Welsh Statutory Instruments
2010 No. 1954 (W.187)
EDUCATION, WALES
The Education (Pupil Registration) (Wales) Regulations 2010
Made
2 August 2010
Laid before the National Assembly for Wales
3 August 2010
Coming into force
1 September 2010
The Welsh Ministers in exercise of the powers conferred on the Secretary of State by sections 434(1), (3) and (4), 551(1) and 569 of the Education Act 1996(1), and now vested in them, make the following Regulations:
Title and commencement
1.—(1) The title of these Regulations is the Education (Pupil Registration) (Wales) Regulations 2010 and they come into force on 1 September 2010.
(2) These Regulations apply in relation to Wales.
Interpretation
2. In these Regulations—
“local authority” (“awdurdod lleol”) means in the case of a school maintained by a local authority that local authority, and in every other case the local authority for the area in which the school is situated;
“local curriculum” (“cwricwlwm lleol”), in relation to pupils in the fourth key stage, has the meaning given by section 97 of the Education Act 2002 and, in relation to pupils who are above compulsory school age but have not attained the age of nineteen, has the meaning given by section 33N of the Learning and Skills Act 2000(2); and
“relevant person” (“person perthnasol”) means—
(a)in relation to a pupil under the age of 18, a parent of the pupil;
(b)in relation to a pupil who has attained that age, the pupil.
Revocation
3. The Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations 1995(3) are revoked.
Registers to be kept
4. The proprietor of every school must cause to be kept—
(a)an admission register; and
(b)except in the case of a school of which all the pupils are boarders, an attendance register.
Contents of admission register
5.—(1) The admission register for every school must contain an index in alphabetical order of all the pupils at the school and must also contain the following particulars in respect of every such pupil—
(a)name in full;
(b)sex;
(c)the name and address of every person known to the proprietor of the school to be a parent of the pupil and, against the entry on the register of the particulars of any parent with whom the pupil normally resides, an indication of that fact and a note of least one telephone number at which the parent can be contacted in an emergency;
(d)day, month and year of birth;
(e)day, month and year of admission or re-admission to the school; and
(f)name and address of the school last attended, ifany.
(2) In the case of every school which includes boarding pupils a statement as to whether each pupil of compulsory school age is a boarder or a day pupil must be added to the particulars specified in paragraph (1), and that statement must be amended accordingly where a registered pupil at the school becomes or ceases to be a boarder at the school.
(3) For the purpose of this regulation a pupil is a pupil at the school from the beginning of the first day on which the school has agreed, or has been notified, that the pupil will attend the school.
Contents of attendance register
6.—(1) The following particulars must be recorded in the attendance register at the commencement of each morning session and once during each afternoon session—
(a)in the case of every pupil whose name is entered in and not deleted from the admission register whether the pupil is—
(i)present;
(ii)absent;
(iii)attending an approved educational activity within paragraph (4); or
(iv)unable to attend due to exceptional circumstances within paragraph (5);
(b)in the case of any such pupil of compulsory school age who is absent, a statement whether or not the absence is authorised in accordance with paragraph (2);
(c)in the case of any such pupil of compulsory school age who is attending an approved educational activity the nature of that activity; and
(d)in the case of a pupil unable to attend due to exceptional circumstances, the nature of those circumstances,
but this paragraph does not apply in respect of the pupil who is a boarder.
(2) In the case of a pupil who is not a boarder, an absence is to be treated as authorised for the purposes of this regulation if—
(a)the pupil has been granted leave of absence in accordance with regulation 7;
(b)the pupil is unable to attend—
(i)by reason of sickness or any unavoidable cause;
(ii)on a day exclusively set apart for religious observance by the religious body to which his or her parent belongs; or
(iii)because the local authority has failed to make suitable transport arrangements for the pupil which it is under a duty to provide under section 3 or 4 of the Learner Travel (Wales) Measure 2008(4).
(3) Where the reason for a pupil’s absence cannot be established at the time when the register is taken, that absence must be recorded as unauthorised and any subsequent correction to the register recording that absence as authorised must be made in accordance with regulation 13 and as soon as practicable after the reason for the absence is established by the person with responsibility for completing the register.
