Teachernet, FAQs

Attendance FAQs

What are the statutory requirements for reporting pupil attendance to parents?
There is currently no legal requirement for a school to contact parents in the case of an absence. The primary responsibility for making contact in the event of absence rests with the parents. They have a duty in law to ensure that their registered children of compulsory school age attend school regularly. However, where an absence is recorded at registration and no such notification has been received it is strongly recommended that, as an aspect of good practice, school staff should contact parents that same day.

If a child is below statutory school age, can a school take him off roll if he doesn't attend?
The grounds on which the name of a pupil not of compulsory school age is to be deleted from the admission register can be found at The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006. See the Pupil registration: Regulations and guidance section.

When can a pupil be deleted from the schools admission register?
There are strict rules on when schools can delete pupils from their admission register. These are outlined in Regulation 8 of The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006. See Removing pupils from the admissions and attendance registers.

What codes should be used in the attendance register?
By law every pupil whose name is entered on the admissions register must be recorded either as present, absent, attending an approved educational activity or unable to attend due to exceptional circumstances (Regulation 6(5)). In the case of a pupil who is absent it must be noted whether the absence is authorised or unauthorised. The DCSF have produced a set of universal codes for the recording of pupil's attendance and absence. These codes came into effect from 1 September 2006. See Absence and attendance codes: Guidance for schools and local authorities (2009) in the Pupil registration: Regulations and guidance section.

What is an approved educational activity?
An approved educational activity is where pupils take part in supervised educational activities outside of school and would be recorded in the attendance register as 'approved educational activity'. This is equivalent to 'present' for data collection purposes. To avoid confusion in an emergency, schools should not record pupils who are off-site as present.

How long do manual/computerised admission and attendance registers have to be kept?
Both admission and attendance registers are to be kept for a period of three years after the date on which the entry was made. Where computers are used for admission and attendance registers Regulation 15 of The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 must be adhered to.

What is the situation regarding withdrawing a child, on religious grounds, for a day?
A pupil's absence would be recorded as authorised if he or she is taken out of school on a day exclusively set apart for religious observance by the religious body to which his parent belongs. See the Pupil registration: Regulations and guidance section.

Can pupils go on holiday in term time?
Under current the regulations, headteachers may grant leave of absence for the purpose of family holidays during term time. However, the application must be made in advance and the school must be satisfied that there are special circumstances which warrant the leave. In exceptional circumstances schools can agree more than ten school days leave of absence in a school year. Each request can only be judged on a case by case basis taking into account individual circumstances, such as the child's attainment, attendance and ability to catch up. While leave of absence might be granted for a term time holiday, for example where a parent has inflexible leave patterns in their career that do not coincide with school holidays, it is granted entirely at the headteacher's discretion, and is not a right. See Holidays in term time: Effective practice.

What is the responsibility of local authorities concerning school attendance?
LAs are required to enforce school attendance — see Local authorities: Duties and legal measures to ensure school attendance. They usually do this through employees known as Education Welfare Officers (EWOs). In undertaking these tasks, EWOs will normally attempt to liaise with parents, teachers and schools, with the overall aim of encouraging the pupil to attend school.

What is the responsibility of parents concerning school attendance?
By law, all children of compulsory school age (between 5 and 16) must get a proper full— time education. Parents are responsible for making this happen, either by registering the child at school or by making other arrangements which provide an effective education. See The Education Act 1996 Section 7.

Can parents be prosecuted if they do not send their children to school?
Yes, under education law, parents are responsible for ensuring their registered children of compulsory school age attend school regularly. If they fail to do this they are committing an offence and can be prosecuted. 'The Education Act 1996' Section 444 and Statutory Instrument 2001 No.562 (C.23) 'The Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 (commencement No 3) Order 2001'. See Parental measures for behaviour and attendance.

Can a school take a child to court for persistent absence?
A school cannot take a child to court for persistent absence. It is only the LA who can prosecute a parent for the non-attendance of their registered child. See the Parental measures for behaviour and attendance section of this site.

Why must children go to school regularly?
If a child does not attend school regularly, he or she will not be able to keep up with their school work. Having a good education will help to give a child the best possible start in life.
Employers will want to be sure that the people they are thinking of recruiting are reliable. So children who have not attended their school regularly have less chance of getting a good job
Young people who are off school for no good reason are at risk of becoming victims of crime or abuse. They may also be drawn into anti-social behaviour.

When can pupils leave school?
By law all children of compulsory school age (5-16), both those enrolled at school and those educated otherwise than at school, must remain in education until the last Friday in June in the school year in which the child reaches the age of 16.

