Government orders review of schools absence policy after boy in hot car case
A SCHOOL policy review has been ordered after the near-death of a young boy trapped in a car, with his parents not notified of his absence for hours.
Education
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A SCHOOL policy review has been ordered after the near death of a young boy trapped in a car, with his parents not notified of his absence for hours.
The Herald Sun can reveal the mother of a boy, 8, stuck in the family car in sweltering heat was only notified her son was absent from school after teachers quizzed his brother.
BOY, 8, HID FROM MUM IN HOT CAR
Victorian primary schools are required to take attendance twice a day, but are given three days to alert parents to their absence, department of education policy shows.
It’s understood the two brothers were playing a prank on their mother when the youngest boy, who has autism, climbed into the back of their mini-van during drop-off at St Margaret Mary’s Primary School in Spotswood on Monday morning.
His brother raised the alarm when teachers questioned him during lunch time as he appeared distressed.
Their mother found the boy unresponsive in the family car near Newport Gardens Primary School, where she works, at about 2.45pm.
She had parked the car about 100m from the school that morning, unaware her son was hiding there for hours while temperatures reached more than 30C.
The boy remains in the Royal Children’s Hospital where his condition has been downgraded from critical to serious.
The Herald Sun understands St Margaret Mary’s, a Catholic school, adopts a 24-hour absence notification rule, but is bound by the department policy, which requires notification to parents of unexplained student absences within three days.
Minister for Education James Merlino has ordered a review of the policy after the case highlighted its flaws.
“As a parent to young children, I know three days is too long for a school to be making contact,” Mr Merlino said.
“This policy is out of step with the current practise in our schools — that’s why I have already asked the department to review this part of the absenteeism policy and bring it into line with community expectations.”
Catholic Education Melbourne executive director Stephen Elder said catholic schools, like all Victorian schools, were bound by pupil attendance and absence requirements set by the state government.
“The Victorian School Policy and Advisory Guide states if a parent does not contact the school to provide an explanation on the day of their child’s absence, the school must attempt to contact the parent of the student within three days of the absence, although many Catholic schools have shorter follow-up periods,” he said.
“In Monday’s case, staff at St Margaret Mary’s acted as soon as they became aware of the potential circumstances of the child’s absence.”
Opposition Education spokesman Tim Smith said “in an age of mobile phones, it’s not acceptable to take three days to notify a family their kid hasn’t shown up to school”.
“Maybe Labor’s part-time Education Minister James Merlino thinks three days is acceptable but Victorian parents would be alarmed if they knew that’s how long it took to be notified their kid wasn’t at school,” he said.
A Department of Education spokesman said most schools notified parents on the morning a student was absent.
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