Working together to
improve school
attendance
Guidance for maintained schools,
academies, independent schools, and
local authorities
Published: May 2022
Applies from: September 2022
2
Contents
Summary 5
About this guidance 5
Expiry or review date 5
Who is this publication for? 5
Section 1: The importance of school attendance 6
The law on school attendance and right to a full-time education 6
Working together to improve attendance 8
Section 2: Expectations of schools 9
Develop and maintain a whole school culture that promotes the benefits of high
attendance 9
Have a clear school attendance policy which all leaders, staff, pupils, and parents
understand 10
Accurately complete admission and attendance registers and have effective day to day
processes in place to follow-up absence 12
Admissions Register (‘the school roll’) 12
Attendance Register 12
Retaining and amending registers 13
Granting leaves of absence 13
Day to day processes 13
Regularly analyse attendance and absence data to identify pupils or cohorts that require
support with their attendance and put effective strategies in place 14
Build strong relationships with families, listen to and understand barriers to attendance
and work with families to remove them 15
Pupils with medical conditions or special educational needs and disabilities 17
Part-time timetables 18
Share information and work collaboratively with other schools in the area, local
authorities and other partners when absence is at risk of becoming persistent or severe
19
Section 3: Expectations of academy trust boards and governing bodies of
maintained schools 21
Recognise the importance of school attendance and promote it across the school’s
ethos and policies 21
Ensure school leaders fulfil expectations and statutory duties 22
3
Regularly reviewing attendance data, discussing and challenging trends, and helping
school leaders focus improvement efforts on the individual pupils or cohorts who need it
most 23
Ensure school staff receive adequate training on attendance 23
Share effective practice on attendance management and improvement across schools
24
Section 4: Expectations of local authorities 25
Rigorously track local attendance data to devise a strategic approach to attendance that
prioritises the pupils, pupil cohorts and schools on which to provide support to and focus
its efforts on to unblock area wide barriers to attendance 26
School Attendance Support Team 27
Communication and advice 27
Targeting Support Meetings 28
Multi-disciplinary support for families 28
Legal intervention 30
Monitor and improve the attendance of children with a social worker through their
Virtual School Head 31
Section 5: Persistent and severe absence 32
Section 6: Attendance legal intervention 34
Parenting Contracts 35
Purpose of parenting contracts and when they may be appropriate 35
Contents of a parenting contract 36
Non-compliance with a parenting contract 37
Education Supervision Orders 38
Purpose of ESOs and when they may be appropriate 38
Contents of an ESO 38
Non-compliance with an ESO 39
Attendance Prosecution 39
Purpose of prosecution and when it may be appropriate 39
Investigations and Court presentation 41
Parenting Orders 42
Purpose of parenting orders and when they may be appropriate 42
Contents of a parenting order 43
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Non-compliance with a parenting order 43
Fixed Penalty Notices 43
Purpose of fixed penalty notices and when they may be appropriate 43
Code of conduct for issuing fixed penalty notices 44
Payment of penalties 44
Section 7: Contents of the admissions register (‘the school roll’) 45
Expected First Day of Attendance 45
Pupil Information 46
Pupils with a new address and/or school 46
Maintaining the Admission Register 46
Deletion of names from Admission Register 47
Deleting the name of a pupil of compulsory school age 47
Transfer between schools 48
Deleting the name of a pupil of compulsory school age from a special school 52
Deleting the name of a pupil not of compulsory school age 53
Section 8: Contents of the attendance register 55
Attendance and Absence Codes 55
Present 56
Absent 56
Attending an approved educational activity 62
Unable to attend due to exceptional circumstances 64
Administrative codes 65
Other relevant legislation and guidance 66
Relevant legislation 66
Relevant government guidance 66
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Summary
About this guidance
1. This is guidance from the Department for Education (DfE). This guidance is non-
statutory, and has been produced to help schools, trusts, governing bodies, and local
authorities maintain high levels of school attendance. Following public consultation
earlier this year, and subject to Parliament, the Secretary of State has committed to this
guidance becoming statutory when parliamentary time allows (this will be no sooner
than September 2023).
2. This guidance should be read alongside the statutory guidance documents on
parental responsibility measures, children missing education, supporting pupils with
medical conditions at school, suspensions and exclusions, alternative provision, and
safeguarding.
3. For the purpose of this guidance, a parent means:
• all natural parents, whether they are married or not;
• any person who has parental responsibility for a child or young person; and,
• any person who has care of a child or young person (i.e. lives with and looks after
the child).
Expiry or review date
4. From September 2022, this document replaces all previous guidance on school
attendance for maintained schools, academies, independent schools, and local
authorities with the exception of the existing statutory guidance on parental
responsibility measures.
5. This guidance will be updated and reissued ahead of academic year 2023-2024.
Who is this publication for?
6. This guidance is for:
• All school and academy trust staff, headteachers, governors, academy trustees,
and alternative provision providers
• Local authority attendance staff, early help lead practitioners, social workers, and
virtual school heads
• Statutory safeguarding (including police and integrated care boards) and other local
partners
• This guidance may also be useful for parents and carers
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Section 1: The importance of school attendance
7. Improving attendance is everyone’s business. The barriers to accessing
education are wide and complex, both within and beyond the school gates, and are
often specific to individual pupils and families. The foundation of securing good
attendance is that school is a calm, orderly, safe, and supportive environment where all
pupils want to be and are keen and ready to learn.
8. Some pupils find it harder than others to attend school and therefore at all stages
of improving attendance, schools and partners should work with pupils and parents to
remove any barriers to attendance by building strong and trusting relationships and
working together to put the right support in place. Securing good attendance cannot
therefore be seen in isolation, and effective practices for improvement will involve close
interaction with schools’ efforts on curriculum, behaviour, bullying, special educational
needs support, pastoral and mental health and wellbeing, and effective use of
resources, including pupil premium. It cannot solely be the preserve of a single member
of staff, or organisation, it must be a concerted effort across all teaching and non-
teaching staff in school, the trust or governing body, the local authority, and other local
partners.
The law on school attendance and right to a full-time education
9. The law entitles every child of compulsory school age to an efficient, full-time
education suitable to their age, aptitude, and any special educational need they may
have. It is the legal responsibility of every parent to make sure their child receives that
education either by attendance at a school or by education otherwise than at a school.
10. Where parents decide to have their child registered at school, they have an
additional legal duty to ensure their child attends that school regularly. This means their
child must attend every day that the school is open, except in a small number of
allowable circumstances such as being too ill to attend or being given permission for an
absence in advance from the school.
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11. This is essential for pupils to get the most out of their school experience,
including their attainment, wellbeing, and wider life chances. The pupils with the
highest attainment at the end of key stage 2 and key stage 4 have higher rates of
attendance over the key stage compared to those with the lowest attainment. At
KS2, pupils not meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths had an
overall absence rate of 4.7%, compared to 3.5% among those meeting the expected
standard. Moreover, the overall absence rate of pupils not meeting the expected
standard was higher than among those meeting the higher standard (4.7% compared to
2.7%). At KS4, pupils not achieving grade 9 to 4 in English and maths had an overall
absence rate of 8.8%, compared to 5.2% among those achieving grade 4
1
. The overall
absence rate of pupils not achieving grade 9 to 4 was over twice as high as those
achieving grade 9 to 5 (8.8% compared to 3.7%).
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12. For the most vulnerable pupils, regular attendance is also an important protective
factor and the best opportunity for needs to be identified and support provided.
Research has shown associations between regular absence from school and a number
of extra-familial harms. This includes crime (90% of young offenders had been
persistently absent)
3
and serious violence (83% of knife possession offenders had been
persistently absent in at least 1 of the 5 years of study)
4
.
1
https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/the-link-between-absence-and-attainment-
at-ks2-and-ks4/2018-19
2
https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/the-link-between-absence-and-attainment-
at-ks2-and-ks4/2018-19
3
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/understanding-the-educational-background-of-young-offenders-
summary-report
4
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/knife-and-offensive-weapon-sentencing-january-to-march-2018
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Working together to improve attendance
13. Successfully treating the root causes of absence and removing barriers to
attendance, at home, in school or more broadly requires schools and local partners to
work collaboratively with, not against families. All partners should work together to:
MONITOR
Rigorously use attendance data to identify patterns of poor attendance (at individual and
cohort level) as soon as possible so all parties can work together to resolve them before they
become entrenched.
EXPECT
Aspire to high standards of attendance from all pupils and parents and build a culture where
all can, and want to, be in school and ready to learn by prioritising attendance improvement
across the school.
LISTEN AND UNDERSTAND
When a pattern is spotted, discuss with pupils and parents to listen to understand barriers to
attendance and agree how all partners can work together to resolve them.
FACILITATE SUPPORT
Remove barriers in school and help pupils and parents to access the support they need to
overcome the barriers outside of school. This might include an early help or whole family plan
where absence is a symptom of wider issues.
FORMALISE SUPPORT
Where absence persists and voluntary support is not working or not being engaged with,
partners should work together to explain the consequences clearly and ensure support is
also in place to enable families to respond. Depending on the circumstances this may include
formalising support through a parenting contract or education supervision order.
ENFORCE
Where all other avenues have been exhausted and support is not working or not being
engaged with, enforce attendance through statutory intervention or prosecution to protect the
pupil’s right to an education.
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Section 2: Expectations of schools
14. All schools have a continuing responsibility to proactively manage and improve
attendance across their school community. As set out in section 1, attendance is the
essential foundation to positive outcomes for all pupils and should therefore be seen as
everyone’s responsibility in school.
15. The most effective schools consistently promote the benefits of good attendance
at school, set high expectations for every pupil, communicate those expectations clearly
and consistently to pupils and parents, systematically analyse their data to identify
patterns to target their improvement efforts, and work effectively with the local authority
and other local partners to overcome barriers to attendance. They also recognise that
attendance cannot be seen in isolation and that the foundation to good attendance is a
calm, orderly, safe and supportive environment in which all pupils want to attend and
can learn and thrive. To manage and improve attendance effectively, all schools are
expected to:
• Develop and maintain a whole school culture that promotes the benefits of high
attendance.
• Have a clear school attendance policy which all staff, pupils and parents
understand.
• Accurately complete admission and, with the exception of schools where all pupils
are boarders, attendance registers and have effective day to day processes in place
to follow-up absence.
• Regularly monitor and analyse attendance and absence data to identify pupils or
cohorts that require support with their attendance and put effective strategies in
place.
• Build strong relationships with families, listen to and understand barriers to
attendance and work with families to remove them.
• Share information and work collaboratively with other schools in the area, local
authorities, and other partners when absence is at risk of becoming persistent or
severe.
Develop and maintain a whole school culture that promotes
the benefits of high attendance
16. Good attendance is a learned behaviour, and the most effective schools
recognise the importance of developing good patterns of attendance from the outset.
Schools that have good attendance recognise that it is not a discrete piece of work but
rather it is an integral part of the school’s ethos and culture. In building a culture of good
school attendance, all schools are expected to:
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• Recognise the importance of good attendance and, alongside good behaviour,
make it a central part of the school’s vision, values, ethos, and day to day life.
• Recognise the interplay between attendance and wider school improvement efforts,
building it into strategies on attainment, behaviour, bullying, special educational
needs support, supporting pupils with medical conditions or disabilities,
safeguarding, wellbeing, and support for disadvantaged students (including use of
pupil premium).
• Recognise improving attendance is a school leadership issue and have a
designated senior leader with overall responsibility for championing and improving
attendance in school. Responsibilities should include offering a clear vision for
attendance improvement, evaluating and monitoring expectations and processes,
oversight of data analysis, and communicating messages to pupils and parents.
• Make sure all teaching and non-teaching staff know the importance of good
attendance, are consistent in their communication with pupils and parents, and
receive the training and professional development they need.
• Make sure attendance support and improvement is appropriately resourced,
including where applicable through effective use of pupil premium funding. Where
possible this should include attendance or pastoral support staff (either school
based or contracted) who can work with families, conduct home visits and work in
partnership with school leaders, the local authority’s School Attendance Support
Team and other partners.
• Set high expectations for the attendance and punctuality of all pupils and
communicate these regularly to pupils and parents through all available channels.
In doing so, schools should help parents to understand what is expected of them
and why attendance is important to their child’s attainment, wellbeing, and wider
development. It should also include clarity on the short and long term
consequences of poor attendance.
• Visibly demonstrate the benefits of good attendance throughout school life. This
may include in displays, assemblies or in registration periods. Where used
sensitively and without discrimination, this may also include praising and rewarding
improvements in attendance at year group, class/form and individual level.
• Recognise that attendance is never ‘solved’ and is a continuous process by
regularly reviewing and updating messages, processes, and strategies.
• Recognise children missing education can act as a vital warning sign to a range of
safeguarding issues including neglect, sexual abuse and child sexual and criminal
exploitation.
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Have a clear school attendance policy which all leaders, staff,
pupils, and parents understand
17. An effective whole school culture of high attendance is underpinned by clear
expectations, procedures, and responsibilities. To ensure all leaders, staff, pupils, and
parents understand these expectations, all schools are expected to have a clear, written
school attendance policy based on the expectations set out this guidance. As a
minimum it should detail:
• The attendance and punctuality expectations of pupils and parents, including start
and close of the day, register closing times and the processes for requesting leaves
of absence and informing the school of the reason for an unexpected absence.
