The Importance of School

Every child in Australia has not only the right to an education, but it is actually unlawful for them to be prevented from coming to school. It is a legal obligation for parents to enrol a child into a school.

Being enrolled into a school means so much more than fulfilling a law. Students being an active, present member of a school community helps develop critically important social and emotional skills, connectivity with a community and academic growth. There is a significant amount of research to support the need of consistent attendance at school, which includes the findings that school absenteeism is cumulative, and it can have an impact on academic success and school attendance in the latter years of school (Hancock et al, 2013; Zubrick, 2014). 

If we think of schooling as an active choice to get fit and healthy to achieve a fitness goal for the future. We begin a physical fitness training and healthy eating programme that aims to get us to get our goal. If we aim to run a triathlon, we don’t start at the finishing line. We have to build up our physical and mental stamina in order to cross the finish line successfully.

Schools do this gradual building up of social, emotional, physical and academic stamina over the time a child begins their formal education. This is safe guarded by following a national curriculum to ensure the journey toward success is followed. Not everyone learns at the same rate, just as not all athletes train at the same rate. That would be like asking someone like me take up training for a triathlon alongside a seasoned triathlete. I am not going to have the same needs as that athlete. However, schools have highly trained educators who are able to make professional decisions to help support children of a similar age to go through a process of systematic learning.

Sometimes a child will need additional support. This support within school comes from our Diverse Learning Team. Together, in partnership with the child’s teacher and parents, the Diverse Learning Team staff will determine the areas of need and provide the required support so that the child is provided the necessary skills and access to additional support.

Occasionally a family may feel that their child will benefit from additional tuition, which is on top of the school support. Tuition outside of school can prove to be a positive experience, however private tuition is a supplement to formal schooling, not a substitution. 

Teachers spend years training beyond their university degree to provide sequential learning plans. If private tuition occurs within school hours, the child might have 1:1 literacy and math in the 1-2 hour sessions, but will miss the other curriculum areas and the fundamental building blocks taught in class for literacy and numeracy, which will negate the benefits of private tuition.  

Navigating a worldwide pandemic has challenged many areas of society, and education has not been spared. South Australia seems to have been spared from much of the pandemic which began in 2020 despite the notable state ‘lockdowns’ experienced in 2020-2021. Generally speaking, however, we have not seen prolonged, consistent lockdowns requiring excessive online learning.

Truly, our greatest challenge has been coming into 2022 with our borders opened and the COVID-19 Omicron variant raising our case numbers and hospitalisations to a previously unheard number. This has caused some anxiety amongst some of our families attending Bethany Christian School (BCS).

One response to the anxiety over COVID has to been to withhold a child from their face-to-face learning. We know that vaccines help our immune systems to learn how to fight an illness, but they do not stop us from getting sick. Withholding a child from school because they have not yet been vaccinated or are not fully vaccinated is not a valid reason for not attending school. 

Any child who misses school must have an authorised absence. This is because there is a very strong link between student attendance and a child’s academic achievement, and the more absences a child has increases the impact of their learning. In short, “every day counts and there is no ‘safe’ threshold for absences” (Hancock et al. 2013). As a school, we are required by law to report our attendance statistics. There are three instances where ongoing absences are formally authorised via educational forms:

• ED175 A (for family vacations for 15+ days);
• ED175 B (for short term of up to 4 weeks absences due to disability, behaviour, health or medical reasons); or
• ED175 C (for exemptions for a period greater than 12 months for an overseas exchange, participation in elite sports or full-time non-school education.

These forms can be collected at our Administration office upon request. Once they are filled in, they are then submitted to the Principal for official authorisation. The ED175 B applications must include a plan of getting the child back to full time school attendance within a 4 week period. Filling in the form does not automatically approve your child’s absence, as this is at the Principal’s discretion. Please be very aware that withdrawing a child from school for in school hours private tuition most likely will be an unauthorised absence. 

In short, no absence is considered unimportant. Your child’s whole education is vitally important, as there is a direct correlation to their future academic and employment success (AITSL, 2019). If you are worried about your child’s academic progress or about COVID-19, please speak to your child’s teacher. For any COVID-19 related queries, please ask to speak to our school nurse, Priya Wilson. We are here to help.  

Reference List

AITSL. (2019). Spotlight: Attendance Matters. Retrieved from aitsl: Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership Limited: https://www.aitsl.edu.au/tools-resources/resource/spotlight-attendance-matters

Hancock, K. J., Shepherd, C. C., Lawrence, D., & & Zubrick, S. R. (2013). Student attendance and educational outcomes: Every day counts. Canberra: Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.

Zubrick, S. (2014). School Attendance: Equities and inequities in growth trajectories of academic performance. ACER: Quality and Equality; What does research tell us? Adelaide: ACER.

“The effects of non-attendance on achievement are cumulative and can impact both academic achievement and attendance in future years of schooling” – Hancock et al., 2013; Zubrick, 2014

Term 1 Reminders

Car Park

Please remember to keep our children safe. Observe the rules of our car parks. Please do not queue while waiting for your child. This causes our lines to be exceptionally long and frustratingly slow. If your child is not at the turning circle or the kiss ‘n’ drop when you arrive, please go and park.

Our turning circle and kiss ‘n’ drop areas only work efficiently if drivers are patient, courteous and remember that it is a privilege which comes with responsibility, not a right. Please show respect to the teaching staff trying to manage the traffic on school site. Let’s be kind to one another and work together to keep our children safe.

Thank you

A massive thank you to all our parent school community for following our COVID-19 safe practices, avoiding coming on site and wearing a mask. COVID-19 is a tremendous challenge for us all. While we have had active cases of COVID-19 on school site, this might have been far worse had we had a greater number of people on site. 

I wish you all the very best for you and your family in the week ahead.

God bless you,

Deb Clifford

Deputy Principal