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(1).
(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(2) 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.
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.