NZQA reminders: Absences during NCEA Assessments

As we begin Term 2, our seniors' assessment workload is starting to increase. This is a good time to remind you of what happens when your child is away from school during an assessment.

ILLNESS:

1. If a student has an assessment scheduled during an illness, a parent/ caregiver is required to e-mail or phone the office as soon as possible to let the school know the student is away due to illness.
2. As a result of the parent/ caregiver e-mail or phone call the student will automatically be covered by a “medical” for each school day.
3. For each day that a student is ill at home, the parent/caregiver needs to ring the school. The school may require a medical certificate in the event of an extended illness.

BEYOND STUDENT CONTROL: SUDDEN FAMILY EMERGENCY, FAMILY BEREAVEMENT:

It is your child's responsibility to contact the PN the day they arrive back OR contact their teacher or the PN while they are away. We will take things from there. This time is often stressful for your family and we do not expect you to worry about assessment until your child gets back to school.

A SCHOOL FIELD TRIP/ EVENT:

Your child should know about this in advance and it is their responsibility to inform the teacher well in advance that they have this event coming up. The teacher, with the help of the HOD and/ or the PN, will work out what is manageable, feasible and fair in the situation with respect to an extension of time (if that is applicable). If your child is taking part in a representative sports event where they had to qualify to take part, this is also grounds for an extension.

We cannot give extensions for:

• “Self-interest” absence (e.g. family holidays).
• “Willful” absence, such as refusing to hand in tasks.
• Sickness without clearance from a caregiver/parent

If you have any questions about your child's assessment, please feel free to contact your child's teacher, their HOD or Assistant Principal, Suzanne Pidduck who is NZQA's Principal's Nominee.