Children: Absence Exemptions

Permanently enrolled children with special needs or health concerns may be exempt from the Frequent Absence Rule or funded for continuous absences beyond the three week period.

A child will qualify for an exemption from the absence rules if:

Either the child has been identified as having an ongoing special need, and this is supported by:

• an Individual Development Plan (IDP) issued within the previous six months by the Ministry’s Group Special Education or an alternative accredited early childhood special education provider or
• a completed EC13 (Medical Reasons for Exemption to Use Early Childhood Absence Rule for Children with Special Health Needs) or
• Child Disability Allowance documentation

OR

• the child has a short term illness or condition that is supported by an EC13 Form, and this specifies the period of the exemption.

Children without special needs or health concerns, but who have parents or siblings with special needs or health concernss are not eligible for an exemption from the absence rules. 
Services seeking an exemption from the absence rules must complete an EC12 Form (and EC13 Form where applicable). These forms, along with supporting documentation, must be retained by the service. Services must provide these documents to the Ministry or its Resourcing Auditors on request.

Documenting in Discover

If you have the appropriate documentation, this can be stored in Discover for the period that it covers.

1. Navigate to Children > Select the Child.
2. Navigate to the Health Tab.
3. Under the title Absence Exemptions, select 'Add New'.
4. Record the dates and a short description. 
5. Optional - navigate to the Notes tab if you wish to keep a digital record.

6. Enter a Title and Notes in the respective fields.

7. Enter a Reminder (if necessary) and select the Category.

8. Click the Document Upload field to upload the appropriate documentation, or drag and drop into the field.

9. Click 'Save'.

Bulk Absence Exemptions

To apply a bulk absence exemption for multiple children within the Centre, navigate to Bulk Actions > Absence Exemption. 

Admins with group-level access will be able to apply absence exemptions across multiple centres by navigating to Group > Bulk Actions > Absence Exemption.

Selecting the date/s will apply the exemption for children booked to attend on these days. Documentation can be applied on a case by case basis using the Health and Note tabs of the child, outlined above.