The BUSY School Addresses Alarming Rates of School Attendance
This month, our leadership team at The BUSY School were alarmed to read about the declining trends in school attendance, as reported in the Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFCC) Growing up in Queensland Report 2024.
Key findings from the report revealed a significant decline in regular school attendance and completion rates across Queensland.
While The BUSY School continues our mission to support young Queenslanders to reengage with education and their futures, our goal is to support more young people by opening further campuses across Queensland, in addition to our eight current campuses.
In the QFCC report, Queensland was listed towards the bottom, showing one of the lowest percentages of fully engaged young people, with only 77.9% of students being fully engaged in their education.
Most striking, was the regular school attendance rate dropping to 49.1% in 2022 compared to 70.4% in 2018.
The BUSY School offers a proactive solution for engaging students, a vital service as evidenced by the reported statistics. We have reaffirmed our position to provide dedicated services aimed at addressing attendance challenges. Our alternative education model is proving successful and, through more a more individualised approach to each student, we’re creating better futures for young people who, for a variety of reasons, had previously disengaged with traditional schooling.
In recent discussions, The BUSY School emphasised the importance of its dedicated bus services and unwavering commitment to supporting students in accessing public transport concessions.
Recognising the critical role transportation plays in ensuring regular attendance, The BUSY School has prioritised the purchase of a new 24-seater bus to eliminate barriers to attendance for students at our Cleveland Campus. The purchase of this bus demonstrates The BUSY School’s dedication to providing a safe and reliable means of transportation for students, particularly those facing challenges in commuting to campus, empowering students to fully engage in their education.
General Manager – Education at The BUSY School, Bill Weigall said, “We believe that access to reliable transportation should not be a barrier to education. The BUSY School mission has always gone beyond education; it’s about empowering our students to overcome barriers and reach their full potential, no matter the obstacles they may face.”
The BUSY School operates as a not-for-profit and extends its heartfelt appreciation to the corporations, businesses, and community members whose support enables them to make purchases to continue the mission. Through collaborative efforts, The BUSY School is committed to supporting students and aims to expand support and services to reach even more communities in need.