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

These Regulations extend to England and Wales.

These Regulations apply only in relation to schools in England.

In these Regulations—

• “the 1996 Act” means the Education Act 1996;

• “the 2014 Act” means the Children and Families Act 20142;

• “the local authority” means—

  1. a

     in relation to a school maintained by a local authority, that local authority;

  2. b

     in relation to any other school, the local authority for the area that the school is located in;

• “mobile child” means a child of compulsory school age3 who has no fixed abode and whose parent is engaged in a trade or business of such a nature as to require them to travel from place to place;

• “registered pupil”, in relation to a school, means a person registered as a pupil at the school in the school’s admission register (within the meaning of these Regulations);

• “regulated employment abroad”, in relation to a registered pupil, means employment abroad for a purpose mentioned in section 25(1) of the Children and Young Persons Act 19334 for which the pupil has been granted a licence by a justice of the peace under section 25(2) of that Act;

• “regulated performance”, in relation to a registered pupil, means a performance that section 37(2) of the Children and Young Persons Act 19635 applies to and which—

  1. a

     the pupil is authorised to take part in by a licence granted by a local authority under section 37(1) of that Act; or

  2. b

     the pupil does not need a licence for because of section 37(3) of that Act;

• “sentence of detention” means—

  1. a

     a detention and training order under section 233 of the Sentencing Act 20206;

  2. b

     a sentence of detention under section 250 of that Act;

  3. c

     a special sentence of detention under section 252A of that Act7;

  4. d

     an extended sentence of detention under section 254 of that Act; or

  5. e

     a sentence of detention at His Majesty’s pleasure under section 259 of that Act.

A reference in these Regulations to a pupil’s starting day at a school is to be interpreted in accordance with paragraphs (4) and (5).

A reference in these Regulations to telling something to the proprietor of a school includes telling any person authorised by the proprietor for that purpose.

Except in regulation 11, a reference in these Regulations to a pupil being given leave of absence from a school is a reference to their being given leave of absence from that school by a person who the proprietor of the school has authorised to do so, and a reference to a pupil being absent with leave is a reference to their being absent with leave given by such a person.

Schedule 1 makes incidental and supplemental amendments.

The Regulations listed in the first column of the table in Schedule 2 are revoked to the extent specified in the third column of the table.

The proprietor of a school must ensure that an admission register is kept.

The proprietor of a school must ensure that an attendance register is kept unless all the pupils at the school are boarders.

The proprietor of a school must ensure that a register kept under paragraph (1) or (2) is kept electronically and that a back-up copy of that register is made at least once a month in the form of an electronic or printed copy.

The proprietor must ensure that any printed copy of the register also contains the information listed in paragraph (1).

The proprietor of a school must ensure that the name of each pupil at the school is entered in the school’s admission register on the pupil’s starting day, before or at the beginning of the first school session on that day.

If the school has boarding pupils the proprietor must ensure that the admission register states whether each registered pupil of compulsory school age is a boarder or a day pupil.

If any of the details of a registered pupil mentioned in paragraphs (2) to (6) changes the proprietor must ensure that the admission register is amended accordingly as soon as reasonably possible.

In this regulation—

• “main school”, in relation to a mobile child, 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 trade or business or, if there is more than one such school, the school that most recently fulfils those criteria;

• “pupil” means a registered pupil, except in the second place where it occurs in each of paragraphs (1)(n) and (3)(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 who it is expedient to educate together with pupils of that age;

• “the relevant local authority”, in relation to a school attendance order, means the local authority who served the school attendance order;

• “suitable education”, in relation to a child, means efficient full-time education suitable to the child’s age, ability and aptitude and any special educational needs they may have.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

In this regulation—

• “enactment” includes—

  1. a

     an enactment passed or made after these Regulations;

  2. b

     an enactment contained in subordinate legislation within the meaning of the Interpretation Act 197818;

  3. c

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

  4. d

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

  5. 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 Act19;

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

Leave of absence from a school maintained by a local authority or a special school not maintained by a local authority may only be given by a person who the school’s proprietor has authorised to do so (an “authorised person”).

An authorised person may not give a pupil leave of absence for any other purpose unless any of paragraphs (4) to (11) applies.

This paragraph applies if the leave is to enable the pupil to attend a place for an approved educational activity within regulation 10(11).

A relevant office-holder may examine and take extracts from the admission register and the attendance register of a school for the purposes of their functions under the Education Acts.

The proprietor of a school must ensure that the admission register and the attendance register are available for examination during school hours by any relevant office-holder.

The proprietor of a school must ensure that a relevant office-holder is permitted to take extracts from the admission register and attendance register.

By the end of the fifth day after the day when the name of a registered pupil, other than one within paragraph (2), is entered in the admission register of a school the proprietor must make a return to the local authority (a “new pupil return”) giving all the information about the pupil that is entered in the admission register.

If the local authority ask the proprietor of a school to make new pupil returns in relation to registered pupils within paragraph (2), the proprietor must also make such a return in relation to any such registered pupil whose name is entered in the admission register of the school after the day of local authority’s request, by the end of the fifth day after the day when the registered pupil’s name is entered in the admission register.

If the local authority ask the proprietor of a school to make deletion returns in relation to registered pupils within paragraph (5), the proprietor must also make such a return when any such registered pupil’s name is deleted from the admission register of the school after the day of local authority’s request.

The proprietor must make attendance returns at whatever intervals it has agreed with the local authority or, in the absence of such an agreement, at whatever intervals the Secretary of State determines.

The proprietor must make a sickness return as soon as possible after the conditions in paragraph (9) are satisfied.

The proprietor is not required to make a sickness return for a pupil if it has already made a sickness return for that pupil in the same school year and relating to the same continuous period of absence.