• The name and contact details of the senior leader responsible for the strategic
approach to attendance in school.
• Information and contact details of the school staff who pupils and parents should
contact about attendance on a day to day basis (such as a form tutor, attendance
officer etc) and for more detailed support on attendance (such as a head of year,
pastoral lead or family liaison officer etc).
• The school’s day to day processes for managing attendance, for example first day
calling and processes to follow up on unexplained absence.
• How the school is promoting and incentivising good attendance.
• The school’s strategy for using data to target attendance improvement efforts to the
pupils or pupil cohorts who need it most.
• The school’s strategy for reducing persistent and severe absence, including how
access to wider support services will be provided to remove the barriers to
attendance and when support will be formalised in conjunction with the local
authority.
• The point at which Fixed Penalty Notices for absence and other sanctions will be
sought if support is not appropriate (e.g. for an unauthorised holiday in term time),
not successful, or not engaged with.
18. Whilst every pupil has a right to a full-time education and high attendance
expectations should be set for all pupils, the attendance policy should account for the
specific needs of certain pupils and pupil cohorts. The policy should be applied fairly
and consistently but in doing so schools should always consider the individual needs of
pupils and their families who have specific barriers to attendance. In development and
implementation of their policy, schools should consider their obligations under the
Equality Act 2010 and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
19. Schools where all or some of their pupils are boarders are expected to cover all
of the above areas in their policies but will want to do so in a way that meets their
specific needs.
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20. The policy should be easily accessible to leaders, staff, pupils, and parents,
including being published on the school’s website. Parents should be sent it with any
initial information when pupils join the school and reminded of it at the beginning of each
school year and when it is updated.
21. As the barriers to attendance evolve quickly, the policy should be reviewed and
updated as necessary. In doing so, schools should seek the views of pupils and
parents.
Accurately complete admission and attendance registers and
have effective day to day processes in place to follow-up
absence
22. The law requires all schools including independent schools to have an admission
register and, except for schools where all pupils are boarders, an attendance register.
All pupils (regardless of their age) must be placed on the admission register and have
their attendance recorded in the attendance register. The proprietor of a school who
fails to comply with these regulations is guilty of an offence and can be fined.
Admissions Register (‘the school roll’)
23. The admission register (sometimes referred to as the school roll) must contain
specific personal details of every pupil in the school along with the date of admission or
re-admission to the school, information regarding parents and carers, and details of the
school last attended.
24. A pupil’s name can only lawfully be deleted from the admission register if a
reason set out in regulation 8 of the Education (Pupil Registration) (England)
Regulations 2006, as amended, applies.
Full details on the keeping of the admission register can be found in section 7.
Attendance Register
25. Schools must also take the attendance register at the start of each morning
session of each school day and once during each afternoon session. On each occasion
they must record whether every pupil is present, attending an approved educational
activity, absent, or unable to attend due to exceptional circumstances.
Full details on the keeping of the attendance register can be found in section 8.
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Retaining and amending registers
26. Effective and timely use and sharing of register data is critical to improve
attendance. Schools are expected to use an electronic management information system
to keep their attendance and admission registers to improve accuracy, speed up the
process of sharing and analysing information, and make returns to local authorities and
DfE easier.
27. Registers are legal records and all schools must preserve every entry in the
attendance or admission register for 3 years from the date of entry. As the attendance
register is a record of the pupils present at the time it was taken, the register should only
routinely be amended where the reason for absence cannot be established at the time it
is taken and it is subsequently necessary to correct the entry. Where amendments are
made, all schools must ensure the register shows the original entry, the amended entry,
the reason for the amendment, the date on which the amendment was made, and the
name and title of the person who made the amendment.
Granting leaves of absence
28. Only exceptional circumstances warrant a leave of absence. Schools should
consider each application individually taking into account the specific facts and
circumstances and relevant background context behind the request.
29. If a leave of absence is granted, it is for the headteacher to determine the length
of the time the pupil can be away from school.
30. As head teachers should only grant leaves of absence in exceptional
circumstances it is unlikely a leave of absence will be granted for the purposes of a
family holiday.
Day to day processes
31. Alongside accurate recording of attendance and absence, effective schools have
robust day to day processes to track and follow up absence and poor punctuality which
are rigorously applied across the school. All schools are expected to develop processes
that meet the needs of their pupils and contexts. As a minimum this should include
arrangements to:
• Proactively manage lateness and set out in their attendance policy the length of
time the register will be open, after which a pupil will be marked as absent. This
should be the same for every session, and depending on the structure of the school
day, not longer than either 30 minutes after the session begins, or the length of the
form time or first lesson in which registration takes place.
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• Expect parents to contact the school when their child is absent to explain the
reason and put in place processes to contact parents on the first day of absence
where a reason has not been provided. If absence continues without explanation,
further contact should be made to ensure safeguarding.
• Identify any absences that are not explained for each session and contact parents
(and where appropriate foster carers and/or social workers) to understand why and
when the pupil will return. Where absence is recorded as unexplained in the
attendance register, the correct code should be inputted as soon as the reason is
ascertained, but no later than 5 working days after the session.
• Where reasonably possible, schools should hold more than one emergency contact
number for each pupil. This is good practice to give the school additional options to
make contact with a responsible adult.
• Regularly inform parents about their child’s attendance and absence levels. Schools
should avoid headline percentages and instead make this understandable for
parents (e.g. the amount of time missed and the impact on the pupil’s learning).
• Hold regular meetings with the parents of pupils who the school (and/or local
authority) consider to be vulnerable or are persistently or severely absent to discuss
attendance and engagement at school.
• Identify pupils who need support from wider partners as quickly as possible and
make the necessary referrals.
• Make the necessary statutory data returns to the local authority. (see paragraphs
45-50)
• Support pupils back into school following a lengthy or unavoidable period of
absence and provide support to build confidence and bridge gaps.
Regularly analyse attendance and absence data to identify
pupils or cohorts that require support with their attendance
and put effective strategies in place
32. As poor attendance is habitual, prevention and early intervention is crucial. The
key to this is regular data analysis to both identify and provide immediate additional
support to pupils or pupil cohorts that need it, and to look at historic and emerging
patterns across the school and develop strategies to address them. To achieve this all
schools are expected to:
• Monitor and analyse weekly attendance patterns and trends and deliver intervention
and support in a targeted way to pupils and families. This should go beyond
headline attendance percentages and should look at individual pupils, cohorts and
groups (including their punctuality) across the school to help schools achieve their
responsibilities under the Public Sector Equality Duty.
• When analysing patterns, some schools, especially secondary schools, may wish to
look further into patterns of attendance within a session to ensure all pupils are
attending all timetabled lessons.
15
• Use this analysis to provide regular attendance reports to class teachers or tutors to
facilitate discussions with pupils and to leaders (including any special educational
needs coordinators, designated safeguarding leads and pupil premium leads).
• Identify the pupils who need support and focus staff efforts on developing targeted
actions for those cases (see paragraphs 34-39).
• Conduct thorough analysis of half-termly, termly, and full year data to identify
patterns and trends. This should include analysis of pupils and cohorts and
identifying patterns in uses of certain codes, days of poor attendance and where
appropriate, subjects which have low lesson attendance.
• Benchmark their attendance data (at whole school, year group and cohort level)
against local, regional, and national levels to identify areas of focus for
improvement.
• Devise specific strategies to address areas of poor attendance identified through
data. This may, for example, include pupils in a year group with higher than average
absence or for pupils eligible for free school meals if their attendance falls behind
that of their more advantaged peers.
• Monitor in the data the impact of school wide attendance efforts, including any
specific strategies implemented. The findings should then be used to evaluate
approaches or inform future strategies.
• Provide data and reports to support the work of the board or governing body, as set
out in section 3.
33. Schools should decide which cohorts of pupils should be included in their data
analysis based on their context and school population. This may include: boys and girls,
year groups, pupils with special educational needs or disabilities, pupils with a social
worker or who are looked-after by the local authority, pupils eligible for free school
meals, and any pupils from backgrounds (including ethnicities, religions or beliefs, or
sexual orientations where applicable) in the school community that have, or have
historically had, lower attendance than their peers.
Build strong relationships with families, listen to and
understand barriers to attendance and work with families to
remove them
34. Schools should treat all pupils and parents with dignity and staff should model
respectful relationships to build a positive relationship between home and school that
can be the foundation of good attendance. In communicating with parents, schools
should discuss the link between attendance and attainment and wider wellbeing, and
challenge parents’ views where they have misconceptions about what ‘good’
attendance looks like. Where a pupil or family needs support with attendance, it is
important that the best placed person in the school works with and supports the family
and wherever possible the person should be kept consistent.
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35. Where a pattern of absence is at risk of becoming, or becomes, problematic
schools should draw on these relationships and listen to and understand the barriers to
attendance the pupil or family is experiencing. In doing so, schools should take into
consideration the sensitivity of some of the reasons for absence and understand the
importance of school as a place of safety and support rather than reaching immediately
for punitive approaches.
36. In the first instance, all schools are expected to:
• Support pupils and parents by working together to address any in-school barriers to
attendance.
• Where barriers are outside of the school’s control, all partners should work together
to support pupils and parents to access any support they may need voluntarily. As a
minimum, this should include meeting with pupils and parents at risk of persistent or
severe absence to understand barriers to being in school and agreeing actions or
interventions to address them. This may include referrals to services and
organisations that can provide support. These actions should be regularly
discussed and reviewed together with pupils and families.
37. Where absence intensifies, so should the support provided, which will require the
school to work in tandem with the local authority and other relevant partners:
• If the needs and barriers are individual to the pupil this may include provision of
mentoring, careers advice, college placements, 1-2-1 tuition or out of hours
learning, or where appropriate an education, health and care plan or alternative
provision.
• Where the needs are wider and a whole family response is more appropriate, this is
likely to include a voluntary early help assessment.
• Where engagement in support is proving challenging, schools should hold more
formal conversations with the parents (and pupil where they are old enough to
understand). This is likely to be led by the senior leader responsible for attendance
and may include the school’s point of contact in the local authority School
Attendance Support Team. These meetings should clearly explain the
consequences of persistent and severe absence to the pupil and family and the
potential need for legal intervention in future, but should also be an opportunity to
continue to listen to and understand the barriers to attendance and explain the help
that is available to avoid those consequences.
38. Where voluntary support has not been effective and/or has not been engaged
with all schools should work with the local authority to:
• Put formal support in place in the form of a parenting contract or an education
supervision order.
• Issue a fixed penalty notice where support would not be appropriate or has not
been successful or engaged with and it is likely to change the parents’ behaviour.
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• Intensify support through statutory children’s social care involvement where there
are safeguarding concerns, especially where absence becomes severe (below 50%
attendance).
• Prosecute parents where all other routes have failed or are not deemed
appropriate. This could include making the case for a community or parenting order
where the parent is convicted to secure engagement with support.
For further details, see section 5.
39. In all cases, the school should monitor the impact of any intervention(s) and
make adjustments where necessary in discussion with the pupil, parents and any other
partners involved as part of any whole family plan or team around the family. Where
interventions are failing, all parties should work together to identify the reasons why and
either adjust or change the approach.
Pupils with medical conditions or special educational needs and
disabilities
40. Some pupils face greater barriers to attendance than their peers. These can
include pupils who suffer from long term medical conditions or who have special
educational needs and disabilities. Their right to an education is the same as any other
pupil and therefore the attendance ambition for these pupils should be the same as they
are for any other pupil. That said, in working with their parents to improve attendance,
schools should be mindful of the barriers these pupils face and put additional support in
place where necessary to help them access their full-time education. This should
include:
• Having sensitive conversations and developing good support for pupils with
physical or mental health conditions. For example, making reasonable adjustments
where a pupil has a disability or putting in place an individual healthcare plan where
needed. Considering whether additional support from external partners (including
the local authority or health services) would be appropriate, making referrals in a
timely manner and working together with those services to deliver any subsequent
support.
• Working with parents to develop specific support approaches for attendance for
pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, including where applicable
ensuring the provision outlined in the pupil’s education, health and care plan is
accessed. In addition, schools should work with families to help support routines
where school transport is regularly being missed and work with other partners to
encourage the scheduling of additional support interventions or medical
appointments outside of the main school day. Please see further details on SEN
support.
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• Establish strategies for removing the in-school barriers these pupils face, including
considering support or reasonable adjustments for uniform, transport, routines,
access to support in school and lunchtime arrangements.
• Ensure joined up pastoral care is in place where needed and consider whether a
time-limited phased return to school would be appropriate, for example for those
affected by anxiety about school attendance.
• Ensure data is regularly monitored for these groups including at board and
governing body meetings and in Targeting Support Meetings with the local authority
so that additional support from other partners is accessed where necessary.
41. Pupils with long term illnesses or other health needs may need additional support
to continue their education, such as alternative provision provided by the local authority.
Local authorities are responsible for arranging suitable education for children of
compulsory school age who, because of health reasons, would otherwise not receive
suitable education. Please see further information on supporting pupils with medical
conditions at school.
42. In all cases, schools should be sensitive and avoid stigmatising pupils and
parents and they should talk to pupils and parents and understand how they feel and
what they think would help improve their attendance to develop individual approaches
that meet an individual pupil’s specific needs.
