Tokomairiro High School
Attendance Management Plan and supporting STAR procedures
Strategic Priorities
Regular school attendance is essential for students to achieve their educational potential. Improving attendance is a national priority, and Tokomairiro High School is committed to ensuring every student has the opportunity to be present, engaged, and progressing.
The government target is that 80% of students will be regularly attending school by 2030.
Our school currently has:
• 50% regular attendance (students attending more than 90% of the time), and
• 32% of students with attendance between 80% and 89%, indicating a significant group who are close to regular attendance but require targeted support.
Our school target is to lift regular attendance to 65% by the end of 2026, with a key focus on shifting the cohort currently in the 80–89% band into regular attendance.
Board responsibilities
The Board is responsible for taking all reasonable steps to ensure that students attend school when it is open for instruction.
The Board will:
• Support students to return to regular attendance.
• Ensure processes and procedures are in place to support the Stepped Attendance Response (STAR).
• Ensure all absences are recorded and followed up.
• Maintain systems for identifying and monitoring student absence, including trends and barriers.
• Publish this Attendance Management Plan on the school website.
Principal responsibilities
The Principal is responsible for:
• Implementing the Stepped Attendance Response (STAR) aligned with thresholds.
• Ensuring attendance is monitored daily, investigated promptly, and recorded accurately.
• Ensuring students, whānau, and staff understand the school’s attendance expectations and procedures.
• Reporting attendance trends, barriers, and interventions to the Board.
• Delegating roles to staff to ensure the attendance system operates effectively.
Procedures/supporting documentation
Attendance is monitored using the school’s digital attendance system. Staff are delegated responsibilities to ensure:
• Daily roll accuracy
• Follow-up of non-attendance
• Early intervention for students of concern
• Clear communication with whānau
• Consistent escalation aligned with STAR Attendance Management Procedure – Stepped Attendance Response (STAR) appears below.
Monitoring
• The Attendance Officer and Attendance Analyst monitor daily attendance data.
• SLT receives weekly and termly attendance summaries.
• SLT also monitors the school’s Everyday Matters reports to ensure early identification of emerging trends or concerns.
• The Board receives termly attendance reports, including analysis and interventions.
• Attendance patterns and interventions are reviewed termly by SLT and the pastoral team. Attendance data is communicated to whānau through:
• daily unexplained absence notifications
• fortnightly reporting
• termly written reports
• parent portal access Whānau are expected to check attendance data regularly and contact their Housegroup Teacher if they believe any information is incorrect.
Legislative compliance/ Legislation
This plan aligns with:
• Education and Training Act 2020
• Education Attendance Regulations
• Ministry of Education Attendance Strategy (“Every School Day Matters”)
• Upcoming Attendance Services regulations
Reviewed: December 2025
Next review: December 2026
Tokomairiro High School
Stepped Attendance Response (STAR) Plan — 2026
Tokomairiro High School recognises the critical importance of regular attendance to student achievement. Our procedures ensure:
• Students are accounted for
• Absences are followed up promptly
• Interventions are timely and appropriate
• Support is tailored to individual needs
• Responses are aligned to STAR thresholds and absence days, consistent with Ministry expectations. STAR tiers appear alongside each threshold:
• GREEN – Regular Attendance
• YELLOW – Early Concern
• ORANGE – Moderate Concern
• RED – Serious Concern
DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS
Activities Practice
Communicate expectations to parents and students
Daily roll accuracy
Daily unexplained absence follow-up
Follow-up of anomalies
Attendance expectations outlined at enrolment, start-of-year meetings, newsletters, and on school website
Mark rolls accurately each period; Period 1 by 9:00am
9:00am text to whānau; 10:00am phone calls for non-response
Housegroup Teacher follows up “?” codes or unexplained patterns
Responsible Person Notes & Actions
Housegroup Teachers, Principal, Board Reinforced termly
Classroom Teachers If a student is in front of you, you must mark their attendance
Office Manager
Record reasons in KAMAR
Housegroup Teacher Correct errors promptly
New student attendance history Review attendance records on enrolment SLT, Attendance Officer Part of transition process
Escalate concerns
Refer students when they meet threshold criteria All staff
Ask the Attendance Officer if unsure
STUDENTS WITH LESS THAN 5 DAYS ABSENCE
STAR TIER: GREEN – Regular Attendance
Activities Practice
Identify absences Monitor daily; follow up same-day unexplained absences
Housegroup Teacher Record contact in KAMAR
Provide updates to students Discuss attendance patterns in Housegroup Housegroup Teacher Encourage positive habits
Provide updates to whānau
Attendance data emailed fortnightly
No formal action required Maintain monitoring
STUDENTS WITH 5–9 DAYS ABSENCE
STAR TIER: YELLOW – Early Concern
Includes students below 90% attendance Activities
Contact whānau
System generated
Whānau contact Housegroup Teacher if data is incorrect
Housegroup Teacher Students from previous-term concerns continue to be tracked
Early contact to discuss reasons and impact on learning
Reinforce learning expectations Identify missed learning
Remove barriers
Develop early plan
Positive reinforcement
Identify supports needed (uniform, counsellor etc)
Begin or update Individual Attendance Plan if needed
Attendance Officer
Follow-up within 2 school days
Housegroup Teacher Check for assessments (Years 11–13)
Attendance Officer Apply internal supports
Attendance Officer Record actions in KAMAR
Acknowledge improvement if attendance lifts Housegroup Teacher Helps sustain progress
STUDENTS WITH 10–14 DAYS ABSENCE
STAR TIER: ORANGE – Moderate Concern
Activities Practice
Escalate concern Additional contact with whānau
Whānau meeting
Enhanced support plan
Meet with student and whānau to analyse barriers
Responsible
Attendance Officer Record attempts in KAMAR
Attendance Officer (lead)
Review IAP; tailor supports to needs Attendance Officer
Engage supports Involve pastoral staff where helpful
HGT attends; Deans/SLT join if required
Hold everyone accountable
Attendance Officer Include Guidance, LSC, Dean
Continue monitoring Track patterns and review weekly Attendance Officer Document progress
STUDENTS WITH 15+ DAYS ABSENCE
STAR TIER: RED – Serious Concern
Escalate to SLT Signal high-risk status Attendance Officer → SLT AO prepares documentation
Hold formal meeting Address barriers urgently SLT
Attendance Officer attends
Refer to Ministry Attendance Services referral SLT AO prepares documents
Multi-agency support Consider ROCK-ON or others SLT, Attendance Officer Ensure plan is in place
Reintegration plan Support student return Attendance Officer Monitor progress
Maintain monitoring Track attendance closely Attendance Officer, SLT Weekly review