Webinar: Getting attendance back on track

Student attendance rates have dropped across Australia and internationally over the past decade, with more students now at risk of falling behind. To explore this concerning trend, The Smith Family hosted a recent webinar – with an incredible 700 people tuning in.

Our expert panel featured Dr Kirsten Hancock from The Smith Family, Dr Patricia Graczyk from the University of Illinois Chicago and Caroline Fishpool from the Department for Education South Australia. For Years 7 to 10 in Australia, attendance rates declined from 91.2% in 2015 to 89.9% in 2019. Then during the pandemic, rates fell further and have remained low at 86.4% in 2023.

“There's been over a century of research linking low attendance to other outcomes like achievement, school completion and post-school outcomes,” said Kirsten. “Students are missing opportunities to learn and connect with their peers.”

The panel discussed contributing factors, interventions that don’t help (like punitive approaches) and evidence-based strategies to get attendance back on track.