Part-time timetables
43. All pupils of compulsory school age are entitled to a full-time education. In very
exceptional circumstances, where it is in a pupil’s best interests, there may be a need
for a temporary part-time timetable to meet their individual needs. For example, where a
medical condition prevents a pupil from attending full-time education and a part-time
timetable is considered as part of a re-integration package. A part-time timetable should
not be used to manage a pupil’s behaviour.
44. A part-time timetable must only be in place for the shortest time necessary and
not be treated as a long-term solution. Any pastoral support programme or other
agreement should have a time limit by which point the pupil is expected to attend full-
time, either at school or alternative provision. There should also be formal arrangements
in place for regularly reviewing it with the pupil and their parents. In agreeing to a part-
time timetable, a school has agreed to a pupil being absent from school for part of the
week or day and therefore must treat absence as authorised.
19
Share information and work collaboratively with other schools
in the area, local authorities and other partners when absence
is at risk of becoming persistent or severe
45. All schools should work with the local communities (including voluntary and
community groups) to help remove the barriers to attendance that families experience.
In some cases, families will experience the same or similar barriers to attendance for
multiple children who attend different schools in the area. As such, it is of mutual benefit
for such schools to work together where possible. This will be particularly beneficial in
supporting transition between feeder schools.
46. Schools of all types, local authorities and other local partners should work jointly
and share data on individual cases where it is of benefit to the pupil (e.g. health services
where there are medical conditions or the police where there are extra-familial harms).
Local authorities and schools (of all types) are expected to have a regular Targeting
Support Meetings at least termly. Further, to facilitate timely collaborative working
across partners, all schools are also legally required to share information from their
registers with the local authority. As a minimum this includes:
• Every time a pupil’s name is to be added to, or deleted from, the school admission
register outside of standard transition times (including the statutory reason for
deletion). For deletions this must take place before the deletion, and for additions it
must be no later than 5 working days after the addition.
• The name and address of any pupil who fails to attend school regularly or has
missed school for 10 days or more without the absence being recorded as
authorised. Local authorities should agree the frequency this must be shared with
all schools in their area. This should be no less frequently than once per calendar
month.
47. Local authorities may seek, and schools are expected to provide, more frequent
or comprehensive sharing of data than the statutory minimum where it is essential to
fulfilling their obligations under the Education Acts and the expectations set out in
Section 4 of this guidance. To avoid any unnecessary burdens for schools this should
always be automatic from school registers and not require additional manual data
collection/ returns (e.g. through a data aggregator directly from management
information systems). This collaboration allows local authorities to facilitate quicker,
more efficient joint working and better target their area wide attendance strategy.
48. Similarly, whilst the law provides access to registers of maintained schools for
local authority officers who need access to fulfil their obligations under the Education
Acts, all schools, regardless of whether or not they are covered by that legislation, are
still expected to provide the local authority with access to support joint working between
schools, trusts and local authorities.
20
49. The pandemic highlighted the importance of regular data sharing and therefore
DfE has been working to establish a better, more timely flow of pupil level attendance
data across schools, trusts, local authorities, and DfE, without placing any additional
administrative burdens on schools. Most schools have already signed up, but once fully
established, this will allow data to be collected directly from all schools’ electronic
registers. Collection happens via a secure data aggregator at no cost to schools and
without requiring any manual inputting of information. Following a voluntary trial earlier
this year, all schools are now strongly advised to sign up to this service which the
Secretary of State intends to make a statutory requirement when parliamentary time
allows.
50. Longer term DfE’s intention is for this new method of data sharing to replace
existing statutory data returns to local authorities and DfE, including the school census.
This will reduce the burden on schools and improve our collective understanding of
attendance patterns at local, regional, and national levels to identify issues and
challenges more quickly.
21
Section 3: Expectations of academy trust boards and
governing bodies of maintained schools
51. Improving attendance requires constant focus, and effective whole school
approaches require regular ongoing support, guidance, and challenge. We therefore
expect all trusts and governing bodies to:
• Recognise the importance of school attendance and promote it across the school’s
ethos and policies.
• Ensure school leaders fulfil expectations and statutory duties.
• Regularly review attendance data, discuss, and challenge trends, and help school
leaders focus improvement efforts on the individual pupils or cohorts who need it
most.
• Ensure school staff receive adequate training on attendance.
52. Multi-academy trust boards and governing bodies of federations are also
expected to:
• Share effective practice on attendance management and improvement across
schools.
53. Whilst it is expected that all trusts and governing bodies will provide support
covering these areas, the approach to delivering it should be proportionate to the size of
the group of schools and type of school(s) within it.
Recognise the importance of school attendance and promote it
across the school’s ethos and policies
54. Improving school attendance begins at board level, therefore all academy trust
boards, and governing bodies of maintained schools should take an active role in
attendance improvement, support their school(s) to prioritise attendance, and work
together with school leaders to set whole school attendance cultures. This should
include:
• Setting high expectations of all leaders, staff, pupils, and parents.
• Recognising that attendance improvement does not happen in isolation and
therefore ensuring it is prioritised in wider improvement strategies, such as raising
attainment, behaviour, special educational needs and disabilities, wellbeing, and
safeguarding. This may include having a link governor or trustee that focusses on
attendance.
22
• Ensuring the schools’ attendance management processes are delivered effectively,
and that consistent attendance support is provided for pupils who require it most by
prioritising the staff and resources needed. This includes ensuring schools engage
and work effectively with the local authority School Attendance Support Team and
wider local partners and services.
• Ensuring high aspirations are maintained for all pupils, but that processes and
support are adapted to the individual needs of particular pupils. This includes those
with long term illnesses, special educational needs and disabilities, pupils with a
social worker and pupils from cohorts with historically lower attendance such as
those eligible for free school meals.
• Repeatedly evaluating the effectiveness of their school(s)’ processes and
improvement efforts to ensure they are meeting the needs of pupils as experiences
and barriers to attendance evolve.
55. In addition, multi-academy trusts and federation governing bodies should identify
and monitor attendance patterns across their schools to identify common issues and
barriers and share effective practice between schools. For trusts whose schools are
geographically concentrated, this may also include sharing of staff and other resources
between schools in the area (especially where a member of staff is supporting pupils
from the same family but at different schools run by the trust).
56. For larger trusts, this may include having a dedicated attendance lead and/or
central attendance staff who can drive attendance improvement across the trust, work
more intensively with the schools who require it, and act as a central contact point for
schools with attendance queries. All trusts may also find it useful to liaise with DfE’s
regional teams for advice about wider support programmes.
Ensure school leaders fulfil expectations and statutory duties
57. As the proprietor of a school, academy trusts and governing bodies of maintained
schools are ultimately responsible for ensuring due regard to guidance and compliance
with the law on school attendance. All trusts and governing bodies should therefore
ensure their schools:
• Have an attendance policy which meets the expectations outlined in section 1, and
which is published and publicised regularly so that it is easily accessible to pupils,
parents and staff. Some trusts and federations may wish to have one attendance
policy which covers all their schools. Whilst this can be useful in sharing effective
practice, the attendance policy should be tailored to the needs of each individual
school and the barriers to attendance pupils experience as identified through
analysis of school level attendance data.
• Record attendance accurately in the register (see section 8) and share the required
information with DfE and local authorities.
23
• Work effectively with local partners to help remove the barriers to attendance that
go beyond the school gates, including building strong links with local statutory
services (including social care, health and police) and the voluntary and community
sector.
Regularly reviewing attendance data, discussing and
challenging trends, and helping school leaders focus
improvement efforts on the individual pupils or cohorts who
need it most
58. All trusts and governing bodies should provide support and challenge to their
schools around current trends on attendance in the school community, by:
• Regularly reviewing attendance data at board meetings. This should include
thorough examination of recent and historic trends at a school level as well as
benchmarking to comparator schools within the trust, local authority area, region
and nationwide.
• Paying particular attention to attendance of pupil cohorts within their school(s) that
have historically had poor attendance or that face entrenched barriers to
attendance. This should be specific to the school’s context, but may include pupils
who have a social worker, are from a background or ethnicity where attendance has
historically been low, have a long-term medical condition, special educational needs
or a disability, or are eligible for free school meals.
• Working with school leaders to set goals or areas of focus for attendance and
providing support and challenge around delivery against those focus areas.
59. In addition, for schools that are struggling with their attendance, academy trust
boards and governing bodies of maintained schools should work with school leaders to
develop a comprehensive attendance action plan to improve attendance. This should be
evaluated and reviewed regularly. This may form part of a wider school improvement
plan, including where appropriate school-to-school support from system leaders.
60. Multi-academy trusts and governing bodies of federations may also wish to hold
termly attendance review meetings with each individual school and/or ask them to
report on their attendance at defined intervals.
Ensure school staff receive adequate training on attendance
61. Improving attendance requires knowledge of guidance and regulations but also
expertise in working with families to remove barriers to attendance and safeguard
pupils. Just as those barriers are regularly evolving, so too is the training that school
staff require to address them. All trusts and governing bodies should therefore ensure
that:
24
• Training on attendance is included in the school(s)’ continued professional
development offer for all staff, and that attendance is covered in any trust/federation
wide induction packs. As a minimum this should include all staff understanding:
o the importance of good attendance and that absence is almost always a
symptom of wider circumstances,
o the law and requirements of schools including on the keeping of registers,
o the school/trusts’ strategies and procedures for tracking, following up and
improving attendance,
o and the processes for working with other partners to provide more intensive
support to pupils who need it.
• Dedicated attendance training is provided to any staff with a specified attendance
function in their role, including administrative, pastoral or family support staff and
senior leaders. In addition, this should include:
o the necessary skills to interpret and analyse attendance data,
o and any additional training that would be beneficial to support pupils and pupil
cohorts overcome commonly seen barriers to attendance.
Share effective practice on attendance management and
improvement across schools
62. One of the most successful approaches to improving attendance is the sharing of
effective practice between schools. Multi-academy trusts and federation governing
bodies are, therefore, expected to provide regular opportunities to bring together staff
from different schools to learn from each other’s attendance expertise and share
effective interventions.
63. This should be tailored to the needs of their schools and pupils but as a minimum
could include, sharing exemplar resources and documents such as communications to
pupils and parents, regular networking or Q&A sessions, and topical best practice
training or webinars.
64. This is in addition to the expectation of local authorities to provide opportunities
to schools of all types within a geographical area to come together to share effective
practice (see section 4).
25
Section 4: Expectations of local authorities
65. Schools and academy trusts have a crucial role in raising attendance for all their
pupils. They also have a protective role in being best placed to spot early patterns of
poor attendance for persistent absentees. Individual pupils’ barriers to attendance,
however, often go far beyond the school gates. Persistent absence is almost always a
symptom of wider issues in a pupil’s life, and barriers to attendance are often specific to
local contexts.
66. The local authority, statutory safeguarding partners and other local partners
therefore have a crucial role in supporting pupils to overcome those barriers and
ensuring all children can access the full-time education to which they are entitled. Local
authorities are facilitators of wider support needed by individual families and schools to
overcome barriers in the short term. They are also strategic leaders that work across a
geographical area to remove barriers in the longer term.
67. As local authorities vary significantly in size, organisational approach and
demographics, it is right that the specifics of attendance service delivery and how those
roles are discharged should be determined locally to meet local needs of pupils,
parents, and schools. As a minimum, however, all local authorities are expected to:
• Rigorously track local attendance data to devise a strategic approach to
attendance that prioritises the pupils, pupil cohorts and schools on which to provide
support and focus its efforts on to unblock area wide barriers to attendance.
• Have a School Attendance Support Team which provides the following core
functions free of charge to all schools (regardless of type):
o Communication and advice: regularly bring schools together to communicate
messages, provide advice and share best practice between schools and trusts
within the area.
o Targeting Support Meetings: hold termly conversations with schools, using
their attendance data to identify pupils and cohorts at risk of poor attendance
and agree targeted actions and access to services for those pupils.
o Multi-disciplinary support for families: provide access to early help support
workers to work intensively with families to provide practical whole-family
support where needed to tackle the causes of absenteeism and unblock the
barriers to attendance.
o Legal intervention: take forward attendance legal intervention (using the full
range of parental responsibility measures) where voluntary support has not been
successful or engaged with.
• Monitor and improve the attendance of children with a social worker through
their Virtual School.
26
68. Many local authorities will need time to transition to meet these expectations,
including those that need to revise or bring to an end models of trading or service level
agreements. Therefore, whilst local authorities should meet these expectations as far as
possible for academic year 2022-2023, the School Attendance Support Team should be
available to all schools free of charge (and free from any service level agreement) by no
later than September 2023.
Rigorously track local attendance data to devise a strategic
approach to attendance that prioritises the pupils, pupil
cohorts and schools on which to provide support to and focus
its efforts on to unblock area wide barriers to attendance
69. Both addressing and ultimately removing the wider barriers to attendance
requires a strategic approach across local authority services. As such, all local
authorities are expected to have a clear strategic approach to their efforts on school
attendance that:
• Recognises the importance of good attendance across the council’s areas of
responsibility, including how attendance improvement is everyone’s business and
should be reflected and understood across wider services where appropriate.
• Makes attendance a key feature of all frontline council services, but especially
access to education services, early help, statutory social care, and the Virtual
School.
• Uses attendance data from all schools in the area to identify the pupil cohorts,
schools, and neighbourhoods/ towns on which to focus efforts. This should include
benchmarking against neighbouring local authorities (both geographic and
statistical) and regional and national averages to identify patterns and trends of
concern.
