children should be present at roll call and in attendance for four hours (three hours for the infant school day) to be marked present in the roll book. In all other circumstances children must be present at roll call which is 10.20am each morning.  The Roll Book is the official record for the Dept of Education but the school considers attendance for ‘Learning’ more important than a tick in the roll book, so encourage children to come in for part of the day, where possible, to minimise the ‘learning’ time missed.