Mrs Sonia Ensoll Guidance Officer

Dear parents, carers and school community,

I hope this finds you well, as the days and nights get a little cooler – please stay warm and please let us know if your students need any assistance obtaining a warm uniform.

In Term 1, the students participated in the Attendance Really Matters (ARM) logo challenge. They were asked to vote between 2 distinct images so a logo could be used to promote ARM. By overwhelming vote, the attached image won hands down!

Attendance Really Matters! It really does…Research reliably shows that positive school attendance benefits students’ academic achievement, engagement and wellbeing. Students who attend school regularly are also more likely to experience positive health, social and economic outcomes after leaving school.

When a young person, on a consistent basis, will not attend school, there may be some complex underlying reasons for this. This pattern of behaviour has been called “school refusal”, “school can’t”, “school anxiety” or for younger years, the “school wobbles”. Identifying reasons for your student’s reluctance to attend school is important. Once you have more of an idea of what is going on, reaching out to school staff – be that the Guidance Officers, Year Level Co-ordinators, School Nurse, Chappy, Heads of Department or Deputies – is vital, so support can be offered and tailored to what is needed. Please contact the school office if you need to connect with a staff member or send an email to the Guidance Officers – GuidanceOfficer@stanthorpeshs.eq.edu.au.

The following links may assist you in your understanding. The first two are practical guides and give clear examples of strategies to help you motivate your teen to school. The third article is a more scholarly article published by Monash University and includes a link to a report published by the Australian Senate Inquiry into “The National trend of School Refusal and related matters”, published in August 2023 – a great read (if you have time !!!).

https://parents.au.reachout.com/school-and-education/school-refusal/conversation-guide-how-to-talk-to-your-teen-about-school-refusal

https://headspace.org.au/explore-topics/supporting-a-young-person/school-cant/

https://www.monash.edu/turner-institute/news-and-events/latest-news/2024-articles/school-refusal-how-to-help-your-child-overcome-it

For now, take care of yourselves and please reach out if you need support.

Sonia Ensoll – Guidance Officer – smain0@eq.edu.au