(new) Attendance Service update - Gazzette
(I have expanded some of this for easier reading)
The new integrated Attendance Service is due to roll out in schools from term 1 next year. KATE BLEASDALE looks at what is expected from the new service.
Work is progressing on the new integrated Attendance Service, which combines the current District Truancy Service (DTS) and Non-Enrolled Truancy Service (NETS).
The new service aims to support schools to effectively manage attendance, reduce unjustified absences, and reduce non-enrollment.
The Attendance Service Application (ASA) will also be introduced, which will record unjustified absence referrals and non-enrollment notifications all in one place.
Using this approach, schools can record attendance information that can be used to ensure that every learner is attending school every day (unless justifiably absent) to engage in learning and achievement.
Bringing two services together
One aim for the new service is to create a system that brings all the different parts together in working order.
With DTS and NETS working separately, it can result in gaps through inconsistent data collection and information management.
In an effort to allow for smooth communication, there will be a single point of contact for schools and families/whānau with the integrated Attendance Service.
Service providers are in the process of being appointed across 18 regions throughout the country to manage and deliver the new integrated Attendance Service.
The Ministry is looking to appoint service providers that are:
- connected to their communities and who have established relationships with other community-based groups that can assist, such as churches, Youth Offending Teams, and other government and non-government organisations.
An important focus is to establish the right fit for the service, and as communities around the country can be very diverse, it is anticipated that:
- each service provider will tailor the new service to meet the specific needs of their community.
- with the successful service providers expected to be announced late this month.
- resources to areas of identified priority, based on geographic placement, school rolls, and decile rating.
Attendance Service Application system
The Attendance Service Application (ASA) has been created to record unjustified absence referrals and non-enrollment notifications in one place. The purpose of the design and function of the ASA is that it is easy to use for schools.
The current non-enrollment notification (NEN) process will not change, and schools can continue to generate them using ENROL to submit a NEN in the usual way.
ASA will provide a more formalized process for recording an unjustified absence (UA). The school will be able to enter the referral notification straight onto the new system via a screen that will have the same look and feel as the ENROL NEN screen.
The amount of information that will be required when entering an unjustified absence is about the same as what is currently required when submitting a NEN.
One of the main advantages of the ASA system is that the provider in a school’s area will receive the information about the UA immediately after the school has submitted it – meaning the provider can follow up the referral as quickly as possible.
Training materials and information outlining how to use the ASA are being prepared by the Ministry. A training simulation taking schools through completing a referral, supported by Quick Reference Cards, will enable school administrators to become familiar with the system at a time that suits them.
Schools will be able to access the training materials online at the beginning of 2013.
Keeping everything on track
The Ministry is keen to support providers to build capability and promote a shared understanding of effective practice.
It is intended to help providers identify areas where their current practice is good and areas where improvements can be made to strengthen a provider’s ability to achieve outcomes.
A rubric is currently in development to support the measurement of success of the new Attendance Service, and to assist with service providers through self evaluation.
The service providers are expected to:
self-evaluate and within the first six months of the service being implemented
the providers will look at what the issues are in their community.
The contract for the providers is set out as a framework, so as more information is collected about a specific community, the service can be evolved to fit its needs.
As well as evaluating their communities, the service providers will:
develop business plans that will articulate what they will do to deliver effective practice in their community.
There are also three key performance indicators (KPIs) that they are expected to meet:
- Responding to referrals within specific time frames,
- Reducing the number of days that a learner is not attending education,
- Improving the overall percentage of attendance in education.
The Ministry will consider the effectiveness of the new service, as well as barriers preventing learners from attending school and achieving.
The aim is to gather more cohesive information from the communities and work with that information to bring in other social services that are required in different regions.
Through this information coming in, the Ministry aims to:
work with social services to understand what is happening in different communities and create solutions ahead of problems arising.
Information gathered by the service providers will help to develop a baseline of information from which strategies will be developed to continuously improve the service.
Link
www.minedu.govt.nz/attendance
The numbers
* The national unjustified absence rate currently sits at around 4 per cent.
* That’s 29,000 learners who are absent from school without justification on any given day.
* Of these, 10,900 (37.6 per cent) are Māori learners and 4,065 (14 per cent) are Pasifika learners.
* Unjustified absence is much higher in secondary and lower decile schools.
* Other data shows that 2,000–2,300 learners are non-enrolled on any given day.