Skipping school on the decline despite nine million missed days last year

Attendance rates have risen by 2.9 per cent, with most schools sitting between 80 and 85 per cent, despite 9.06 million days missed across the state last year.

The prolific Merewether High School's attendance rates rose from 90.5 per cent in 2022 to 92.3 per cent in 2023.

Other schools in the area are on their heels, like Lochinvar Public which has seen a steady rise in attendance over the past two years now sitting at about 92 per cent this year, from 86.5 per cent in 2022.

Principal Libby Cantwell said daily routines including puzzle rewards, text and phone follow-ups with parents, a whole-class competition, and fortnightly and semester rewards have helped improve attendance.

"Community engagement in lifting attendance is essential," she said.

Greta Public School rose from 85.7 to 90.7 per cent this year with the help of similar attendance initiatives, including daily hero tickets, class puzzles and end-of-year semester rewards.

"We are all working hard to ensure our students have the best opportunities to learn and grow at school by regularly attending," principal Sharon Morris said.

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In 2023 there were 9.06 million school days missed across NSW public schools for unjustified reasons but that's two million less than in 2022, according to statistics released in April by the NSW Department of Education.

Over a third of absences in 2023 were approved leave due to sickness, but 2.9 million days were missed where parents or caregivers failed to explain or justify the absence.

There were 852,303 days skipped for reasons that were classified as unjustified by the principal, but these only make up less than 10 per cent of total absences.

A NSW Department of Education (DOE) spokesperson said state student attendance rates saw some of the highest improvements in the country, increasing from 85.2 per cent in 2022 to 88.1 per cent in 2023, "a nation-leading improvement of 2.9 per cent".

Maitland Grossman High School rose from 79.2 to 81.7 per cent while Maitland Public School sits comfortably at a 90.2 per cent attendance rate compared to 86.1 in 2022.

Newcastle East Public School rose two per cent from 89, while Newcastle High School rose to 80.5 per cent from 78.8.

Charlestown Public School went from an attendance rate of 88.2 per cent in 2022 to 90.7 last year and Adamstown Public School were sitting at 87.5 and now are more than 91 per cent.

DOE relieving educational leader director for the Maitland region Ben Higginbottom said a missed day or two might not seem much, but they add up and lead to students falling behind.

"Even one day a fortnight adds up to four weeks a year and an entire year over a whole school career," he said.