Pupil AbsenceAttendance Data Management

1
Pupil Absence/Attendance Data Management

• 13 October 2004

2
Consultation on proposed codes

• Comments are based on the consultation documents
  issued on 12 August
• General agreement that codifying absence codes
  is to be welcomed
• Certain proposed codes have not attracted any
  comment
• Others have!

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Acceptable codes?
4
Acceptable codes?
5
Acceptable codes?
6
Code B Educated off site (NOT Dual Registration)

• One LEA has grouped together any activity that is
  an authorised educational activity off the school
  site as B (Educated off site). This has relieved
  the requirement for P (approved sporting
  activity), V (educational visit or trip), W (work
  experience) and I (interview).
• Another LEA have assumed that code B is meant to
  cover such things as children who are in hospital
  or receiving home-tuition, but are unclear and
  think this code would benefit from having an
  enhanced description, listing a couple of
  examples where it should be used

7
Code B Educated off site (NOT Dual Registration)

• Would LEAs support grouping the following
  activity under this code?
• approved sporting activity
• educational visit or trip
• work experience
• interview

8
Code D Dual registration (i.e. pupil attending
other establishment

• In one LEA, schools would mark dual registered
  pupils as B on the school register where they are
  on roll, but liase closely with the second school
  to ensure the attendance record is accurate.
• They are concerned that the proposed use of code
  D would remove the responsibility for attendance
  from the main school
• Why merely changing the code used should remove
  the responsibility is not clear

9
Code D Dual registration (i.e. pupil attending
other establishment)

• Another LEA have said they would support the
  change in the definition of dual registration to
  approved educational activity instead of
  authorised absence as is currently the case.
• Dual Registration is approved educational
  activity, BUT
• The main schools needs to know if the pupil
  attends the other school
• Absence (from the other school) should be
  recorded as such in the main school

10
Code I Illness (NOT medical or dental
appointments)

• One LEA feels that it would be better if this
  description was ascribed the code F and that the
  code I remained as in its current common use for
  Interviews (as opposed to using X).
• (NOTE Code I has been used for both Interviews
  and Illness over the years. It is one of the
  areas that has created a need for the
  establishment of a unified table of reasons for
  absence.)

11
Code N Post registration truancy

• One LEA believes that Code N could only be used
  in lesson monitoring, as it appears to relate
  only to post registration truancy.
• The code is to be used in sessional
  registration.
• The intention behind this code is to change an
  initial Present registration mark (/ or \) to N
  when it is known that a pupil has truanted
  after registration.

12
Code N Post registration truancy

• Many LEAs/schools currently use Code N to record
  no reason yet provided and believe such a code
  is necessary to ensure school staff are not
  forced to guess the appropriate absence code
  before a reason from the parent/carer is given.
• Responses to the general questions asked in the
  consultation agree that a facility is required
  for no reason yet provided, but the code used
  could be different
• Or a different code used for post registration
  truancy?

13
Code N Post registration truancy

• One LEA suggested that this code should be X as
  it would allow for the Present codes (/ \) in
  manual registers to be more clearly amended if
  when such truancy occurs.
• Not sure if this is a legitimate reason for
  setting up a code

14
Code N Post registration truancy

• Another LEA think there would be significant
  problems in classifying post-registration truancy
  as N and therefore unauthorised absence.
• They have always understood that parents (whose
  offence this then becomes) could not be held
  liable for the fact that the child left school
  after registration.
• They (parents) fulfil their duty by ensuring the
  child is present at registration.
• After that it's up to the school!

15
Code N Post registration truancy

• DfES welcomes the comments made so far
• There are HS issues involved with knowing which
  pupils are not on site
• Lesson by lesson monitoring does record post
  registration truancy but this does not change the
  session registration
• Any introduction would require changes to
  Regulations

16
Code O Late (after registers closed)

• An LEA has suggested that this is another code
  that would benefit from having an enhanced
  description
• Use of the code could be improved by actually
  specifying the time-period after which registers
  must be closed
• A number of LEAs have requested that Code O
  should be used for Unauthorised absence because
  many schools currently use the code for this
  purpose

17
Code R Religious observance

• Code R is a controversial issue for some LEAs
• Schools with high numbers of ethnic minority
  pupils on roll are penalised for having to
  record religious observance, e.g. Eid, as
  authorised absence, rather than attendance not
  required in order to allow their pupils their
  right to follow their religion.
• This is especially difficult when these pupils
  are not expected to attend school during
  Christmas and Easter, which are not recognised by
  them as religious holidays.