(4) An approved educational activity is—
(a)an activity which takes place outside the school premises and which is—
(i)approved by a person authorised in that behalf by the proprietor of the school;
(ii)of an educational nature, including work experience under section 560 of the Education Act 1996(5) and a sporting activity; and
(iii)supervised by a person authorised in that behalf by the proprietor or the head teacher of the school;
(b)attendance at another school at which the pupil is a registered pupil; or
(c)attendance on a course of study within the local curriculum at a place other than the school.
(5) The exceptional circumstances in which a pupil may be marked as unable to attend are where—
(a)the school site, or part of it, is closed due to unavoidable cause at a time when pupils are due to attend;
(b)in the case of a pupil for whom the local authority is under a duty to make suitable transport arrangements which it is under a duty to provide under section 3 or 4 of the Learner Travel (Wales) Measure 2008, that transport is not available; or
(c)a local or national emergency has resulted in widespread disruption to travel which has prevented the pupil from attending school.
(6) The name of a pupil may only be deleted from the attendance register when the pupil’s name has been deleted from the admission register for that school in accordance with regulation 8.
Leave of absence
7.—(1) Leave of absence may only be granted by a person authorised in that behalf by the proprietor of the school.
(2) Leave of absence must not be granted to enable a pupil to undertake employment (whether paid or unpaid) during school hours except—
(a)employment for the purpose of taking part in a performance within the meaning of section 37 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1963(6) under the authority of a licence granted by the local authority under that section; or
(b)employment abroad for a purpose mentioned in section 25 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933(7) where a licence has been granted under that section by a justice of the peace.
(3) Subject to paragraph (4), on application made by a parent with whom the pupil normally resides, a pupil may be granted leave of absence from the school to enable the pupil to go away on holiday.
(4) Save in exceptional circumstances, a pupil must not in pursuance of paragraph (3) be granted more than ten school days leave of absence in any school year.
(5) This regulation applies only in relation to a maintained school and a special school not maintained by a local authority.
Deletions from admission register
8.—(1) The following are prescribed as the grounds on which the name of a pupil of compulsory school age must be deleted from the admission register—
(a)where the pupil is registered at the school in accordance with the requirements of a school attendance order, that another school is substituted by the local authority for that named in the order or the order is revoked by the local authority on the ground that arrangements have been made for the child to receive efficient full-time education suitable to the child’s age, ability and aptitude otherwise than at school;
(b)except where it has been agreed by the proprietor that the pupil should be registered at more than one school, in a case not falling within sub-paragraph (a) or regulation 9, that the pupil has been registered as a pupil of another school;
(c)where a pupil is registered at more than one school, and in a case not falling within sub-paragraph (j) or (m) and except as provided in regulation 9 that the pupil has ceased to attend the school and the proprietor of any other school at which the pupil is registered has given consent to the deletion;
(d)in a case not falling within sub-paragraph (a), that the pupil has ceased to attend the school and the proprietor has received written notification from the parent that the pupil is receiving education otherwise than at school;
(e)except in the case of a boarder, that the pupil has ceased to attend the school and no longer ordinarily resides at a place which is a reasonable distance from the school at which the pupil is registered;
(f)in the case of a pupil granted leave of absence exceeding ten school days for the purpose of a holiday in accordance with regulation 7(3), that—
(i)the pupil has failed to attend the school within the ten school days immediately following the expiry of the period for which such leave was granted;
(ii)the proprietor is not satisfied that the pupil is unable to attend the school by reason of sickness or any unavoidable cause; and
(iii)both the proprietor and the local authority have failed, after reasonable enquiry, to ascertain where the pupil is;
(g)that the 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 the pupil’s parent has indicated to the school the intention to continue to attend the school after ceasing to be of compulsory school age;
(h)that the pupil has been continuously absent from school for a period of not less than twenty school days and—
(i)at no time was his or her absence during that period authorised by the proprietor in accordance with regulation 6(2);
(ii)the proprietor is not satisfied that the pupil is unable to attend the school by reason of sickness or any unavoidable cause; and
(iii)both the proprietor of the school and the local authority have failed, after reasonable enquiry, to ascertain where the pupil is;
(i)that the pupil has been detained in pursuance of a final order made by a court or of an order of recall made by a court or the Secretary of State, that order being for a period of not less than 4 months, and the proprietor does not have reasonable grounds to believe that the pupil will return to the school at the end of that period;
(j)that the pupil has died;
(k)that the pupil will cease to be of compulsory school age before the school next meets and the relevant person has indicated that the pupil intends to cease to attend the school;
(l)in the case of a pupil at a school other than a maintained school, that the pupil has ceased to be a pupil of the school;
(m)where the pupil is registered at a maintained school, that the pupil has been permanently excluded from the school; or
(n)where the pupil has been admitted to the school to receive nursery education, the pupil has not on completing such education transferred to a reception class, or higher class, at the school.
