School Special Attendance Circumstances and Coding Procedure

This procedure applies to maintained and academy primary and secondary schools in England when the relevant provision, pupil status, leave, religious observance, pregnancy or illness circumstance exists. School-type-specific conditions and exceptions must be applied.

Use the attendance code that matches the circumstance and keep the supporting application, decision, notification or record described in the applicable section. The school’s responsible attendance role is [attendance recording role].

Local-authority-arranged education — Code K

Use Code K when a pupil attends a place other than the school or another school at which they are registered, for educational provision arranged by a local authority under section 19(1) of the Education Act 1996, section 42(2), or section 61(1) of the Children and Families Act 2014.

Record the nature of the provision. Examples include attending courses at college and attending unregistered alternative provision.

Arrange for the education provider to notify the school of any absence by the pupil. When the provider notifies the school of absence, record the pupil’s absence using the relevant absence code.

Record the provision and provider arrangements in [local authority provision record].

Dual registration — Code D

Use Code D only when a pupil is attending the other school at which they are registered for the session. The pupil must be on the admission register of that other school.

The school at which the pupil is scheduled to attend must record the pupil’s attendance or absence using the appropriate code. Either school may use Code D only for a session when the pupil is scheduled to attend the other registered school.

Examples of dual registration include a pupil attending a pupil referral unit, hospital school or special school temporarily.

Before recording Code D, confirm the pupil’s scheduled placement for the session in [dual registration timetable].

Medical or dental appointments — Code M

Encourage parents to make medical and dental appointments outside school hours. Where this is not possible, ask for the school’s agreement in advance and limit the pupil’s absence to the minimum time necessary for the appointment.

For schools required to follow regulation 11, leave for a medical or dental appointment may be granted only where the application is made in advance by the parent with whom the pupil normally lives, or by the pupil where applicable, and the school is satisfied that exceptional circumstances justify the leave.

Schools that are not required to follow regulation 11 must still use Code M to record leave of absence granted for attending a medical or dental appointment.

Record the advance application, the decision and, where applicable, the reasons for the exceptional-circumstances assessment in [medical appointment leave record].

If the pupil is present at registration and then leaves the school to attend a medical or dental appointment during that session, do not record an absence for that session.

Maternity leave for a pregnant pupil

Treat maternity leave as leave of absence in exceptional circumstances. Act reasonably and grant a sufficient period of leave, taking account of the specific facts and circumstances of the case. The amount of leave granted is at the school’s discretion.

Record the maternity-leave decision, the circumstances considered and the agreed period of leave in [maternity leave record]. Record the related attendance-register coding for the period granted.

Religious observance — Code R

Use Code R when the pupil is absent on a day exclusively set apart for religious observance by the religious body to which the parent or parents belong.

If a religious body sets apart a single day and the parent applies for more than one day, record only the qualifying day using Code R. Assess any additional requested days as leave of absence under the applicable exceptional-leave arrangements.

Record the application and how each requested day was classified in [religious observance record].

Illness — Code I

Use Code I when the pupil is unable to attend because of illness, including physical and mental-health-related illness. Do not use this code for a medical or dental appointment.

Advise parents to notify the school on the first day the pupil is unable to attend because of illness. The notification route is [first day illness notification route].

Where illness absence is long-term or recurring, work with the family and other agencies to identify barriers to attendance and put support in place to address them.

Record relevant contacts, identified barriers and support in [long term or recurring illness record].

Recording and escalation

For each circumstance, apply the code only when the conditions in the relevant section are met. Where the conditions are not met, do not use that special code; determine the applicable attendance or leave-of-absence treatment from the circumstances and the school’s applicable arrangements.

Where a case involves more than one circumstance, record the circumstance that applies to the session and retain the supporting information in [attendance case record].