Can I educate my child at home instead of sending him or her to school?
The law allows parents to educate their children at home instead of sending them to school if they fulfil certain conditions. Parents should bear in mind, however, that at school children are taught by trained professionals, and that it is important children learn how to interact with others. Parents will find the following guidelines useful when considering educating their children at home.

Parents must ensure that their child receives an efficient full-time education, suitable to his or her age, ability and aptitude and to any special educational needs (SEN) the child may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.
Although parents are not legally required to inform their LA when they decide to educate their children at home, it is helpful if they do this. But it is important that parents formally notify the school where their child is registered that they intend to educate their child at home. It is also advisable that parents inform their LA of any significant changes in their circumstance relevant to the effective education of their child, e.g. a change of address.
The LA will need to satisfy itself that a child is receiving suitable education at home, and will probably ask to visit the family home to talk to the parent and child, and to look at examples of work. The LA will need to be satisfied that the parent is willing and able to provide a suitable education. At the initial meeting the nature and frequency of future contact should be agreed.
LAs have no automatic right of access to parents' homes. Parents may wish to offer an alternative way of demonstrating that they are providing suitable education, for example through showing examples of work and agreeing to a meeting at another venue.
Where it appears to an LA that a child of compulsory school age is not receiving efficient or suitable full-time education, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise, the LA is under a duty to serve notice on the parent requiring them to satisfy the authority that their child is receiving suitable education 'otherwise than at school'. If the parents' reply is unsatisfactory, or if they fail to reply, the LA may issue a School Attendance Order (SAO).
The National Curriculum tests and assessment arrangements are developed and administered by the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA), on behalf of the secretary of state. Information to support these arrangements is provided both electronically and in hard copy through the QCDA's website or the QCDA Orderline on 0300 303 3015.

When was the school leaving age raised?

1870 Act - Compulsory attendance from 5-13 (with exceptions) was a matter for local option by School Boards and enforcement by bye-laws.
1876 Act - Set up school attendance committees where there were no School Boards. Fixed the lower limit at 5 years and placed the duty on the parent of every child under 14 to cause him to receive efficient elementary instruction in reading, writing and arithmetic. No employment was allowed under 10 years of age. Children over 10 and under 13 could be employed if they held a certificate issued by a school inspector.
1880 Act - Tightened the provisions of the 1876 Act. Insisted on compulsory attendance from 5-10 years. Penalised employers of children under 13 years who did not have a certificate that they had reached the educational standard required by the local bye-laws.
1893 Act - Minimum leaving age raised to 11.
1899 Act - Minimum leaving age raised to 12.
1900 Act - No employment under fourteen without a certificate.
1918 Act - Full-time education compulsory from 5-14 years. Abolished half-time schooling and exemptions such as early leaving in agricultural districts which the earlier system allowed.
1926 Report of the Consultative Committee of the Board of Education on The Education of the Adolescent (The Hadlow Report) recommended raising the minimum leaving age to 15.
1929 - Legislation introduced to raise the leaving age to 15. Defeated.
1936 Act - The school leaving age to be raised to 15 as from September 1939. Not implemented because of Second World War.
1938 Report of the Consultative Committee of the Board of Education on Secondary Education with Special Reference to Grammar Schools and Technical High Schools (The Spens Report) said that raising the school leaving age to 16 may not be immediately practicable but was inevitable.
1944 Act - The leaving age was raised to 15, with special power given to the Minister to delay this for two years. Clause 35 also provided for it be raised to 16 by Order in Council 'as soon as it was practicable'. The parent's legal duty changed from that required by the 18786 Act to a duty to cause his child to receive 'efficient full-time education suitable to his age, aptitude and ability'.
April 1947 - School leaving age raised to 15.
1959 Report of the Minister of Education's Central Advisory Council entitled 15 to 18 (The Crowther Report) recommended the raising of school leaving age to 16.
1963 Report of the Minister of Education's Central Advisory Council entitled Half our future (The Newsom Report) recommended the raising of the School leaving age to 16.
1964 - The decision to raise the age to 16 was announced and preparations began.
1968 - Raising of the school leaving age postponed until 1972-73.
1971 - The decision to raise the age to 16 to take effect from 1 September 1972 confirmed.
1997 - The creation of a single school leaving date came into effect on 1 September 1997, which meant that all children of compulsory school age (5-16), both those enrolled in school and those educated otherwise than at school, must remain in education until the last Friday in June in the school year that they reach the age of 16.