The Activities of a District Truancy Service Provider
As set out under the MoE (Ministry of Education Agreement) - 2008/09/10

The activities of a DTS (District Truancy Service) Provider under the Agreement are completely separate from the activities of any person appointed as an ‘attendance officer’ by a school board.

Non-attendance should only be referred to the DTS Provider after the school board has taken “all reasonable steps” As a minimum before accepting a referral from a school.

The DTS Provider should be satisfied that the school has taken all the following prerequisite steps:

Attempt to contact the non-attending students parents every day that the student is absent without justification.

Maintain a record of all attempts to contact the student’s parents and the outcomes of those attempts.

Send written advice to parents confirming the dates of all unjustified absences and requesting an explanation for such absences, and

Attempt to meet with family/whanau if unjustified absences are not explained to the satisfaction of the school.
 
In general, it is expected that school’s ‘attendance management’ arrangements will include measures to:

Identify and record student attendance (as required by the Education (School Attendance) Regulations 1951), patterns of non-attendance, and the reasons for non-attendance.

Advise parents of the importance of attendance and of the need to contact the school promptly about all absences and when students are likely to be late for justified reasons.

Advise parents and students about the school’s procedures for following up on non-attendance and the consequences for unjustified absences and lateness.

Respond to concerning patterns of non-attendance and/or unjustified absences generally (For example, contacting and meeting with students/family/whanau, investigating causes and putting in place suitable pastoral and other supports)

Make referrals to the DTS Provider and receive reports from the DTS Provider about reasons for non-attendance, and

Provide feedback to the DTS Provider and the MoE on the quality of the service.