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These are not the only situations where the Frequent Absence Rule should be applied.
If you are unsure
Please contact your Ministry regional office or the Resourcing Contact Centre if you are unsure whether you are applying the Frequent Absence Rule correctly.
Example 1 - Absence on a particular day
Example key
Use the key below to understand the shading and letters used in the example:
| Grey | Days the child was not enrolled to attend. |
| White | Days the child was enrolled to attend. |
| Black tick on white background | Days the child attended their normal enrolled hours. |
| Black 'a' on white background | Days the child was enrolled to attend and was absent. |
Example 1
Kristen is enrolled to attend an early childhood service 5 days a week.
Below is the August attendance register for Kristen:
The frequent absence problem is
Kristen was absent for more than half of the Fridays in August.
The early childhood service must
Monitor Kristen’s attendance in September and if Kristen is absent for more than half of the Fridays in September, her enrolment agreement will need to be reconfirmed at the end of September.
Funding may be claimed for
- Kristen’s enrolled hours in August and September and
- Kristen’s enrolled hours in October if
- her attendance pattern returns to normal in October or
- Kristen’s enrolment agreement is changed or reconfirmed.
Funding may not be claimed for
Kristen’s Friday absences in October if she continued to be absent for more than half of the Fridays in September and her enrolment agreement is not reconfirmed or changed.
Example 2 - Fewer hours per day
Example key
Use the key below to understand the shading and letters used in the example:
| Grey | Days the child was not enrolled to attend. |
| White | Days the child was enrolled to attend. |
| Black tick on white background | Days the child attended their normal enrolled hours. |
| Black '6' on white background | Days the child attended for fewer hours than enrolled (and the number of hours the child attended). |
| Black hash on white background | Days in the previous or following month. |
Example 2
Sione is enrolled to attend an early childhood centre for 4 hours a day on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Below is the number of hours Sione attended each day during November:
The frequent absence problem is
Sione has attended for fewer than 4 hours a day on more than half of his enrolled days in November.
The early childhood service must
Monitor Sione’s attendance in December and if Sione attends for fewer than 4 hours on more than half of his enrolled days in December, Sione’s enrolment agreement will need to be reconfirmed at the end of December.
Funding may be claimed for
Sione’s enrolled hours in November and December and Sione’s enrolled hours in January if:
- his attendance pattern returns to normal in December or
- his enrolment agreement is reconfirmed or changed.
Funding may not be claimed for
The hours Sione was absent in January if he continued to attend for less than 4 hours per enrolled day on more than half of his enrolled days in December and his enrolment agreement is not reconfirmed or changed.
Example 3 - Fewer days per week
Example key
Use the key below to understand the shading and letters used in the example:
| Grey | Days the child was not enrolled to attend. |
| White | Days the child was enrolled to attend. |
| Black tick on white background | Days the child attended their normal enrolled hours. |
| Black 'a' on white background | Days the child was enrolled to attend and was absent. |
| Black hash on white background | Days in the previous or following month. |
Example 3
Vijay is enrolled to attend an early childhood centre for 5 days a week.
Below is the February attendance register for Vijay:
The frequent absence problem is
Vijay has attended for fewer than five days a week in more than half of the weeks in February.
The early childhood service must
Monitor Vijay’s attendance in March and if Vijay does not attend for five days a week for more than half of the weeks in March, his enrolment agreement will need to be reconfirmed at the end of March.
Funding may be claimed for
Vijay’s enrolled hours in February and March and Vijay’s enrolled hours in April if:
- his attendance pattern returned to normal in March or
- his enrolment agreement is reconfirmed or changed.
Funding may not be claimed for
Vijay’s absences in April if he continues to attend less than 5 days a week for more than half of the weeks in March and his enrolment agreement is not reconfirmed or changed.
