The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024

Contents of attendance register

10.—(1) The proprietor of a school must ensure that, at the beginning of each morning session and once during each afternoon session, the attendance of each registered pupil who is not a boarder is recorded in the school’s attendance register in accordance with this regulation.

(2) If the pupil is present at the school their attendance is to be recorded by entering in the attendance register the code listed in the second column of Table 1 that corresponds to the circumstances as listed in the first column.

Table 1

Attendance	Code
The session is a morning session and the pupil is present at the school when the attendance register begins to be taken.	/
The session is an afternoon session and the pupil is present at the school when the attendance register begins to be taken.	\
The pupil is absent from the school when the attendance register begins to be taken but attends before the taking of the register has ended.	L

(3) If the pupil is absent from the school so that they can attend a place other than the school in any of the circumstances listed in the first column of Table 2 their attendance is to be recorded by entering in the attendance register the code listed in the corresponding entry in the second column.

Table 2

Attendance	Code
The pupil is attending a place, other than the school or another school at which they are a registered pupil, for educational provision arranged by a local authority under section 19(1) of the 1996 Act(1) or section 42(2) or 61(1) of the 2014 Act.	K
The pupil is attending a place, other than the school or another school at which they are a registered pupil, for an educational visit or trip arranged by or on behalf of the proprietor and supervised by a member of school staff.	V
The pupil is attending a place for an approved educational activity within paragraph (11) that is a sporting activity.	P
The pupil is attending a place for an approved educational activity within paragraph (11) that is work experience provided under arrangements made by a local authority or the proprietor as part of the pupil’s education.	W
The pupil is attending a place for any other approved educational activity within paragraph (11).	B

(4) If the pupil is absent and none of the circumstances listed in the first column of Table 2 applies their absence is to be recorded by entering in the attendance register the code listed in the second column of Table 3 that corresponds to the circumstances as listed in the first column.

Table 3

Absence	Code
The pupil is absent with leave for the purpose of participating in a regulated performance or undertaking regulated employment abroad.	C1
The pupil is absent with leave for the purpose of attending a medical or dental appointment.	M
The pupil is absent with leave for the purpose of attending an interview for employment or for admission to another educational institution.	J1
The pupil is absent with leave for the purpose of studying for a public examination.	S
The pupil is not of compulsory school age and is absent with leave because their timetable does not require them to attend.	X
The pupil is of compulsory school age and is absent with leave because, in accordance with an agreement between a parent who they normally live with and the proprietor that the pupil should temporarily be educated on a part-time basis, their timetable does not require them to attend.	C2
The pupil is absent with leave for the purpose of attending another school at which they are a registered pupil.	D
The pupil is absent with leave for any other purpose.	C
The pupil is a mobile child, their parent is travelling in the course of their trade or business and the pupil is travelling with that parent.	T
The day is exclusively set apart for religious observance by the religious body to which a parent of the pupil belongs.	R
The pupil is unable to attend because of sickness.	I
The pupil is unable to attend because of a lack of access arrangements for them within paragraph (12) or (13).	Q
The pupil is unable to attend because the school is not within walking distance of the pupil’s home and the transport to and from school that is normally provided for the pupil by the proprietor or a local authority is not available.	Y1
The pupil is unable to attend because of widespread disruption to travel caused by a local, national or international emergency.	Y2
Part of the school premises is unavoidably out of use and the pupil is one of those who the proprietor thinks cannot practicably be accommodated in those parts of the premises that remain in use.	Y3
The pupil is unable to attend because they are in criminal justice detention within paragraph (14).	Y5
The pupil’s travel to or attendance at the school would be— (a) contrary to any guidance relating to the incidence or transmission of infection or disease published by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care or any body or authority exercising equivalent functions in relation to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland; or (b) prohibited by any enactment relating to the incidence or transmission of infection or disease or any instrument made under such an enactment.	Y6
The pupil is excluded from the school for any other reason.	E
The pupil is unable to attend because of any other unavoidable cause	Y7
The pupil is absent without leave for the purpose of a holiday.	G
The circumstances of the pupil’s absence have not yet been established.	N
None of the other rows of this table applies, or this code is required to be used by paragraphs (7) and (9)(b).	O

(5) If a registered pupil’s absence is recorded in the attendance register using the code B or K the nature of the approved educational activity (in the case of code B) or educational provision (in the case of code K) is also to be recorded in the attendance register.

(6) If a registered pupil’s absence is recorded in the attendance register using the code Y7 the nature of the unavoidable cause is also to be recorded in the attendance register.

(7) If, at the time the attendance register is taken, a registered pupil’s absence is recorded in that register using the code N the proprietor must ensure that reasonable steps are taken to establish the circumstances of the pupil’s absence and that the register is amended within five school days in accordance with paragraphs (8) and (9).

(8) If it is established under paragraph (7) that the pupil attended the school after the taking of the register ended but before the end of the session—

(a) if the circumstances of their absence during the taking of the register are established as any of those listed in Table 2 or any row of Table 3 other than the final two rows, the code N is to be replaced with the appropriate code;

(b) otherwise, the code N is to be replaced with the code U.