(2) In a case not covered by paragraph (1)(a), (j) or (m), or regulation 9, the name of a child who has under arrangements made by a local authority become a registered pupil at a special school must not be removed from the admission register of that school without the consent of that authority or, if that authority refuse to give consent, without a direction of the Welsh Ministers.
(3) The following are prescribed as grounds on which the name of a pupil not of compulsory school age is to be deleted from the admission register—
(a)that the pupil has ceased to attend the school, or, in the case of a boarder, that he or she has ceased to be a pupil of the school;
(b)that the pupil has been continuously absent from the school for a period of not less than twenty school days—
(i)at no time was the absence during that period agreed by the proprietor;
(ii)the proprietor is not satisfied that the pupil is unable to attend the school by reason of sickness or any unavoidable cause; and
(iii)the proprietor of the school has failed, after reasonable enquiry, to locate the pupil;
(c)that the pupil has died;
(d)where the pupil has been admitted to the school to receive nursery education, he or she has not on completing such education transferred to a reception class, or higher class, at the school; or
(e)where the pupil is registered at a maintained school, that he or she has been permanently excluded from the school.
(4) For the purposes of this regulation—
(a)a pupil is to be treated as ordinarily residing at a place where the pupil is habitually and normally resident apart from temporary or occasional absences;
(b)“reception class” means a class in which education is provided which is suitable to the requirements of pupils aged five and any pupils under or over that age whom it is expedient to educate together with pupils of that age;
(c)children are to be regarded as having been admitted to a school to receive nursery education if they are placed on admission in a nursery class; and
(d)the permanent exclusion of a pupil from a maintained school does not take effect until the governing body has discharged its duties under regulations made under section 52 of the Education Act 2002(8), and—
(i)the relevant person has stated in writing that he or she does not intend to bring an appeal under those regulations;
(ii)the time for bringing an appeal has expired and no appeal has been brought within that time; or
(iii)an appeal brought within that time has been determined or abandoned.
Dual registration
9.—(1) Where a pupil is registered at a pupil referral unit and at a school other than a pupil referral unit, the name of that pupil must not be removed from the admission register of either the pupil referral unit or the school pursuant to regulation 8(1)(b) without the consent of both the local authority by which the pupil referral unit is maintained and the proprietor of the school.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3) where a pupil—
(a)is registered as a pupil at a special school (including a special school established in a hospital) and at another school (other than a pupil referral unit), and
(b)there is not maintained for that pupil a statement of special educational needs specifying the name of the special school only,
the name of that pupil must not be removed from the admission register of either school pursuant to regulation 8(1)(b) without the consent of the proprietor of both schools.
(3) Where a pupil is registered as a pupil at a special school established in a hospital and at another special school the name of that pupil must not be removed from the admission register of either school pursuant to regulation 8(1)(b) without the consent of the proprietor of both schools.
(4) This paragraph applies to a pupil who—
(a)has no fixed abode for the reason that his or her parent is engaged in a trade or business of such a nature as to require him or her to travel from place to place; and
(b)is at any time registered as a pupil at two or more schools.
(5) The name of a pupil to whom paragraph (4) applies must not be deleted from the admission register of a school pursuant to regulation 8(1)(b) while he or she is attending that school.
