They shouldn’t be counted as absent however in saying that my son went to a swimming carnival and was marked absent and I had to follow it up with the school.

Check wiht your school as they would have their own policy and also depending on the event if it was school related or not.

Also, for your own peace of mind – check the school policy on these days.

When sport activities are sanctioned by the school they are deemed school days. Representing your school in sport is deemed educational.

No, they’re not marked as absent at our schools. They’re representing the school, possibly at another venue.

They should not be marked as absent. Besides schools often arrange their own transport for children to the sports events – not just competitors. If they are at school at the beginning of the day they should automatically be marked as present. If you choose to take your child directly to the event, perhaps make sure that your teacher marks your child as attending. Keep a record of any days your children is not on the school property.

They are representing the school and differently should not be marked as absent.

If its for the school then they are not marked as absent

I think schools should encourage children to have a go at sport. It’s just that if they do well at state level that often means an inter-state trip for national level which can sometimes mean a week, or a few days absence while traveling etc. I think those situations are more borderline, but that the child should still be supported by not giving them an absentee penalty to go to the event. Perhaps a line has to be drawn if they choose to spend 4 days to drive across Australia to get there rather than getting the plane, but most sports teams travel as a group so that situation doesn’t usually arise.

My daughter has competed for her state school sports for the last 3 years and they don’t count it as “absent”, they count is as “extra-curricular” and she gets credit on her term and end of year reports. She has to make up the work she missed that day, which I’m sure will get challenging as she gets further in school (currently in year 7) but I think it’s great the school encourages the kids to have a go and be proud to represent their school…!!