(9) In any other case—

(a) if the circumstances of the pupil’s absence have been established, the code N is to be replaced with the appropriate code as specified in paragraph (3) or (4);

(b) if the circumstances have not been established, the code N is to be replaced with the code O.

(10) If a school session is cancelled, the proprietor must ensure that that fact is recorded in the attendance register by entering the code Y4 as if it were a record of each pupil’s attendance at the time when the session was due to take place.

(11) A pupil is attending a place for an approved educational activity if—

(a) the place where the pupil is attending is not the school or any other school at which the pupil is a registered pupil;

(b) the activity is educational in nature but not—

(i) educational provision arranged by a local authority under section 19(1) of the 1996 Act or section 42(2) or 61(1) of the 2014 Act; or

(ii) an educational visit or trip arranged by or on behalf of the proprietor and supervised by a member of school staff;

(c) the pupil’s attendance at that place for that activity has been approved by a person authorised to do so by the proprietor; and

(d) the activity is to be supervised by a person thought by the proprietor or head teacher to have appropriate skills, training, experience and knowledge to ensure that the activity takes place safely and fulfils the educational purpose for which the pupil’s attendance has been approved under sub-paragraph (c).

(12) There is a lack of access arrangements for a pupil whose home is in England if—

(a) a local authority have a duty to make travel arrangements in relation to the pupil under section 508B(1) of the 1996 Act(2) for the purpose of facilitating the pupil’s attendance at the school and have failed to discharge that duty;

(b) a local authority have a duty to make travel arrangements in relation to the pupil because of section 508E(2)(c) of the 1996 Act(3) for the purpose of facilitating the pupil’s attendance at the school and have failed to discharge that duty; or

(c) the school is an independent school that is not a qualifying school and—

(i) the school is not within walking distance of the pupil’s home;

(ii) no suitable arrangements have been made by a local authority for boarding accommodation for the pupil at or near the school; and

(iii) no suitable arrangements have been made by a local authority for enabling the pupil to become a registered pupil at a qualifying school nearer to their home.

(13) There is a lack of access arrangements for a pupil whose home is in Wales if a local authority have failed to discharge—

(a) a duty to make transport arrangements in relation to the pupil under section 3 of the Learner Travel (Wales) Measure 2008(4); or

(b) a duty to make travel arrangements in relation to the pupil under section 4 of that Measure.

(14) A pupil is in criminal justice detention if they are—

(a) in police detention within the meaning given in section 118(2) and (2A) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984(5);

(b) remanded to youth detention accommodation under section 102 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012(6); or

(c) detained under a sentence of detention.

(15) In this regulation—

“enactment” includes—

(a)

an enactment passed or made after these Regulations;

(b)

an enactment contained in subordinate legislation within the meaning of the Interpretation Act 1978(7);

(c)

an enactment contained in, or in an instrument made under, an Act of the Scottish Parliament;

(d)

an enactment contained in, or in an instrument made under, an Act or Measure of Senedd Cymru;

(e)

an enactment contained in, or in an instrument made under, Northern Ireland legislation;

“qualifying school” has the meaning given in paragraph 15 of Schedule 35B to the 1996 Act(8);

“walking distance” has the meaning given in section 444(5) of the 1996 Act.

(1)

Section 19 has been amended by the Education Act 1997 (c. 44), Schedule 8 paragraph 1, S.I. 2007/1507, the Children, Schools and Families Act 2010 (c. 26), section 3, S.I. 2010/1158 and the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021 (asc. 4), Schedule 2, paragraph 3. There are other amendments that are not relevant to these Regulations.

(2)

Section 508B was inserted by the Education and Inspections Act 2006 (c. 40), section 77 and has been amended by S.I. 2010/1158.

(3)

Section 508E was inserted by the Education and Inspections Act 2006 (c. 40), section 78 and has been amended by S.I. 2010/1158.

(4)

2008 nawm 2. Section 3 has been amended by the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 (anaw 2), Schedule 1 paragraph 14.

(5)

1984 c. 60. Section 118 has been amended by the Terrorism Act 2000 (c. 11), Schedule 15, paragraph 5, the Police Reform Act 2002 (c. 30), Schedule 7, paragraph 9, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (c. 32), Schedule 19, paragraph 1, S.I. 2018/226 and S.I. 2023/1386. There are other amendments that are not relevant to these Regulations.

(6)

2012 c. 10. Section 102 has been amended by the Crime and Courts Act 2013 (c. 22), section 19, the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (c. 2), Schedule 9, paragraphs 28 and 29, the Sentencing Act 2020 (c. 17), Schedule 24, paragraphs 285 and 287, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (c. 32), section 157 and S.I. 2018/195.

(7)

1978 c. 30. “Subordinate legislation” is defined in section 21(1), which has been amended by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (c. 16), Schedule 8, paragraph 19, the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 (c. 1), Schedule 5, paragraph 10, the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (c. 28), Schedule 2, paragraph 21 and S.I. 2020/463.

(8)

Schedule 35B was inserted by the Education and Inspections Act 2006 (c. 40), Schedule 8. Paragraph 15 has been amended by the Equality Act 2010 (c. 15), Schedule 26, paragraph 40, the Education Act 2011 (c. 21), Schedule 13, paragraph 9 and the Children and Families Act 2014 (c. 6), Schedule 3, paragraph 61.