• Uses that analysis to set a clear vision for improving attendance across the
geographical area, underpinned by tangible short and longer term aims and
priorities for improving attendance for particular cohorts of pupils identified. This
should also include detail on how they will be achieved and by when.
• Is understood by all frontline operational staff in attendance and associated teams
(as a minimum this should include social workers, early help keyworkers, and youth
justice teams) as well as local partners (both statutory and voluntary including
police and integrated care boards). This should include an understanding of which
people and teams are responsible for each element of attendance delivery and how
teams and professionals will work together.
• Is resourced appropriately to develop and maintain the proposed approach.
• Is regularly evaluated, discussed, and reviewed, involving both senior officers and
lead members. This should also include input from service users, schools and
partners where appropriate.
27
• Provides statutory/voluntary sector partners and schools (including trusts, governing
bodies, and school leaders) with an opportunity to shape the aims and priorities for
improvement.
School Attendance Support Team
70. All local authorities are expected to have a School Attendance Support Team
that works with all schools in its area (regardless of type). There is no requirement for a
specific service delivery model or name, but each local authority is expected to provide
the 4 core functions outlined below free of charge to all schools. These core functions
should not, therefore, be traded or require service level agreements from schools. This
does not mean local authorities cannot trade other elements of attendance
management and improvement to schools and trusts, for example delivery of school
level responsibilities (as set out in section 1) or training for attendance staff.
71. The core functions to be provided to all schools are:
Communication and advice
72. Good communication and sharing of effective practice are essential to good
multi-agency working. Local authorities are therefore expected to:
• Circulate clear guidance on how schools, the School Attendance Support Team and
other partners should work together to provide intensive voluntary and/or formal
support for individual pupils and families. This should include clarity around what
support schools should already have offered and the point at which the local
authority will become involved in individual cases and how the local authority and
school will share responsibility in line with the summary of responsibilities table.
• Provide each school with a named point of contact in the School Attendance
Support Team who can support with queries and advice, and with whom Targeting
Support Meetings will be held.
• Maintain relationships with school leaders and offer opportunities for all schools
(regardless of type) to regularly come together to share effective attendance
practice. This is not intended to be resource intensive and can happen in person or
online (including through newsletters, webinars, or virtual drop-in sessions). The
frequency should be determined by local demand but should not normally be less
than termly. It may be useful to include representatives of other partners and
services in these briefings or sessions such as health, youth justice and children’s
services.
• Show leadership and work together with all schools to tackle common issues across
the geographical area. This may include agreeing common practices to issues such
as term time holidays or follow up for persistent lateness so that families receive the
same approach if they have children at several schools.
28
Targeting Support Meetings
73. As patterns of attendance are habitual, early identification and support is
essential for individual pupils in need of help. Where barriers go beyond the classroom,
this requires schools, local authorities, and other partners to work together to put joint
support in place as quickly as possible. To enable this to happen, all local authorities
are expected to:
• Organise termly Targeting Support Meetings with each school in their area so the
school’s attendance leads and their point of contact in the local authority’s School
Attendance Support Team can identify, discuss, and agree joint targeted actions for
pupils who are persistently or severely absent and those at risk of becoming so.
This should include agreeing what support the LA will provide and which (if any)
other statutory or voluntary services should become involved.
• Use these meetings to build strong relationships and work collaboratively with the
school’s attendance leads, including providing advice on recording in the register,
accessing services or the wider area-wide attendance approach.
74. The meeting may also include helping a school to identify areas to focus on in
their school policies or approaches where they seek it. This may include help with
analysing their own data, comparing themselves to other schools in the geographical
area or considering how they may learn from or work with other schools who have faced
similar patterns or trends.
75. In areas where scheduled ‘Team Around the School’ meetings already take place
between the school, local authority, and other partners, the school’s point of contact in
the local authority’s School Attendance Support Team may join the existing meeting
instead of having a separate Targeting Support Meeting for that school.
Multi-disciplinary support for families
76. Where barriers to attendance for a pupil or family are complex and signposting to
services is not sufficient, schools, local authorities, and other services should work
together to provide more intensive whole family support to address them as soon as it
becomes clear they would benefit from it. Schools and local authorities are also
specifically expected to have agreed a joint approach for all severely absent pupils.
77. Multi-disciplinary support should build on the existing early help offer in local
authorities rather than requiring additional resource. In line with early help principles, the
family should receive a single assessment, plan, and where necessary, a single lead
practitioner. This should be from the team or service best placed to support the family
and their needs, which may be the school, a local authority team or service or another
statutory partner such as a health professional. For example, in the case of a pupil
experiencing barriers to attendance because of a housing issue, the lead practitioner
may more sensibly be the family’s housing officer.
29
78. Rather than holding significant numbers of cases, the School Attendance
Support Team should support and advise the family’s lead practitioner on any
attendance related elements of the plan, be part of the team around the family if
necessary, and step in to lead any formal support or legal intervention when required.
This could include acting as the responsible officer if support is formalised in a parenting
contract, education supervision order or parenting order (see section 5). A member of
the team may, however, act as lead practitioner if they are the most appropriate person.
79. To facilitate effective multi-disciplinary support for families, the School
Attendance Support Team is also expected to:
• Provide schools with information on how to raise concerns and make referrals to
early help (and other services) outside of their Targeting Support Meetings so
families receive the support they require as quickly as possible.
• Build strong relationships with a range of services and partners that can help with
specific barriers to attendance and how to access them. This is likely to include
health, youth justice, voluntary and community sector, early help, children’s social
care, local safeguarding partnerships, special educational needs, educational
psychologists, and housing support. The team should meet regularly with leads
from these services and ensure they know what their role is in attendance support,
why it is important and how they fit into the local authority’s wider strategy on
attendance. They should also help coordinate strategies and messages on
attendance in other partners to improve consistency of approach.
• Build effective data sharing opportunities with different partners as part of the
overall data sharing/ governance arrangements in the local partnership to ensure a
joined-up approach. Where this is not possible, the team should facilitate
opportunities for professionals to come together to coordinate support (such as via
case conferencing).
• Work closely with local mental health services, school level senior mental health
leads (including school based Mental Health Support Teams where in place), the
local School Nursing Service and the local authority’s special educational needs
and disability team(s) to ensure joined up support for families facing health or
disability related barriers to attendance.
80. Effective multi-agency working on attendance within the local authority and wider
partnership requires several key principles to be in place to be effective. These are:
• A collaborative culture across early help services that puts the needs of the pupil
and wider family at the core of its action (not the service delivery).
• Combined staff training and development across early help services, so all staff
understand the importance of absence as a symptom of wider need and the
benefits of improving attendance to effective outcomes for the whole family.
• Common systems and processes across all local authority family facing teams,
including single assessment, planning and case management.
30
• Setting clear ‘success measures’ as part of individual and family plans and jointly
owning these across all services working with the family.
• An integrated management structure between the local authority’s School
Attendance Support team and other early help services.
• Where families have multiple needs, aligning of the routes to support to ensure that
they receive a holistic, co-ordinated package of support in order to increase the
chance of successful outcomes.
Legal intervention
81. Where all voluntary support options are unsuccessful or are not appropriate (e.g.
an unauthorised holiday in term time), the local authority’s school Attendance Support
Team should liaise with school and the early help lead practitioner or social worker
(where applicable) to take forward attendance legal intervention in line with section 5 to
formalise support and/or enforce attendance. All local authorities are therefore expected
to:
• Understand and make use of formal support options including parenting contracts
and education supervision orders and use them fairly and consistently.
• Set out clearly for pupils, parents, and schools when and how attendance legal
intervention will be used where voluntary support is not appropriate, or where
absence was not for legitimate reasons and support has not been engaged with
and/or been successful.
• Secure effective joint working between the School Attendance Support Team and
statutory children’s social care services to work together where there are
safeguarding concerns or absence becomes severe. This should include building
attendance expectations into children in need and child protection plans where
appropriate or considering developing a plan as an intensification of support where
formalised attendance support (such as an education supervision order) is no
longer sufficient or has not been effective.
• Issue fixed penalty notices in line with local codes of conduct where absence was
unauthorised and support has been provided but has not worked or been engaged
with, or would not have been appropriate in the circumstances of the offence (e.g.
an unauthorised holiday in term time).
• Take forward attendance prosecution as a last resort where all other routes have
been exhausted or deemed inappropriate.
31
Monitor and improve the attendance of children with a social worker
through their Virtual School Head
82. In addition to the benefits for all pupils, good attendance at school also provides
an additional safeguard for vulnerable pupils. Absence for pupils with a social worker,
however, has been historically higher, with a quarter of children who have ever needed
a social worker persistently absent compared to less than 10% of those who had never
been in need
5
.
83. It is therefore important that we redouble efforts to improve attendance for this
group and build on the progress made by Virtual School Heads since the expansion of
the programme to provide strategic oversight of the education of pupils with a social
worker. As such, local authorities are expected to make use of their Virtual Schools to:
• Regularly monitor the attendance of children with a social worker in their area,
including those looked-after by the local authority.
• Set aspirational targets for attendance of pupils with a social worker in the area, and
put in place personal education plans for pupils looked-after.
• Provide training for designated teachers about their role in promoting the
attendance of children who have ever needed a social worker.
• Secure regular attendance of looked-after children as their corporate parent and
provide advice and guidance about the importance of attendance to those services
supporting pupils previously looked after.
• Work across children’s social care services to make sure all social workers
recognise the importance of good school attendance, and that attendance is built
into every child in need or child protection plan where attendance is a concern.
84. To facilitate effective working across the local authority, schools are expected to
inform a pupil’s social worker if there are unexplained absences from school. Children
missing education officers or a school’s point of contact in the School Attendance
Support Team should also inform a pupil’s social worker if their name is to be deleted
from the school register.
5
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/children-in-need-of-help-and-protection-data-and-analysis
32
Section 5: Persistent and severe absence
85. Where absence escalates and pupils miss 10% or more of school (equivalent to
1 day or more a fortnight across a full school year), schools and local authorities are
expected to work together to put additional targeted support in place to remove any
barriers to attendance and reengage these pupils. In doing so, schools should
sensitively consider some of the reasons for absence and understand the importance of
school as a place of safety and support for children who might be facing difficulties,
rather than reaching immediately for punitive approaches.
86. Particular focus should be given by all partners to pupils who are absent from
school more than they are present (those missing 50% or more of school). These
severely absent pupils may find it more difficult to be in school or face bigger barriers to
their regular attendance and as such are likely to need more intensive support across a
range of partners. A concerted effort is therefore needed across all relevant services to
prioritise them. All partners should work together to make this group the top priority for
support – this may include specific support with attendance or a whole family plan, but it
may also include consideration for an education, health and care plan or an alternative
form of educational provision where necessary to overcome the barriers to being in
school.
87. If all avenues of support have been facilitated by schools, local authorities, and
other partners, and the appropriate educational support or placements (e.g. an
education, health and care plan) have been provided but severe absence for
unauthorised reasons continues, it is likely to constitute neglect. Schools and local
authorities should be especially conscious of any potential safeguarding issues in these
cases and where these remain, conduct a full children’s social care assessment.
Further information is available in the statutory guidance on Keeping Children Safe in
Education.
88. In all cases, schools and local authorities are expected to make patterns of both
persistent and severe absence a focus of their regular data monitoring and identify
pupils and cohorts who need targeted attendance support as quickly as possible. Both
persistent and severe absence should also be central to school, trust, and local
authority level strategies for improving attendance.
33
PUPILS AT RISK OF POOR
ATTENDANCE Using attendance and
absence data rigorously to support pupils
with increasing levels of absence, arriving
at school late or taking leave in term time
without permission before it becomes a
regular pattern
ALL PUPILS Developing good attendance
patterns through effective whole school
approach to attendance (including leadership,
ethos and systems and processes)
PREVENTION of
poor attendance
through good whole
school attendance
management
EARLY
INTERVENTION
to reduce absence
before it becomes
habitual
PUPILS WITH POOR
ATTENDANCE Intervening as early
as possible and agreeing an action
plan for pupils with high levels of
absence and those demonstrating
growing disengagement with school
TARGETED
reengagement
of persistent
and severely
absent pupils
PERSISTENTLY AND
SEVERELY ABSENT PUPILS
Put additional targeted support in
place, where necessary working
with partners, and agree a joint
approach with local authorities for
all severely absent pupils
Effective school attendance improvement and management
34
Section 6: Attendance legal intervention
89. As absence is so often a symptom of wider issues a family is facing, schools,
trusts and local authorities should always work together with other local partners to
understand the barriers to attendance and provide support. Where that is not
successful, or is not engaged with, the law protects pupils’ right to an education and
provides a range of legal interventions to formalise attendance improvement efforts, and
where all other avenues have been exhausted, enforce it through prosecuting parents.
Attendance legal intervention can only be used for pupils of compulsory school age and
decisions should be made on an individual case by case basis.
