School attendance

Schools’ responsibilities relating to attendance, detailed in the Education Regulations, include:

• taking a register twice each day (at the start of the morning session and once during the afternoon)
• using the appropriate National Attendance Codes
• complying with statutory registration and deletion procedures School attendance guidance (GOV.UK).

Where there are concerns about pupil absence, schools should maintain a record of all contact (successful and attempted) with the pupil, parent(s) and other agencies. Schools will be required to produce this as evidence if legal intervention is required.

The council would consider court action against parents whose children do not attend school regularly.

Schools can make a referral to the Attendance Service using the following guidance and referral forms.

• School Attendance Service procedural guidance.
• Child Missing Education (CME) policy and referral form.
• Elective Home Education (EHE) policy, procedure and referral form.
• Flexi Schooling Notification form and guidance.
• New starter (in year) referral form.
• Part Time or Reduced Timetable Notification form and guidance.
• Penalty Notice Proforma and guidance.
• Persistent absence referral form
• Pupil tracking or school to school referral form.