Attendance register operation and retention procedure

Scope and applicability

This procedure applies to maintained and academy primary and secondary schools in England. The school must maintain an electronic admission register. It must also maintain an electronic attendance register unless all pupils are boarders.

Admission register

Enter every pupil, regardless of age, on the electronic admission register.

Taking the attendance register

Take the attendance register at the start of each morning session and once during each afternoon session of every school day. Take each register at the same time for all registered pupils.

On each occasion, record whether each registered pupil is physically present in school. Where a pupil is not physically present, record the reason for absence using the applicable national attendance and absence code set out in regulation 10 of the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024.

Preserving register entries

Preserve every entry in the attendance register and admission register for six years from the date on which the data was entered.

Amending entries

When an entry is amended, retain the original entry and the amended entry. Record the reason for the amendment, the date on which the amendment was made, and the name of the person who made it.

The attendance register records the pupil’s presence at the time the register was taken. Amend an attendance entry routinely only where the reason for absence could not be established when the register was taken and it is subsequently necessary to correct the entry.