FORMAL
SUPPORT
A formal
parenting
contract
agreed by the
pupil, parent,
school and/or
local authority
Progressing to
a legally
binding
Education
Supervision
Order in the
Family Court if
there is non-
engagement
and deemed
necessary
STATUTORY
CHILDREN’S SOCIAL
CARE INVOLVEMENT
Where there are
safeguarding concerns
and an Education
Supervision Order is not
appropriate or has not
been successful the
case should be
considered for s.17 or
s.47 statutory social care
involvement
VOLUNTARY
SUPPORT
Helping parents to
access services
of their own
accord and/or a
voluntary whole
family plan to
tackle the barriers
to attendance
ATTENDANCE
PROSECUTION
Where all other routes
have failed or are not
deemed appropriate, the
case should be
considered for
attendance prosecution
in the Magistrates Court
(or a FPN for irregular
attendance)
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90. Schools, trusts and local authorities are expected to work together and make use
of the full range of legal interventions rather than relying solely on fixed penalty notices
or prosecution. It is for individual schools and local authorities to decide whether to use
them in an individual case after considering the individual circumstances of a family.
These are:
• Parenting contracts
• Education supervision orders
• Attendance prosecution
• Parenting orders
• Fixed penalty notices
91. Where they are used, it should be clear that it will change parental behaviour and
in making the decision to use an intervention, headteachers and local authority officers
should have regard to their safeguarding duties as set out in the statutory guidance on
Keeping Children Safe in Education.
92. Schools and local authorities should decide which parent(s) to involve in
attendance legal intervention, but generally this should be all parents who have day to
day responsibility for the child.
93. Where a pupil attends school in one local authority area and lives in another, the
local authority for the area where the child attends school should normally take the lead
in any action to improve attendance. All local authorities should make arrangements for
coordination on such cases with neighbouring authorities. This should include a
discussion with the Virtual School Head for the local authority in which the pupil lives if
they are looked-after or they have a social worker.
Parenting Contracts
Purpose of parenting contracts and when they may be appropriate
94. A parenting contract is a formal written agreement between a parent and either
the school (with the exception of independent schools and non-maintained special
schools) or local authority to address irregular attendance at school or alternative
provision. A contract is not legally binding but allows a more formal route to secure
engagement with support where a voluntary early help plan has not worked or is not
deemed appropriate. A parenting contract is not a punitive tool it is intended to provide
support and offer an alternative to prosecution. Parents cannot be compelled to enter a
contract, and they cannot be agreed in a parent’s absence.
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95. There is no obligation on the school or local authority to offer a contract, and it
may not be appropriate in every instance, but a contract should always be explored
before moving forward to an education supervision order or prosecution.
96. The aim from the outset should be for the parent(s), and the pupil where they are
old enough, the school and the local authority to work in partnership. Where a school
and/or local authority decide to use a parenting contract, a meeting should be arranged
with the parent(s). It should include the pupil if they are old enough to understand. The
meeting should explain the purpose of a parenting contract and why using one would be
beneficial in the family’s circumstances. The parent(s) should be asked to outline their
views on the pupil’s attendance at school, any underlying issues and how they believe
these should be addressed. The meeting should also allow them to share their views on
the idea of a parenting contract and what type of support they think would be helpful to
secure the pupil’s regular attendance. Where a parent fails to attend the meeting
without good reason or notification, further attempts should be made to contact them
and arrange another meeting but all attempts at support should be recorded.
97. One parenting contract may be arranged with all parents, or in circumstances
where it is desirable to have different requirements for each parent then separate
parenting contracts for each parent should be arranged.
Contents of a parenting contract
98. All parenting contracts should contain:
• Details of the requirements the parent(s) is expected to comply with.
• A statement from the school and/or local authority agreeing to provide support to
the parent(s) to meet the requirements and setting out details of the support.
• A statement by the parent that they agree to comply with the requirements for the
period of time specified by the contract.
99. The requirements specified, and the support provided, will depend on the
individual case, and should be tailored to the needs of the individual parent and family.
There is not, therefore, a prescribed list, but requirements may include:
• Measures to ensure the pupil attends school or alternative provision punctually and
regularly
• Requiring the parent to attend meetings with the school and/or local authority
• Accessing or partaking in the support or programmes offered
• Working with or accessing other separate support provided to the pupil at school
level (e.g. being on report)
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100. The support provided to help the parent satisfy those requirements may include:
• Provision of a lead practitioner to support the family
• Signposting or referrals to wider local authority or health services that might support
the family (e.g. housing needs, drug and alcohol support)
• Signposting or referrals to voluntary and community sector programmes or support
(e.g. foodbanks or community support groups)
• Formal interventions such as family group conferencing, peer mentoring or literacy
classes
• Support and advisory services (e.g. benefit support)
• Formal parenting programmes (e.g. a course with a specified number of sessions)
101. Parenting contracts do not have a minimum or maximum duration. Each
individual contract should set out the duration it will be in place, and most are for
between 3 and 12 months but can be longer if needed.
102. Once the requirements and support elements of the contract have been agreed,
the school and/or local authority and the parent should write up the contract together
and sign it. The contract should be written in language that the parent can easily
understand (including a translation where necessary). All parties, including other
partners working with the family, should be given a copy.
Non-compliance with a parenting contract
103. The school and/or local authority should work with the parent to gain their
cooperation and compliance throughout the parenting contract process.
104. Where a parent does not comply with the requirements set out in the contract,
the lead practitioner should contact the parent and seek an explanation and decide
whether it is reasonable, and the contract remains useful. If the explanation shows that
the contract is proving difficult to comply with through no fault of the parent, then a
meeting should be arranged with the parent to review and amend it. Where no
explanation is given, or the lead practitioner is not satisfied with the explanation, they
should serve the parent with a warning to explain that the contract is not working and
may be terminated, and another course of action pursued, if the parent does not
engage. This may be in the form of a letter, and record of it should be kept.
105. If there are further instances of non-compliance, they should arrange a meeting
with the parent to review the contract and discuss how it can be made to work.
Following this meeting, the school and/or local authority should decide whether the non-
compliance is undermining the contract to the extent that it is no longer useful in which
case an alternative course of action (such as a different legal intervention) would need
to be decided upon. The decision and reasons should be recorded.
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106. Failure by the parent, school, or local authority to keep to the terms of the
parenting contract cannot lead to action for breach of contract or for civil damages.
There is no criminal sanction for a parent’s failure to comply with, or refusal to sign, a
parenting contract. If the pupil’s irregular attendance continues or escalates to the point
where prosecution is deemed appropriate, however, any failure or refusal may be
presented as evidence in the case. It is therefore important that any non-compliance
with the contract is recorded so that it can be presented in court if necessary.
Education Supervision Orders
Purpose of ESOs and when they may be appropriate
107. Where a voluntary early help plan, or formal parenting contract has not been
successful, an Education Supervision Order (ESO) can be a useful alternative to
provide formal legal intervention without criminal prosecution. In deciding whether to
progress to an ESO, the school and local authority should have exhausted voluntary
support and be clear that making the order would be beneficial for the pupil and parent.
Where safeguarding concerns exist, the lead practitioner should also discuss with the
school’s designated safeguarding lead and children’s social care services and agree an
ESO would be a more suitable option than a s.17 (Children in Need) or s.47 (Child
Protection) plan. In all cases, local authorities must fully consider using an ESO before
moving forward to prosecution.
108. ESOs are made through the Family or High Court, rather than Magistrates Court.
They give the local authority a formal role in advising, helping and directing the pupil
and parent(s) to ensure the pupil receives an efficient, full-time, suitable education. For
the duration of the ESO, the parent’s duties to secure the child’s education and regular
attendance are superseded by a duty to comply with any directions given by the local
authority under the ESO.
109. The order initially lasts for one year, but extensions can be secured within the
last 3 months for a period of up to 3 years at a time.
Contents of an ESO
110. If it is decided to progress with an ESO, the local authority should notify parents
in writing of the intention to consider an ESO and set up a meeting to discuss with the
parent (including the pupil if they are old enough to understand). Following the
conversation, the local authority should make its decision and inform the parent and
pupil of whether the case will be taken forward to court or not. Where the decision is to
proceed, this can be combined with the service of an application notice.
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111. Once an ESO is secured, an officer of the local authority should be chosen to act
as the supervisor of the order on the authority’s behalf; this does not need to be an
attendance officer, rather it should be whichever lead practitioner is working with the
family (including their social worker where appropriate). Schools should, however, work
in partnership with the local authority and whilst the designated supervisor (the local
authority) retains overall responsibility, schools can and should provide support and
supervision where appropriate.
112. The supervisor must determine any directions (requirements the parent must
adhere to) to give whilst the order is in force. There is not a prescribed list, but they may
include:
• Requiring the parent(s) to attend support meetings
• Requiring the parent(s) to attend a parenting programme or counselling
• Requiring the parent(s) to access support services
• Requiring an assessment by an educational psychologist
113. Review meetings involving all parties (including the school) should be held every
3 months throughout the period the ESO is in force. At these meetings any actions and
directions should be discussed and added or amended.
Non-compliance with an ESO
114. Where parents persistently fail to comply with the directions given under the
ESO, they may be guilty of an offence. Local authorities can prosecute in the
Magistrates Court for persistent non-compliance with the Order and parents (upon
conviction) will be liable to a fine of up to £1,000.
115. The lead officer should also raise persistent failure to comply with children’s
social care services and work together to investigate the circumstances of the pupil and
decide whether it is appropriate for any further action to be taken (including statutory
social care involvement) to secure their welfare.
Attendance Prosecution
Purpose of prosecution and when it may be appropriate
116. If a child of compulsory school age fails to attend regularly at a school at which
they are registered, or at a place where alternative provision is provided for them, their
parents may be guilty of an offence and can be prosecuted by the local authority.
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117. Prosecution in the Magistrates Court is the last resort where all other voluntary
and formal support or legal intervention has failed or where support has been deemed
inappropriate in the circumstances of the individual case. Where it is decided to pursue
prosecution, only local authorities can prosecute parents and they must fund all
associated costs, including in the preparation of court documentation.
118. Local authorities have the power to prosecute:
• Parents who fail to comply with a school attendance order issued by the local
authority to require a parent to get their child registered at a named school (under
section 443 of the Education Act 1996). This may result in a fine of up to level 3
(£1,000).
• Parents who fail to secure their child’s regular attendance at a school, for which
there are 2 separate offences: section 444(1) where a parent fails to secure the
child’s regular attendance; and section 444(1A) where a parent knows that the child
is failing to attend school regularly and fails to ensure the child does so. The section
444(1) offence may result in a fine of up to level 3 (£1,000) and the section 444(1A)
offence my result in a fine of up to level 4 (£2,500), and/or a community order or
imprisonment of up to 3 months.
• Parents who fail to secure the regular attendance of their child at a place where the
local authority or governing body has arranged alternative provision (under sections
444 and 444ZA). This may result in a fine of up to level 3 (£1,000), or if the parent is
found to have known the child was not attending regularly and failed to ensure that
they did so, a fine of up to level 4 (£2,500), and/or a community order or
imprisonment of up to 3 months.
• Parents who persistently fail to comply with directions under an Education
Supervision Order (under Schedule 3 to the Children Act 1989) or breach a
Parenting Order or directions under the order (under section 375 of the Sentencing
Act 2020). These may result in a fine of up to level 3 (£1,000).
119. The decision to prosecute rests solely with the LA as an independent prosecuting
authority, but in deciding whether to prosecute the local authority may wish to consider:
• The level of engagement from the parent and whether prosecution is the only
avenue left to demonstrate the severity of the issue to the parent and/or cause
parental engagement with the support they require.
• Whether all other legal interventions have been considered and are not appropriate
or have been tried and have not worked.
• Whether statutory children’s social care intervention would be more appropriate in
the case (including a Child in Need or Child Protection Plan), especially where
absence is severe.
• The parent(s)’ response to formal warning(s) and/or evidence given in the interview
under caution – including any statutory exemptions to prosecution that might apply
(see below).
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• The Attorney General’s guidelines for public prosecutors, including public interest
tests and equalities considerations.
120. The 1996 Act also sets out the circumstances in which a pupil has not failed to
attend school regularly and therefore the parent has not committed an offence under
section 444(1) or (1A) of the Act (the statutory defences). These are:
• The parent proves the pupil was prevented from attending by their ill health or any
unavoidable cause, including exclusion.
• The pupil has been granted leave of absence by the school or, in the case of
alternative provision, by a person authorised to do so.
• The absence was on a day set aside for religious observance by the religious body
to which the pupil’s parent(s) belong.
• The parent proves the local authority were under a duty to provide transport to the
school and have failed to do so.
• If the school is an independent school, the parent proves that the school is not in
walking distance of the pupil’s home and the local authority have not made suitable
arrangements for the child to either board at the school or be admitted to a state-
funded school closer to home.
• If the absence was from certain types of alternative provision, the parent proves the
child is receiving education otherwise than by regular attendance.
• If the absence was from alternative provision, the parent had not been notified
about the provision in writing before the absence.
• If the child has no fixed abode and the parent can prove that their trade / business
requires them to travel, and the child has attended school as regularly as the nature
of the trade or business permits, and (if the child is 6 or over) the child has attended
school for at least 200 sessions during the preceding 12 months up to and including
the date on which the proceedings were instituted.
Investigations and Court presentation
121. Any prosecution case must be laid before the Court within 6 months of the
alleged offence. Parents should be prosecuted by the local authority for the area where
the pupil attends school or that has made the alternative provision and the case should
be heard in the Magistrates Court for the same area. In taking forward a prosecution
and preparing for Court, local authorities should consider the Attorney General’s
Guidelines for Crown Prosecutors in all cases. Local authorities must also conduct all
investigations in accordance with the Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) Act 1984.
