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Student ID helps improve attendance

Seven high schools in the Logan area of the South East Region have introduced a computerised attendance program to counter truancy issues.

The ID Attend computer software program has been developed specifically for tracking and reporting student attendance at schools.

More than 3300 students at Beenleigh SHS, Kingston College, Loganlea SHS, Mabel Park SHS, Marsden SHS, Ormeau Woods SHS and Shailer Park SHS are involved in the program.

Logan-Albert Beaudesert District Executive Director (Schools) Samantha Knowles said ID Attend had achieved great success to date.

"It's still very early but all indications support a reduction in truancy," Ms Knowles said.

"Better class attendance has been observed, in particular where students were previously at school but skipping classes, and since implementation earlier this year there have been marked improvements in student and school community safety, parent partnerships and community relationships."

The ID Attend process involves the attendance roll being marked in every lesson, allowing for immediate identification of students absent from school, students absent from class but who were at school earlier, students engaged elsewhere in the school such as sick bay or at learning support, and students leaving for out-of-school activities.

Ms Knowles said staff were able to access information on a student's status immediately by computer, enabling a quick response for parents ringing to check on their child.

"Parents appreciate that the school knows exactly where students are and that they are promptly notified when students are absent.

"The program also allows for reliable and comprehensive data to be stored which helps with discussions with parents about any issues. This contributes to ongoing open communication with parents."

Ms Knowles said a daily report could be generated and provided to year level coordinators to monitor any truancy patterns and follow up with support.

She said feedback from school staff indicated that the program was time-saving, improving processes of time management.

"Because the program uses instant text messaging to parents, administrative time on monitoring attendance is greatly reduced."

ID Attend also incorporates photo identification which ensures the correct student is counted - students are not able to answer "present" for another.

Photo ID passes are also issued for out-of-school activities. This enables the community to identify whether the student is truant or not.

ID Attend complements the Beenleigh Together Against Truancy (BTAT) program, which is a partnership with the Queensland Police Service-PCYC and the local shopping centre at Beenleigh. Students are asked to show their out-of-school ID pass which has a photo included, if the student is not at school during school hours.

Feedback from the shopping centre has indicated that fewer children are in the centre during the day and police report finding less non-attending students each day.

For more information contact Principal Advisor Education Services Robyn Lloyd on phone 3804 9666.

Ref: 10/20234

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