(6) The name of a pupil to whom paragraph (4) applies must not be deleted from the admission register of that pupil’s school of ordinary attendance pursuant to regulation 8(1)(b) or (c).
(7) Subject to paragraph (8) for the purposes of paragraph (6), a school is a pupil’s school of ordinary attendance if, during the immediately preceding 18 months, it is the school which the pupil has attended during periods when his or her parent is not travelling in the course of trade or business.
(8) In any case in which two or more schools fulfil the definition of a school of ordinary attendance in paragraph (7), paragraph (6) applies only in respect of the school which fulfils the definition most recently.
(9) The requirements to obtain consent in paragraphs (1) to (3) do not apply in cases covered by regulation 8(1)(j) and (m).
Inspection of registers
10. The admission register and the attendance register of every school must be available for inspection during school hours by—
(a)Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales or by any of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Education and Training; and
(b)in the case of a school maintained by a local authority, any officer of the local authority authorised for that purpose.
Extracts from registers
11. The persons authorised by regulation 10 to inspect the admission register and attendance register of any school must be permitted to make extracts from those registers for the purposes of their functions under the Education Acts.
Returns
12.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the proprietor of every school must make to the local authority, at such intervals as may be agreed between the proprietor and the local authority, or as may determined by the Welsh Ministers in default of agreement, a return giving the name and address of every registered pupil of compulsory school age who—
(a)fails to attend the school regularly; or
(b)has been absent from the school, where the absence has not been treated as authorised in accordance with regulation 6(2), for a continuous period of not less than ten school days, and specifying the cause of absence if known to the proprietor.
(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply with respect to any absence from the school—
(a)due to sickness of the pupil in respect of which a medical certificate has been furnished to the head teacher;
(b)due to leave of absence granted in accordance with regulation 7;
(c)of a pupil who is registered at more than one school, due to the pupil attending another school at which he or she is a registered pupil; and
(d)during any period when the pupil was attending an approved educational activity within the meaning of regulation 6(4).
(3) When the name of a pupil has been deleted from the admission register in accordance with regulation 8(1)(c), (d), (g), (i) or (m), the proprietor must make a return to the local authority giving the full name and address of that pupil within the ten school days immediately following the date on which the pupil’s name was so deleted.
Method of making entries
13. Every entry in an admission register or attendance register must be written in ink and any correction must be made in such a manner that the original entry and the correction are both clearly distinguishable.
Preservation of registers
14. Every entry in an admission register or attendance register must be preserved for a period of three years after the date on which the entry was made.
Use of computers
15.—(1) Nothing in these Regulations is to be taken to prevent the keeping of an admission register or an attendance register by means of a computer, but where such a register is so kept the following paragraphs of this regulation will apply for the purpose of modifying the requirements of these Regulations.
(2) The requirements of regulation 4 are not to be treated as satisfied unless an additional back-up copy of the admission register and the attendance register is made not less than once a month in the form of an electronic, micro-fiche or printed copy.
(3) The requirements of regulations 10 and 11 are not to be treated as satisfied unless the persons authorised to inspect and take extracts from the admission register and the attendance register are permitted to inspect and take extracts from those registers kept by means of a computer and the additional back-up copies made in accordance with paragraph (2).
(4) The requirements of regulation 13 are not to be treated as satisfied, unless, where any correction to an original entry in the registers is made, any register kept by means of a computer and any print made of any such register after the correction distinguish clearly between the original entry and the correction.
(5) The requirements of regulation 14 are not to be treated as satisfied unless—
(a)each additional back-up copy of the admission register and the attendance register made in accordance with paragraph (2) and relating to a particular school year is retained for that year and for a period of three years after the end of that school year; and
(b)each print of the admission and attendance register relating to a particular school year is retained in a single volume for that year and that volume is retained for a period of three years after the end of that school year.
(6) A print of a register produced by means of a computer is for the purposes of regulation 13 to be taken to be made in ink.
(7) The provisions of this regulation are without prejudice to the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998(9).