This includes fully considering public interest tests and duties under the Equality Act
2010.
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122. Before beginning any legal proceedings, the parent should be given a formal
written notification, explaining the process and potential consequences. This should be
followed by application to the Magistrates Court for a hearing date and a summons to
be issued. The local authority should then serve the summons on the parent, either in
person or by first class post. Alongside the summons, the parent should receive a copy
of the witness statement taken at the interview under caution.
123. In presenting the case in Court, the local authority should set out clearly and
concisely the facts of the case, including the offers of support that have been made and
why they failed. This includes why an ESO has not worked or has not been sought prior
to prosecution. Effective Court presentations will also demonstrate the impact of the
absence on the pupil and the family (including commentary on the harm and culpability)
to support the Court in reaching its decision.
124. If the parent is found guilty, in reaching their sentence the Magistrates will
consider all the relevant information presented to the Court and therefore where the
local authority believes a community order or parenting order would be beneficial, they
should make a case to the Court. Depending on the circumstances of the individual
case, such an order may change parental behaviour more successfully than a fine by
requiring the parent to engage in specific activities (such as accessing support
services), a parenting programme, or improving family routine through a curfew or
exclusion from a place or residence.
125. Local authorities are encouraged to build close relationships with local Courts to
ensure there is mutual understanding of powers and procedures. The Single Justice
Procedure should be used for the section 444(1) offence to allow face-to-face Court
time to be prioritised for the higher section 444(1A) offence.
Parenting Orders
Purpose of parenting orders and when they may be appropriate
126. Parenting orders are an ancillary order that can be imposed by the Court
following conviction for non-attendance alongside a fine and/or community order.
Parents’ agreement is not required before an order is made. They may be appropriate
where the parent has not engaged in support to improve their child’s attendance and
where compulsion to do so would help change parental behaviour.
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Contents of a parenting order
127. The order requires a parent to comply with the arrangements specified in the
order by the Court which can include a requirement for parents to attend counselling or
guidance sessions (e.g. parenting education or parenting support classes) where they
will receive help and support to enable them to improve their child’s attendance for up to
3 months.
128. All parenting orders must specify a ‘responsible officer’ which will be named on
the order. This should be the most appropriate lead practitioner working with the family.
Non-compliance with a parenting order
129. Any breach of the order could lead to a fine of up to level 3 (£1,000).
Fixed Penalty Notices
Purpose of fixed penalty notices and when they may be appropriate
130. Fixed penalty notices are served on parents as an alternative to prosecution
where they have failed to ensure that their child of compulsory school age regularly
attends the school where they are registered or at a place where alternative provision is
provided. Fixed penalty notices can be used by all schools (with the exception of
independent schools) where the pupil’s absence has not been authorised by the school
and the absence constitutes an offence. Fixed penalty notices can be issued to each
parent liable for the attendance offence or offences, which should usually be the parent
or parents with day to day responsibility for the pupil’s attendance.
131. Fixed penalty notices are intended to prevent the need for court action and
should only be used where a fixed penalty notice is deemed likely to change parental
behaviour and support to secure regular attendance has been provided and has not
worked or been engaged with, or would not have been appropriate in the circumstances
of the offence (e.g. an unauthorised holiday in term time).
132. Fixed penalty notices must be issued in line with the Education (Penalty Notices)
(England) Regulations 2007 and can only be issued by a headteacher or someone
authorised by them (a deputy or assistant head), a local authority officer or the police.
All schools and the police must send copies of fixed penalty notices issued to the local
authority.
133. Fixed penalty notices may also be issued where parents allow their child to be
present in a public place during school hours without reasonable justification during the
first 5 days of a fixed period or permanent exclusion. The parents must have been
notified by the school at the time of the exclusion the days that the child must not be
present in a public place.
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Code of conduct for issuing fixed penalty notices
134. Every local authority must draw up and is expected to publish on their website a
Code of Conduct for issuing fixed penalty notices which must be adhered to by all
schools, the police and any local authority officer issuing a penalty notice. In producing
or amending the Code of Conduct the local authority consult with schools and the
police.
135. To further underpin the principle of support first and improve the consistency of
approach for pupils and parents across the country, subject to Parliament, the Secretary
of State intends to introduce a national framework to replace individual codes of conduct
ahead of the 2023-24 academic year. Until then, each local authority’s Code must
continue to set out the situations where a fixed penalty notice is appropriate. These
should include: a number of unauthorised absences, one off instances of irregular
attendance (such as holidays taken during term time without the school’s permission)
and where an excluded child is found in a public place during school hours without a
justifiable reason. The code must also specify the maximum number of penalty notices
that may be issued to an individual parent in any 12 month period.
Payment of penalties
136. The penalty is £60 if paid within 21 days of receipt, rising to £120 if paid after 21
days but within 28 days. The payment must be paid direct to the local authority
regardless of who issued the penalty notice.
137. If the penalty is not paid by the end of the 28 day period, the local authority must
decide either to prosecute for the original offence to which the notice applies, or
withdraw the notice. Parent(s) can only be prosecuted if 28 days have expired, and full
payment has not been made.
138. There is no right of appeal by parents against a fixed penalty notice.
139. Monies collected through fixed penalty notices can only be used for the
administration of the fixed penalty notice system or for prosecuting for the original
offence in cases of non-payment. Any surplus at the end of the year must be returned to
the Secretary of State.
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Section 7: Contents of the admissions register (‘the
school roll’)
140. The school admission register, sometimes known as the ‘the school roll’, must be
kept in accordance with regulation 5 of the Education (Pupil Registration) (England)
Regulations 2006 as amended.
141. The names of all pupils (both compulsory and non-compulsory school age) must
be entered on the admission register.
142. The definition of a pupil is set out in section 3 of the Education Act 1996 – but
includes anyone who is receiving an education at the school except a person who is 19
or over for whom further education is being provided, or a person for whom part-time
education suitable for people over compulsory school age is being provided.
Expected First Day of Attendance
143. Schools must enter pupils on the admission register at the beginning of the first
day on which the school has agreed with, or been notified by the parent, that the pupil
will attend the school.
144. In the normal admissions round, when parents have accepted the school place
offered, the local authority can inform schools on behalf of the parent and notify the
school when the parent has agreed that the pupil will attend the school. This can also
be the case where the local authority co-ordinate in-year applications for school places.
145. If a pupil fails to attend school on the agreed starting day, the school must follow
this up and try to establish the reason for absence.
146. In accordance with regulation 12(3), (4) and (5) of the Education (Pupil
Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 as amended, a school must notify the local
authority within 5 days of adding a pupil’s name to the admission register and must
provide the local authority with all the information held within the admission register
about the pupil. This does not apply to pupils who are added to the admission register at
the start of the school’s youngest year (for example, pupils who are registered at
secondary school at the start of Year 7) unless the local authority requests such
information.
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Pupil Information
147. Schools must record personal details of every pupil at the school in the
admission register. The register must include the following information for every pupil:
• full name;
• sex;
• the full name and address of each of the pupil’s parents;
• which of the pupil’s parents the pupil normally lives with and at least one telephone
number by which each parent who the pupil normally lives with can be contacted in
an emergency. DfE’s advice is that where reasonably practicable, schools should
hold an emergency contact number for more than one person for each pupil;
• day, month and year of birth;
• day, month and year of admission or re-admission to the school;
• name and address of the school last attended, if any.
148. Where the school has boarding pupils, the admission register must state whether
each pupil of compulsory school age is a boarder or a day pupil.
Pupils with a new address and/or school
149. Where a parent of a pupil informs the school that the pupil will live at another
address, whether in addition to or instead of the address at which the pupil currently
lives, the school must ensure that the admission register contains:
• the full name of the parent the pupil will normally live with;
• the address; and
• the date when the pupil will start normally living there.
150. Where a parent of a pupil informs the school that the pupil is registered at
another school or will be attending a different school, the school must ensure that the
admission register contains:
• the name of the other school;
• the date when the pupil began or will begin attending that school.
Maintaining the Admission Register
151. It is vital that the admission register is kept up to date. Schools should encourage
parents to inform them of any changes whenever they occur and ensure the admission
register is amended as soon as possible.
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Deletion of names from Admission Register
152. A pupil’s name can only be deleted from the admission register for a reason set
out in regulation 8 of the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 as
amended. A pupil’s name must not be removed for any other reason and doing so
would constitute off-rolling.
153. In accordance with regulation 12(6) of the Education (Pupil Registration)
(England) Regulations 2006 as amended, a school must notify the local authority when
a pupil’s name is to be deleted from the admission register under any of the reasons set
out in regulation 8, as soon as the pupil’s name is to be deleted. This does not apply
where the pupil’s name is deleted after they have completed the school’s final year (for
example, pupils who leave primary school at the end of Year 6), unless the local
authority requests such information.
154. Where a school notifies the local authority that a pupil’s name is to be deleted
from the admission register, as set out in regulation 12(7), the school must provide the
local authority with the following information:
• the full name of the pupil;
• the full name and address of any parent the pupil normally lives with;
• at least one emergency telephone number of any parent the pupil normally lives
with;
• if applicable, the full name and address of the parent who the pupil is going to live
with, and the date the pupil will start living there;
• if applicable, the name of the pupil’s other school and when the pupil began or will
begin to attend the school;
• the reason set out in regulation 8 under which the pupil’s name is to be deleted from
the admission register.
Deleting the name of a pupil of compulsory school age
155. The only reasons where a pupil’s name shall be deleted are:
Ground A - a pupil has a School Attendance Order which has been changed to name
another school or revoked - regulation 8(1)(a)
156. Where the pupil is registered at the school as a result of a school attendance
order, but another school has now been named on that order or the order is revoked
because arrangements have been made for the child to receive suitable full-time
education for their age, ability and aptitude somewhere other than at a school.
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157. Where a school attendance order remains in force, the pupil’s name must not be
deleted for other reasons until the order is revoked or the name of the school amended.
This includes a request to electively home educate. If a parent has had their child
registered at the school to comply with an order but the pupil does not attend, the
school should discuss the case with the local authority and where appropriate take
steps to secure the regular attendance of the child as they would with any other case of
non-attendance.
Ground B - a pupil has been registered at another school - regulation 8(1)(b)
158. Where a pupil has been registered at another school, unless:
• a school attendance order naming the school is in force in relation to the pupil;
• the pupil is a child of no fixed abode and the school is their main school (see further
details below); or
• the school has agreed that the pupil should be a registered pupil at more than one
school.
Transfer between schools
159. Where a pupil is transferring to another school, the original school must delete a
pupil’s name from the admission register on the first day they are entered on the
admission register of the new school. The new school must enter the pupil’s name on
the admission register on the first day that it has agreed the pupil will attend the
school. For example, if a pupil is due to leave school A on 28 March and start at school
B on 29 March they would added to the admission register of School B and deleted from
that of School A on 29 March.
School A will:
• record the pupil’s attendance and absence up to and including the 28 March;
• delete the pupil’s name from the admission register on 29 March;
• transfer the appropriate pupil information via the S2S system.
School B will:
• enter the pupil’s name on the admission register on 29 March;
• record the pupil’s attendance and absence from 29 March;
• follow up any unexpected absence on or after the 29 March; and
• request the transfer of the pupil information.
160. There are a small number of exceptions, these are:
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School Attendance Order (SAO)
161. If a school attendance order is in place for the pupil, and the name of the school
has been replaced by the relevant local authority with that of another school, their name
can be deleted from the admission register under the reason for deletion at ground A
(regulation 8(1)(a)) but not under ground B.
Child of no fixed abode
162. Where a child of compulsory school age has no fixed abode because their
parent’s trade or business requires that parent to travel from place to place, they can
temporarily attend another school without the need for the main school to remove their
name (see regulation 9).
163. ‘Main school’ in this context means the school that, during the last 18 months, the
child has attended during periods when their parent was not travelling in the course of
their trade or business, or, if there is more than one school, the school that most
recently fulfils those criteria (regulation 9).
Dual registration
164. In circumstances, where it has been agreed that the pupil will be registered at
more than one school, the pupil’s name will remain on the admission register. The main
examples of dual registration are pupils who are attending another school on a
temporary basis, such as a pupil referral unit, a hospital school or a special school.
Ground C - pupil is also registered at one or more other schools and the other
schools have agreed the deletion - regulation 8(1)(c)
165. Where a pupil is registered at one or more other schools, and:
• the pupil has ceased to attend the school;
• each school where the pupil is registered has given consent to the deletion; and
• none of the following apply:
o the pupil is a child of no fixed abode, and the school is their main school; or
o the pupil has died (in this case the pupil’s name is deleted under regulation
8(1)(j)); or
o the pupil has been permanently excluded from the school (in this case the
pupil’s name is deleted under regulation 8(1)(m)).
Ground D - the parent of a pupil has notified the school in writing that a pupil is
receiving education otherwise than at a school - regulation 8(1)(d)
166. Where a pupil has ceased to attend the school and the pupil’s parent has
informed the school in writing that the pupil is receiving education otherwise than at a
school, unless a school attendance order naming the school is in force in relation to the
pupil.
