When students miss a day or more of school it can have an impact their learning, which is one of the topics mentioned in the Board meeting for South East Cornerstone Public School Division yesterday.

"There would be a number of different reasons for absenteeism and that is a piece of data that we are working on cleaning up a little bit. We are finding that a number are reporting 'no reason' for being absent so it is difficult for us to put interventions in place and to help the students and families to attend regularly when we are not entirely certain why they are absent," explained Lynn Little, Director of Education, South East Cornerstone Public School Division.

Little said there are students reasons they are aware of.

When Anxiety is the cause for students to miss school, where students are struggling to be in a large setting, the school division is working with those students to find a smaller setting for them.

"Some of it may be related to illness, some of it may be related to disengagement."

The school division is looking to re-engage disengaged students and families.

"We can work with teachers on enhancing instructional skills and strategies and working on that 21st-century learning but if the student's arent in the classroom that's very difficult."

Little said incremental learning is important and if students miss arent in classes for the beginning of a subject, the foundational part of the course, it makes it that much more difficult to engage in the subject in following lessons. When students get behind in something they can lose motivation to go to school.

Students attendance is monitored and when students repeat missing school, there is a group of teachers that work together to work out what the cause may be and put an intervention in place.

"For each student, the intervention will be a little bit different because it's all based on individualized student need," explained Little who went on to talk about the South East Regional Community Mobilisation.

"That's a coming together of a variety of agencies from mental health, to addictions, to social services, to Police, Education, probation all around the table identifying elevated risk."

"Truancy or not attending school is an elevated risk because done the road that student will experience issues, potentially."

Little adds that having all the agencies around the table working together to support the student in being able to attend school regularly is a benefit to all in the community.