18
Code R Religious observance

• Another LEA have asked for clarification on how
  this code would be used?
• Specifically
• who is to decide which religions qualify and
  which days are observable?
• how much time should be allowed for each
  observance?
• will there be an additional code for absences in
  excess of the time agreed/on days not recognised,
  i.e. an unauthorised religious observance code
  along the lines of unauthorised holidays in
  term-time?

19
Code R Religious observance

• There are currently no plans to change the
  meaning attached to Religious observance it
  is an absence which is authorised by the school
  as required by current Regulations
• It is for the school to exercise discretion over
  the amount of time or days for which absence is
  authorised for religious observance

20
Code S Study leave

• An LEA has suggested that DfES guidance currently
  states that study leave should not exceed 10 days
  in an academic year and that these 10 days should
  be recorded as authorised absence
• Schools are very aware that nationally there is
  no consistency over this issue and that the
  majority of schools set much longer periods of
  study leave than 10 days, especially during the
  weeks of the actual exams.

21
Code S Study leave

• Clarification has been asked for about treatment
  of attendance information for Y11 pupils, in
  particular,
• the pre or post-Christmas mock exam period,
• the period before the GCSEs,
• the GCSEs themselves, and
• the post-GCSE period.
• Clarification was also requested as to what
  absence code should be used if the 10 days of
  study leave is exceeded.

22
Code S Study leave

• Current DfES guidance issued to LEAs and schools
  actually states that
• Study leave should not exceed 15 days
• If possible, the period of study leave should be
  less than the examination period
• Study leave cannot be counted as approved
  educational activity because it is not
  supervised
• Year 11 pupils cannot leave school until the last
  Friday in June
• Study leave is absence which is authorised

23
Code T Traveller child travelling

• Clarification requested
• It is understood that Traveller children are only
  required by law to attend school for 100 sessions
  
• When they are out of school for the remaining
  time LEAs are unable to take legal action as they
  are protected
• Should absence of traveller children be recorded
  as not required to attend for these sessions,
  rather than authorised absence?

24
Code T Traveller child travelling

• Children from traveller families are subject to
  the same rules as others
• There is a defence available to traveller
  families if prosecuted for non attendance
  provided that ..the child has attended for at
  least 200 sessions in the 12 months ending when
  legal proceedings are started

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Questions asked
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Questions asked
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Questions asked
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Additional codes?

• Code for cases where a summons has been served
  and the case is awaiting court action which would
  show authorised absence for Data purposes but
  obviously unauthorised for court purposes.
• This would cut down a huge amount of unauthorised
  absence that is currently showing
• Pupil should still be in school and therefore
  present (or absent)

29
Additional codes?

• Code to record pupils participation in a
  licensed public performance.
• For resort LEAs this is a significant factor
• Use of a code would allow child entertainment
  licensing team to monitor and check absences
  against the conditions in issued licenses

30
Additional codes?

• Code for Extended leave (in addition to Family
  holiday codes) to cover exceptional approval to
  longer term absences
• Would be classed as authorised absence
• Non return by agreed date would be unauthorised
  absence as in proposed code G

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Implementation date

• Implementation date should be changed to a 1
  September
• The proposed January start would mean a split in
  the academic year, which would prevent accurate
  analysis of codes for a full year

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New termly absence survey

• Until replaced, the new termly absence survey
  will be fairly complicated for schools to action.
  
• Many schools may find it burdensome to complete
  termly returns as well as the May annual absence
  return
• Will LEAs be able to access the school-level data
  in the same way they can with the annual absence
  survey via the Forvus website?

33
New termly absence survey

• One LEA would fully support the combining of
  authorised and unauthorised absence
• found this differentiation unhelpful in work to
  improve overall absence from school.
• Another LEA suggested that if schools are
  monitoring absence (attendance) as they should be
  they will have this information
• It would not create any more work.
• If schools are recording attendance
  electronically it is the push of a button so
  why cant the termly returns be in the same
  format as the yearly one thereby eliminating
  the May 2006 Annual return

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New termly absence survey

• One LEA reports that they have been undertaking
  this process as part of the additional support
  required form the DfES.
• They modelled the termly return on the FORVUS
  return as most schools were familiar with this.
• They found the data collection exercise to be
  very unpopular with schools and difficult to
  enforce due to its non-statutory nature.
• In addition, the quality of the data collected
  was poor and of limited value for monitoring and
  policy making purposes.

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New termly absence survey

• On the basis of their experience and particularly
  on the way that schools have reacted, the LEA
  would recommend that
• a new termly collection of attendance data is not
  implemented and
• DfES goes straight to pupil level attendance in
  the PLASC return

36
More frequent data collections

• Believe more frequent data collection from
  schools is a good idea
• Will need reinforcing to ensure that schools make
  quicker decisions about registration
• Many schools still haven't picked up the need for
  monthly printouts after which marks should not be
  changed