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School Attendance Order (SAO)
167. If a SAO has been revoked because arrangements have been made for the child
to receive suitable full-time education for their age, ability and aptitude somewhere other
than at a school, the pupil’s name can be deleted from the admission register under the
reason for deletion at regulation 8(1)(a).
Ground E - a pupil no longer lives a reasonable distance from the school -
regulation 8(1)(e)
168. Where a pupil has ceased to attend the school and no longer normally lives a
reasonable distance from the school, and the pupil is not a boarder at the school.
169. In circumstances where parents are withdrawing their child but are unable to say
how their child will continue with their education, for example, the family are relocating
but have not been able to secure a place at a new school in advance, once the pupil
has completed their final day at school and moved out of the area, the school must
delete the pupil’s name from the admission register and the pupil’s information should
then be transferred to the Lost Pupil Database via the S2S system.
Ground F - a pupil has not returned following a leave of absence - regulation 8(1)(f)
170. Where a pupil has been granted a leave of absence (under regulation 7) and the
pupil has not attended school within the ten school days immediately after the end of
the period granted, and:
• the school does not have reasonable grounds to believe that the pupil is unable to
attend because of sickness or an unavoidable cause; and
• the school and the local authority have jointly made reasonable efforts to find out
the pupil’s location, but they have not succeeded.
171. DfE’s guidance on Children Missing Education sets out the expectations for
schools and local authorities in respect of making reasonable enquiries.
Ground G - a pupil is unlikely to return to school before ceasing to be of
compulsory school age due to health reasons - regulation 8(1)(g)
172. Where a pupil is certified, by the school medical officer, as unlikely to be in a fit
state of health to attend school before ceasing to be of compulsory school age, and
neither the pupil nor their parent has indicated to the school of any intention to continue
attending the school after the pupil ceases to be of compulsory school age.
School medical officer
173. Regulations do not define who the school medical officer is. DfE would expect
the school medical officer to be a person who is suitably qualified to make a
professional medical judgement about whether a pupil is likely to be in a fit state of
health to attend the school before ceasing to be of compulsory school age.
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Ground H - a pupil has been continually absent from school for 20 school days -
regulation 8(1)(h)
174. Where a pupil has been continuously absent from the school for a period of 20
school days or more and:
• at no point has the absence been authorised by the school (under regulation 6(2));
• the school does not have reasonable grounds to believe that the pupil is unable to
attend because of sickness or an unavoidable cause; and
• the school and the local authority have jointly made reasonable efforts to find out
the pupil’s location, but they have not succeeded.
175. DfE’s guidance on Children Missing Education sets out the expectations for
schools and local authorities in respect of making reasonable enquiries.
Ground I - a pupil is in custody and detained for a period of more than 4 months -
regulation 8(1)(i)
176. Where a pupil is detained in pursuance of a final order made by a court or of an
order of recall made by the Secretary of State, and:
• that order is for a period of more than 4 months; and
• the school does not have reasonable grounds to believe the pupil will return to the
school at the end of that period.
Ground J - a pupil has died - regulation 8(1)(j)
177. Where a pupil has died.
178. A pupil’s name should only be deleted from the admission register when the
school is informed of the death. This would normally come from the pupil’s parent but it
is possible that notification comes from another source, such as relatives or the police.
179. Once the school receives the information it should immediately delete the pupil’s
name to prevent inadvertent and unnecessary contact with the family about the child.
Ground K - pupil will cease to be of compulsory school age and will not continue
into the sixth form - regulation 8(1)(k)
180. Where a pupil will no longer be of compulsory school age by the next time the
school meets, and:
• the pupil’s parent has indicated that the pupil will no longer attend the school; or
• the pupil does not meet the academic entry requirements for admission to the
school’s sixth form.
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Compulsory school age
181. A pupil ceases to be of compulsory school age on the last Friday in June of the
school year in which they reach the age of 16.
Ground L - a pupil has ceased to be a pupil at an independent school or non-
maintained special school - regulation 8(1)(l)
182. Where a pupil has ceased to be a pupil and the school is not maintained by a
local authority, an academy, a city technology college or a city college for the
technology of the arts.
Ground M - a pupil has been permanently excluded from the school - regulation
8(1)(m)
183. Where a pupil has been permanently excluded from the school.
184. A pupil’s name cannot be deleted from the admission register until the outcome
of any consideration of reinstatement and independent review (in the case of a
maintained school, pupil referral unit, or academy) or appeal (in the case of a city
technology college or city college for the technology of the arts) is known.
Ground N - a pupil has not continued at the school following completion of nursery -
regulation 8(1)(n)
185. Where a pupil has been admitted to the school to receive nursery education and
on completing such education has not transferred to reception or a more senior class at
the school.
Ground O - a pupil is a boarder at a maintained school or academy and their
boarding fees have not been paid - regulation 8(1)(o)
186. Where a pupil is a boarder at the school and:
• the school is maintained by a local authority or is an academy; and
• charges for the pupil’s board and lodgings are payable by the pupil’s parent; and
• those charges remain unpaid by the pupil’s parent at the end of the school term to
which they relate.
Deleting the name of a pupil of compulsory school age from a special
school
Regulation 8(2)
187. Where a pupil is registered at a special school under arrangements made by a
local authority, the pupil’s name cannot be deleted without the consent of the local
authority or, if the local authority refuses to give consent, without a direction from the
Secretary of State, unless:
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• the pupil is registered at the school as a result of a school attendance order, but
school has now been named on that order or the order is revoked because
arrangements have been made for the child to receive suitable full-time education
for their age, ability and aptitude somewhere other than at a school, and the pupil’s
name is deleted under regulation 8(1)(a); or
• the pupil has died, and the pupil’s name is deleted under regulation 8(1)(j): or
• the pupil has been permanently excluded from the school, and the pupil’s name is
deleted under regulation 8(1)(m).
Deleting the name of a pupil not of compulsory school age
188. The only reasons where the name of a pupil not of compulsory school age shall
be deleted are:
Ground A - a pupil has ceased to attend or ceased to be a pupil at the school -
regulation 8(3)(a)
189. Where a pupil has ceased to attend the school, or, in the case of a boarder, that
the pupil has ceased to be a pupil at the school.
Ground B - a pupil has been continually absent from school for 20 school days -
regulation 8(3)(b)
190. Where a pupil has been continuously absent from the school for a period of 20
school days or more and:
• at no point has the absence been agreed by the school;
• the school does not have reasonable grounds to believe that the pupil is unable to
attend because of sickness or an unavoidable cause; and
• the school has made reasonable efforts to find out the pupil’s location, but they
have not succeeded.
Ground C - a pupil has died - regulation 8(3)(c)
191. Where a pupil has died.
192. A pupil’s name should only be deleted from the admission register when the
school is informed of the death. This would normally come from the pupil’s parent but it
is possible that notification comes from another source, such as relatives or the police.
193. Once the school receives the information it should immediately delete the pupil’s
name to prevent inadvertent and unnecessary contact with the family about the child.
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Ground D - a pupil has not continued at the school following completion of nursery -
regulation 8(3)(d)
194. Where a pupil has been admitted to the school to receive nursery education and
on completing such education has not transferred to a reception or more senior class at
the school.
Ground E - a pupil has been permanently excluded from the school - regulation
8(3)(e)
195. Where a pupil has been permanently excluded from the school.
196. A pupil’s name cannot be deleted from the admission register until the outcome
of any consideration of reinstatement and independent review (in the case of a
maintained school, pupil referral unit, or academy) or appeal (in the case of a city
technology college or city college for the technology of the arts) is known.
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Section 8: Contents of the attendance register
197. All schools, except those where all the pupils are boarders, must keep an
attendance register in accordance with regulation 6 of the Education (Pupil Registration)
(England) Regulations 2006 as amended.
198. Schools must take the attendance register at the beginning of each morning
session and once during each afternoon session. On each occasion they must record
whether every pupil (with the exception of a pupil who is a boarder) is:
• Present;
• Absent;
• Attending an approved educational activity as defined in regulation 6(4); or
• Unable to attend school due to exceptional circumstances as defined in regulation
6(5).
199. Schools must record whether the absence of a pupil of compulsory school age is
authorised or not. There is no requirement for schools to record whether the absence of
pupils not of compulsory school age is authorised or not, but where possible schools
should use the national attendance and absence codes to help them monitor their
attendance and to form good attendance habits.
200. Schools must record the nature of the activity where a pupil of compulsory school
age is attending an approved educational activity.
201. Schools must also record the nature of the circumstances where a pupil is unable
to attend due to exceptional circumstances.
202. Schools cannot delete a pupil’s name from the attendance register unless they
have a reason (as set out in regulation 8 of the Education (Pupil Registration) (England)
Regulations 2006 as amended) to delete the pupil’s name from the admission register;
the pupil’s name must be deleted from both registers at the same time.
Attendance and Absence Codes
203. The national codes enable schools to record and monitor attendance and
absence in a consistent way and are used to collect statistics through the School
Census system. The data helps schools, local authorities and the government to gain a
greater understanding of the level of, and the reason for, absence and the delivery of
education.
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Present
Relevant regulation: 6(1)(a)(i)
Code / \: Present in school / = am \ = pm
204. Pupils must not be recorded as present if they are not in school during
registration. If a pupil were to leave the school premises after registration, they will still
be counted as present for statistical purposes.
Code L: Late arrival before the register is closed
205. Schools should actively discourage late arrival and be alert to patterns of late
arrival. All schools are expected to set out in their attendance policy the length of time
the register will be open, after which a pupil will be marked as absent. This should be
the same for every session and depending on the structure of the school day not longer
than either 30 minutes after the session begins, or the length of the form time or first
lesson in which registration takes place. A pupil arriving after the register has closed
should be recorded as absent using code U, or another absence code that it is more
appropriate.
Absent
Authorised Absence from School
Relevant regulation: 6(1)(ii), 6(1)(b), 6(2), 7(1) and 7(2)
206. Authorised absence means that one of a specific set of circumstances applies,
as set out below:
Code C: Leave of absence granted by the school
207. Only exceptional circumstances warrant granting a leave of absence. Wherever
referred to in this guidance a leave of absence should not be, and from certain types of
school
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must not be, granted unless it has been applied for in advance by the parent
who the pupil normally lives with and the headteacher believes the circumstances to be
exceptional. Schools must consider each application for a leave of absence individually
taking into account the specific facts and circumstances and relevant background
context behind each request. Where a leave of absence is granted, the school will
determine the number of days a pupil can be absent from school. A leave of absence is
granted entirely at the headteacher’s discretion.
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Schools maintained by the local authority or special schools not maintained by the local authority.
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208. Specific leaves of absence may also be granted where:
A pupil is participating in a performance
209. A school maintained by a local authority or a special school not maintained by a
local authority can grant leave of absence for a pupil to undertake employment during
school hours for the purpose of taking part in a performance, within the meaning of
section 37 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1963 if the local authority have given
the pupil a licence for that performance.
210. Legislation sets out that a local authority licence must be obtained before a child
can take part in a performance. There are some exemptions, including the granting of
Body of Persons Approval (BOPA). BOPAs can be issued by the local authority where a
performance is to take place, or by the Secretary of State (generally only if there are to
be many children involved and a number of different locations, but legislation does not
limit this to those situations).
211. Schools should be sympathetic to requests for leave of absence that are
supported by a licence or a BOPA; as long as the school remains satisfied that this will
not have a negative effect on a pupil’s education. Where the licence specifies the dates
that a pupil is to be away from school to perform, the school should record the absence
for those days as if a leave of absence had been applied for and granted. However,
where the terms of the licence or BOPA do not specify dates, it is at the discretion of the
headteacher to grant leave of absence.
A pupil is subject to a temporary part-time timetable
212. All pupils of compulsory school age are entitled to a full-time education. In very
exceptional circumstances, where it is in a pupil’s best interests, there may be a need
for a temporary part-time timetable to meet their individual needs. For example, where a
medical condition prevents a pupil from attending full-time education and a part-time
timetable is considered as part of a re-integration package. A part-time timetable should
not be used to manage a pupil’s behaviour.
213. A part-time timetable must only be in place for the shortest time necessary and
not be treated as a long-term solution. Any pastoral support programme or other
agreement should have a time limit by which point the pupil is expected to attend full-
time, either at school or alternative provision. There should also be formal arrangements
in place for regularly reviewing it with the pupil and their parents. In agreeing to a part-
time timetable, a school has agreed to a pupil being absent from school for part of the
week or day and therefore must treat absence as authorised.
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A pupil is pregnant
214. Leave for maternity is treated like any other leave of absence. We would expect
schools to act reasonably and grant a sufficient period of leave from school, taking into
consideration the specific circumstances of each case. Ultimately it is at the
headteacher’s discretion how much leave to grant.
Code H: leave of absence for the purpose of a family holiday granted by the school
215. Parents should plan their holidays around school breaks and avoid seeking
permission from schools to take their children out of school during term time unless it is
absolutely unavoidable.
216. An application for leave of absence should (and from certain schools must) not
be granted unless it is made in advance by a parent the pupil normally lives with and the
school is satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances based on the individual facts
and circumstance of the case which justify the leave. Where a leave of absence is
granted, the school will determine the number of days a pupil can be absent from
school. A leave of absence is granted entirely at the headteacher’s discretion.
Code E: Excluded but no alternative provision made
217. If no alternative provision is made for a pupil to continue their education whilst
they are suspended from school or excluded from school, but their name is still entered
in the admission register.