Leighton Andrews
Minister for Children, Education and Lifelong Learning, one of the Welsh Ministers
2 August 2010
Explanatory Note
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations replace, with amendments, the Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations 1995. The following changes of substance are made.
The name of a pupil must be included in the admission register from the beginning of the first day on which the school has agreed, or has been notified, that the pupil will attend the school (regulation 5(3)).
A pupil may be marked in the attendance register as unable to attend due to exceptional circumstances where the school site, or part of it, is closed or where transport normally provided for that pupil by the school or the local authority is unavailable (regulation 6(1)).
Where a pupil is attending another school at which he or she is a registered pupil he or she must be marked in the attendance register as attending an approved educational activity (regulation 6(4)).
Where a pupil is registered at more than one school his or her name may only be deleted from the admission register of a school which he or she has ceased to attend, where the proprietor of any other school at which the pupil is registered gives his or her consent (except where the pupil has died, been permanently excluded or is of no fixed abode) (regulation 8(1)(c) and 9).
Before deleting a pupil’s name from the admission register on the ground that they have not returned from a leave of absence exceeding ten days, both the proprietor and the local authority must have failed, after reasonable enquiry, to ascertain where the pupil is (regulation 8(1)(f)).
The period after which a pupil’s name may be deleted from the admission register on the ground that the pupil has been continuously absent without authorisation has been changed to twenty school days, and additionally the proprietor must not have reasonable grounds to believe that the pupil is unable to attend the school by reason of sickness or unavoidable cause (regulation 8(1)(h)).
The name of a pupil who is detained in pursuance of a final court order or order of recall may now only be deleted from the admission register where the order is for a period of not less than four months and where the proprietor does not have reasonable grounds to believe that the pupil will return to school at the end of that period (regulation 8(1)(i)).
The requirement to make a return to the local authority where a pupil’s name is deleted on certain grounds is extended. That requirement now also applies to deletions under regulation 8(1)(c), (d), (g), (i) and (m) (regulation 12(3)).
Where a register is kept by means of a computer that register must be backed-up in the form of an electronic, micro-fiche or printed copy not less than once a month (regulation 15(2)).
The functions of the Secretary of State under sections 434, 551 and 569 were, so far as exercisable in relation to Wales, transferred to the National Assembly for Wales by the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/672) and then to the Welsh Ministers under paragraph 30 of Schedule 11 to the Government of Wales Act 2006 (c. 32). Section 434 was amended by paragraph 111(a) and (b) of Schedule 30 to the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (c. 31). Section 551 was amended by paragraph 166(a) and (b) of Schedule 30 to the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.
Section 33N was inserted by section 35 of the Learning and Skills (Wales) Measure 2009, but is not in force at the time of making of these Regulations. The local curricula for students aged 16 to 18 must be formed in accordance with section 33A of the Learning and Skills Act 2000. Section 33A was inserted by section 22 of the Learning and Skills (Wales) Measure 2009.
S.I. 1995/2089; as amended by S.I. 1997/2624, S.I. 2001/1109 (W.53), S.I. 2003/3227 (W.308) and S.I. 2005/2913 (W.210).
1996 c. 56. Sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 560 were substituted by section 112(1) of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. Sub-section (3) of section 560 was further amended by section 112(3) of, and Schedule 31 to, the 1998 Act.
1963 c. 37; amended by S.I. 1998/276, paragraph 32 of Schedule 6 to the Licensing Act 2003 (c. 17), paragraph 6 of Schedule 20 to the Broadcasting Act 1990 (c. 42) and paragraph 10 of Schedule 37 to the Education Act 1996 (c. 56).
1933 c. 12; amended by S.I. 1998/276, paragraph 3 of Schedule 13 to the Children Act 1989 (c. 41), paragraph 10 of Part 3 of Schedule 3 to the Employment Act 1989 (c. 38), paragraph 7 of Schedule 5 to the Children and Young Persons Act 1963 and by paragraph 73 of Schedule 8 to the Courts Act 2003 (c. 39).
2002 c. 32. The relevant regulations in force at the time of making these Regulations are S.I. 2003/3227 (W.308), S.I. 2003/3246 (W.321) and S.I. 2004/1805 (W.193).