Student definitions
For the purpose of this survey, a student is a person who is:
- formally enrolled at the school; and
- active in an educational program at the school at its approved location and expected to remain in attendance; and
- attending the school on a regular basis for the educational program in which the child is enrolled.
Students to be excluded
- Exclude students who have completed enrolment procedures at the school but have not yet attended this school year and for whom no explanation of absence has been provided.
- Exclude students who have completed enrolment procedures at the school but have not yet attended this school year and the student is covered by an explanation of absence provided by the parent(s)/carer(s) unless authorised by the NSSAB Secretariat (refer also to 'Special circumstances consideration'.
- Exclude students who have attended for 10 days or less from the commencement of the school year up to Census Day and for whom no explanation of absence has been provided.
- Exclude students who have attended for 10 days or less from the commencement of the school year up to Census Day and the student is covered by an explanation of absence provided by the parent(s)/carer(s) unless authorised by the NSSAB Secretariat (refer also to 'Special circumstances consideration'.
- Exclude students who attend the school for specialist or sporting activities, but are not formally enrolled at the school.
- Exclude students who have left the school (e.g. have ceased education or changed schools). Schools should keep verifiable information on the date the student exited the school i.e. the student’s last day of attendance.
- Exclude students who attend the school but are not enrolled there e.g. visitors’ and short term temporary business visa holders. It should be noted that some school-aged dependants of visitors and short-term temporary business visa holders may undertake study up to a maximum period of three months. If they wish to continue study, they must apply to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship for a student visa.
- Exclude home education students.
- Exclude overseas students who are responsible for the cost of their own education (except in the Overseas students section).
The following flow chart is provided as a guide only of whether a student should be included in the Census. It must be read in conjunction with all information in the online help.
Click to view the flow chart as pdf
Primary students
A primary student is a student participating in the Preparatory Year to Year 7.
To be eligible for the Preparatory Year, a child must turn five years old on or before 30 June in the year of enrolment.
Secondary students
A secondary student is a student participating in Year 8 to Year 12.
Ungraded students (special unit/class or non-special)
Ungraded students may attend a primary, secondary or combined primary/secondary school but cannot be allocated to a particular year level. The students should be identified as primary (aged 4.5 to 11 years) or secondary (12 years of age or older) students for grant purposes.
From 2007, payments under the Textbook and Resource Allowance scheme are based on the Survey Data. Payments under the scheme are made at a rate for Year 8 to 10 students and a rate for Year 11 to 12 students. Therefore, ungraded secondary students will need to be further classified as being either under 15 years of age (i.e. equivalent to Years 8 to 10) or 15 years of age or older (i.e. equivalent to Years 11 to 12) as at 1 January 2010.
Students in special classes or units in regular schools are students who have been formally assessed as students with disabilities.
These students may or may not be integrated into a regular class for certain curricula activities eg. Mathematics or Physical Education.
Home education students
Students who have been granted provisional registration, or registration, for home education under part 5 of chapter 9 of the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 are not eligible to be included in the survey.
Distance education students
Students undertaking part of their course through a school of distance education e.g. undertaking a subject that is not available at their school or is available at the school only at the same time as another subject being studied, are not categorised as distance education students.
For a governing body to be eligible for funding for distance education students, the school must be accredited by the Non-State Schools Accreditation Board to deliver education in the distance mode. Only distance education students resident in Queensland, enrolled full-time and undertaking a full service delivery course in distance education should be included in the survey.
If accredited non-State schools of distance education are selected for audit, they will be required to show evidence of each student’s enrolment, attendance and active engagement in learning in the following ways:
- completion of an official enrolment form by a parent/caregiver indicating the student’s usual place of residence and that he/she is NOT enrolled at any other Queensland school;
- completion of a signed attendance record or roll by a parent/caregiver for each student indicating days on which he/she attended or was absent from learning activities; and
- submission of completed learning materials or assessment reports for a student and evidence of student-teacher interaction.
The school administration must maintain robust management systems of enrolment, attendance, learning activity and teacher interaction with all students who are included in this survey.
Special circumstances consideration
If a full-time student has attended for 10 days or less from the commencement of the school year up to Census Day, the school can apply for special circumstances consideration.
Please note: The attendance of part-time students is calculated on their full-time equivalence (FTE). To calculate the number of days the student must have attended, multiply their FTE by 10.
For example, a student who is enrolled at the school with an FTE of 0.4 needs to be included in the special circumstances consideration if the students has attended for 4 days or less from the commencement of the school year up to Census Day.
An explanation of absence has to be provided for all students to be considered. The school must have a copy of the parent/carer's letter of explanation in their records.
A student that has not yet attended this school year due to special circumstances must be enrolled at the school and expected to commence as soon as possible. The school must notify the Secretariat of the commencement of the student as soon as possible but no later than Monday, 15 March 2010.
DO NOT INCLUDE these students in the data collection unless authorised in writing by the NSSAB Secretariat.
The following options are available to apply for special consideration:
- To obtain authorisation prior to lodgment, send an email to the NSSAB Secretariat stating the explanation of absence. An officer from the Secretariat will reply to the email with a decision. If authorised by the Secretariat, the student can be included in the Census.
- To obtain authorisation after lodgment, complete the special circumstances consideration section without prior approval. The Secretariat will notify the school in relation to any changes to the Census data that arise from the assessment of each student's circumstances. Do not include the student in the Census in your first lodgment.
Last updated 17 February, 2010