218. When a pupil of compulsory school age is suspended or permanently excluded
from a maintained school, pupil referral unit, academy, city technology college, or city
college for the technology of the arts, alternative provision must be arranged from the
sixth consecutive day of any suspension or exclusion. Where alternative provision is
made schools should record this using the appropriate code for attending an approved
educational activity.
Code I: Illness (not medical or dental appointment)
219. Schools should advise parents to notify them on the first day the child is unable
to attend due to illness. Schools must record absences as authorised where pupils
cannot attend due to illness (both physical and mental health related).
220. In the majority of cases a parent’s notification that their child is ill can be
accepted without question or concern. Schools should not routinely request that parents
provide medical evidence to support illness. Schools are advised not to request medical
evidence unnecessarily as it places additional pressure on health professionals, their
staff and their appointments system particularly if the illness is one that does not require
treatment by a health professional. Only where the school has a genuine and
reasonable doubt about the authenticity of the illness should medical evidence be
requested to support the absence.
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221. Pupils with long term illness or other health needs may need additional support to
continue education, such as alternative provision arranged by the local authority. Local
authorities are responsible for arranging suitable education for children of compulsory
school age who, because of health reasons, would otherwise not receive suitable
education. This applies whether or not the child is registered at a school and whatever
type of school they attend. The education must be full-time or as close to full-time as the
child’s health allows. DfE’s statutory guidance on ensuring a good education for children
who cannot attend school because of health needs sets out that local authorities should
provide education as soon as it is clear that the child will be away from school for 15
days or more, whether consecutive or cumulative. Local authorities should have a
named officer responsible for the education of children with additional health needs.
Code M: Medical or dental appointment
222. Schools should encourage parents to make appointments out of school hours.
Where this is not possible, they should get the school’s agreement in advance and the
pupil should only be out of school for the minimum amount of time necessary for the
appointment.
223. If a pupil is present at registration but has a medical appointment during the
session in question, no absence needs be recorded for that session.
Code R: Religious observance
224. Schools must record absence as authorised when it falls on a day that is
exclusively set apart for religious observance by the parents’ religious body (not the
parents).
225. As a general rule, we would interpret ‘a day exclusively set apart for religious
observance’ as a day when the pupil’s parents would be expected by the religious body
to which they belong to stay away from their employment in order to mark the occasion.
If in doubt, schools should seek advice from the parent’s religious body about whether it
has set the day apart for religious observance.
226. If a religious body sets apart a single day for a religious observance and the
parent applies for more than one day, the school may only record one day as authorised
on this basis; the rest of the request would be a leave of absence, and this is granted at
the school’s discretion as set out under Code C.
227. Schools and local authorities may seek to minimise the adverse effects of
religious observance on a pupil’s attendance and attainment by considering approaches
such as:
• Setting term dates around days for religious observance;
• Working with local faith groups to develop guidance on absence for religious
observance;
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• Schools taking INSET days that coincide with religious observance days; and
• Providing individual support for pupils who miss sessions on days exclusively set
apart for religious observance.
Code S: Study leave
228. Study leave should not be granted by default once tuition of the exam syllabus is
complete, it should be used sparingly and only granted to Year 11 pupils during public
examinations. If schools do decide to grant study leave, provision must still be made
available for those pupils who want to continue to come into school to revise.
229. As study leave is unsupervised it must be recorded as absence.
Code T: Traveller absence
230. A number of different groups are covered by the generic term traveller – Roma,
English and Welsh Gypsies, Irish and Scottish Travellers, Showmen (fairground people)
and Circus people, Bargees (occupational boat dwellers) and New Travellers.
231. This code should not be used for general absences by those groups. It must only
be used when the pupil’s parent(s) is travelling for occupational purposes and the
school has granted a leave of absence following a request from the parent. This code
should not be used to record any other types of absence by these groups.
232. Pupils from these groups whose parent(s) do not travel for occupational
purposes are expected to attend school as normal. They are subject to the same rules
as other pupils in terms of the requirements to attend school regularly once registered at
a school.
233. Where a pupil has no fixed abode because their parent(s) is engaged in a
business or trade that requires them to travel, there is an expectation that the pupil
attends at least 200 sessions per year. The pupil must attend school as regularly as the
business permits and therefore, if the business or trade permits the pupil to attend for
more than 200 sessions per year, they should do so.
234. To help ensure continuity of education for pupils, when their parent(s) is travelling
for occupational purposes, it is expected that the pupil should attend school elsewhere
when their parent(s) is travelling and be dual registered at that school and their main
school.
Unauthorised Absence from School
Relevant regulation: 6(1)(ii) and 6(3)
235. Unauthorised absence is where a pupil’s absence is not one of the types of
absence listed as authorised in regulation 6(2) or where the reason for a pupil’s
absence has not been provided and cannot be established.
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Code G: Holiday not granted by the school or in excess of the period determined by
the school
236. Where the school has not granted a leave of absence for the purpose of a
holiday but the parents still take the child out of school, or the child is kept away longer
that the period of leave granted.
237. A school cannot grant a leave of absence retrospectively. If the parent did not
apply in advance, leave of absence should not (and from certain types of school cannot)
be granted.
Code N: Reason for absence not yet provided
238. Schools must follow up all unexplained and unexpected absence in a timely
manner.
239. Every effort should be made to establish the reason for a pupil’s absence. When
the reason for absence has been established the school should record the pupil’s
absence using the relevant code.
240. Where absence is recorded as unexplained in the attendance register, the
correct code should be inputted as soon as the reason is ascertained, but no more than
5 working days after the session. Code N should not therefore be left on the pupil’s
attendance record indefinitely; if a reason for absence cannot be established after 5
working days, schools should amend the pupil’s record to Code O.
Code O: Absent without authorisation
241. Where no reason for absence is established or the school is not satisfied that the
reason given is an authorised absence.
Code U: Arrived in school after registration closed
242. Where a pupil has arrived late after the register has closed and the school is not
satisfied that the reason for lateness is an authorised absence.
243. Schools should actively discourage late arrival, be alert to patterns of late arrival
and seek an explanation from the parent. All schools are expected to set out in their
attendance policy the length of time the register will be open, after which a pupil will be
marked as absent. This should be the same for every session and depending on the
structure of the school day not longer than either 30 minutes after the session begins, or
the length of the form time or first lesson in which registration takes place.
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Attending an approved educational activity
Relevant regulation: 6(1)(a)(iii), 6(1)(c), and 6(4)
244. An approved educational activity is where a pupil is attending another school at
which they are registered or taking part in off-site activity such as field trips, educational
visits, work experience or unregistered alternative provision.
245. Pupils can only be recorded as attending an off-site activity if it is approved by
the school, of an educational nature and supervised by someone authorised by the
school. Ultimately, school are responsible for the safeguarding and welfare of pupils
taking part in an off-site educational activity so it would be reasonable to expect that the
school would only authorise someone who was answerable to the school to supervise
an activity.
246. The activity must take place during the session for which it is recorded and for
pupils of compulsory school age the school must record the nature of the activity.
Attending another school at which the pupil is registered
Relevant regulation: 6(1)(a)(iii) and 6(4)(b)
Code D: Dual registered at another school
247. The law allows for a pupil to be registered at more than one school. This code is
used to indicate that the pupil was not expected to attend the school in question
because they were scheduled to attend the other school at which they are registered.
The main examples of dual registration are pupils who are attending a pupil referral unit,
a hospital school or a special school on a temporary basis.
248. Each school should only record the pupil’s attendance and absence for those
sessions that the pupil is scheduled to attend their school. Schools should ensure that
they have in place arrangements whereby all unexpected and unexplained absence are
promptly followed up.
Attending an educational activity that takes place outside the school
Relevant regulation: 6(1)(iii), 6(1)(c) and 6(4)(a)
Code B: Off-site educational Activity
249. Attending an off-site educational activity that has been approved by the school
and supervised by someone authorised by the school.
250. For pupils of compulsory school age, schools must also record the nature of the
activity, examples are:
• attending taster days at other schools;
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• attending courses at college;
• attending unregistered alternative provision arranged or agreed by the school.
251. The educational activity must take place during the session for which it is
recorded.
252. Ultimately schools are responsible for the safeguarding and welfare of pupils
educated off-site. Therefore, by using code B, schools are certifying that the education
is supervised, and measures have been taken to safeguard the pupil. Schools should
ensure that they have in place arrangements whereby the provider of the educational
activity notifies the school of any absences by the pupil. The school should record the
pupil’s absence using the relevant absence code.
253. This code must not be used for any unsupervised educational activity i.e., when a
pupil is at home doing some schoolwork.
Code J: At an interview with prospective employers, or another educational
establishment
254. Attending an interview with prospective employers or another educational
establishment. Schools should be satisfied that the interview is linked to employment
prospects, further education, or transfer to another school.
255. This must take place during the session for which it is recorded.
Code P: Participating in a supervised sporting activity
256. Taking part in a sporting activity that has been approved by the school. If schools
have concerns about the appropriateness of an activity, they can seek advice from the
sports’ national governing body. However, the final decision on approving the activity
rests with the school and they should take the effect on the pupil’s general education
into account.
257. The sporting activity must take place during the session for which it is recorded.
258. Approved educational activity must be supervised by a person authorised by the
school. Schools should ensure that they have in place arrangements whereby the
provider of the sporting activity notifies the school of any absence by the pupil. The
school should record the pupil’s absence using the relevant absence code.
Code V: Educational visit or trip
259. Attendance at an organised visit or trip, including residential trips organised by
the school, or attendance at a supervised trip of a strictly educational nature arranged
by an organisation approved by the school.
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260. The educational visit or trip must take place during the session for which it is
recorded.
261. Approved educational activity must be supervised by a person authorised by the
school. Schools should ensure that they have in place arrangements whereby the
organiser of the visit or trip notifies the school of any absence by the pupil. The school
should record the pupil’s absence using the relevant absence code.
Code W: Work experience
262. Work experience is for pupils in the final 2 years of compulsory school age.
263. The work experience must take place during the session for which it is recorded.
264. Approved educational activity must be supervised by a person authorised by the
school. Schools should ensure that they have in place arrangements whereby the
provider of the work experience notifies the school of any absence by the pupil. The
school should record the pupil’s absence using the relevant absence code.
Unable to attend due to exceptional circumstances
Relevant regulation: 6(1)(iv), 6(1)(d), 6(5), 6(7) and 6(2)(b)(i)
Code Y: Unable to attend due to exceptional circumstances
265. Where a pupil is unable to attend school because:
• the school site or part of it, is closed due to an unavoidable cause at a time when
pupils are due to attend; or
• the transport provided by the school or a local authority is not available and the
pupil’s home is not within safe walking distance; or
• a local or national emergency has resulted in widespread disruption to travel which
has prevented the pupil from attending school.
266. Schools must also record the nature of the circumstances in which a pupil is
unable to attend school.
Walking distance
267. In relation to a child under the age of 8, means 2 miles, and for a child of 8 or
above, means 3 miles. In each case measured by the nearest available safe route.
Pupil in custody
268. Code Y is also used where the pupil is in custody; detained under a court order
for a period of less than 4 months or is returning to the school at the end of their
custodial period.
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Administrative codes
Code X: Non-compulsory school age pupil not required to be in school
269. Where a pupil not of compulsory school age is attending school part-time.
270. For example, where parents have chosen for their 4 year-old child to attend part-
time until later in the school year but not beyond the point at which the child reaches
compulsory school age.
Code Z: Prospective pupil not on admission register
271. To enable schools to set up registers in advance of pupils joining the school to
ease administration burdens.
272. Schools must enter a pupil’s name on the admission register from the first day
that the school has agreed, or been notified, that the pupil will attend the school.
273. In the normal admissions round, when parents have accepted the school place
offered, the local authority can inform schools on behalf of the parents and notify the
school when the parent has agreed that the pupil will attend school. This can also be
the case where the local authority co-ordinates in-year applications for school places.
274. If a pupil fails to attend on the agreed starting day, the school must establish the
reason and record the pupil’s absence using the relevant absence code.
Code #: Planned whole or partial school closure
275. Whole school closures that are known and planned in advance such as:
• days between terms;
• half terms;
• occasional days (for example, bank holidays);
• weekends (where it is required by the management information system);
• up to 5 non-educational days; and
• use of school as a polling station.
276. Partial school closures that are known and planned in advance such as:
• ‘staggered starts’ or ‘induction days’ where different term dates have been agreed
for different year groups - this code is used to record the year group(s) that is not
due to attend; and
• Use of part of the school as a polling station.
66
Other relevant legislation and guidance
Relevant legislation
The Education Act 1996
The Children Act 1989
The Crime and Disorder Act 1998
The Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003
The Education and Inspections Act 2006
The Sentencing Act 2020
The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006
The Education (Parenting Contracts and Parenting Orders) (England) Regulations 2007
The Education (Penalty Notices) (England) Regulations 2007
Relevant government guidance
Parental responsibility measures for attendance and behaviour
Children missing education
Keeping children safe in education
Working together to safeguard children
Elective home education
Alternative provision: statutory guidance for local authorities
Exclusion from maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units in England
Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions
Ensuring a good education for children who cannot attend school because of health needs
Promoting and supporting mental health and wellbeing in schools and colleges
Approaches to preventing and tackling bullying
67
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