Guidance on removing children from the admission/attendance roll

School to Local Authority Transfer of data: 

The guidance below provides schools with information on how and when to notify Bradford Council of children being either removed from the school’s admission/attendance roll, or when they are at risk of becoming a child missing from education.  This responsibility is also reiterated in statutory guidance on this matter: 

“Schools must notify the local authority when a pupil’s name is to be removed from the admission register at a non-standard transition point under any of the…grounds set out in the regulations ..., as soon as the ground for removal is met and no later than the time at which the pupil’s name is removed from the register.” - DfE - Children Missing Education Statutory Guidance (pages 9-10)

Schools who do not notify the Local Authority of children being removed from their roll as per the guidance above may potentially place children at risk of significant harm by failing to ensure that children no longer receiving an education receive appropriate support.  Local Authorities are duty bound to notify Ofsted of any safeguarding incidents.  A failure to comply with Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations ie by failing to notify the local authority of a child being removed from roll OR incorrectly removing a child from roll is a criminal offence under Section 434(6) of the Education Act 1996.  It is therefore very important that schools contact the Education Safeguarding Team if they are in any doubt whether or not they need to notify the local authority of a child being removed from roll.

Grounds to remove a child from the admissions roll:

The following are prescribed as the grounds (a-n) on which the name of a pupil of compulsory school age shall be deleted from the admission register, according to Regulation 8 of the Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations 2006: 

School Attendance Order

1. where the pupil is registered at the school in accordance with the requirements of a school attendance order, that another school is substituted by the local education authority for that named in the order or the order is revoked by the local education authority on the ground that arrangements have been made for the child to receive efficient full-time education suitable to his/ her age, ability and aptitude otherwise than at school; 

A School Attendance Order (SAO) is an order issued by the Local Authority to the parent of a child in circumstances where the parent has failed to provide their child with a full time education, either by the child being on roll at a school, or by providing a “suitable, efficient” education other than at school.  A child who is subject to a School Attendance Order can not be removed from roll without explicit permission from the Local Authority.  Schools should be aware of a child with a school attendance order at the point at which the child starts with the school, however please contact attlegal@bradford.gov.uk if you are unsure.  

School transfers and managed moves 

2. except where it has been agreed by the proprietor that the pupil should be registered at more than one school, in a case not falling within sub-paragraph (a) or regulation 9, that he has been registered as a pupil at another school; 

Once the new school has confirmed that the pupil is on roll with them, the child can be removed from the previous school’s roll. There should not be a gap in the child’s education provision. 

3. where a pupil is registered at more than one school, and in a case not falling within sub-paragraph (j) or (m) or regulation 9, that he has ceased to attend the school and the proprietor of any other school at which he is registered has given consent to the deletion; 

This may apply where a direction offsite has occurred and the two schools agree in writing to make this a managed move. 

• The original school should not remove the child from roll until after the managed move has been completed and the new school has confirmed that the child will be single registered on their roll. 
• During a direction off site, the previous school should code the child's attendance at the trial school as “D” as s/he is “dual-registered” and attending a separate provision. 
• The school the child has been directed to should code attendance/absence as normal. 
• The Exclusions Team should be contacted via email: exclusionsteam@bradford.gov.uk to be notified of any managed moves of pupils between schools.  More Information can be accessed via https://bso.bradford.gov.uk/content/behaviour/behaviour-and-attendance-collaboratives

Elective Home Education 

4. in a case not falling within sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph, that he has ceased to attend the school and the proprietor has received written notification from the parent that the pupil is receiving education otherwise than at school; 

Section 3.12 of the DfE’s Elective home education: Guidelines for local authorities clearly states:  

“Schools must not seek to persuade parents to educate their children at home as a way of avoiding an exclusion or because the child has a poor attendance record. In the case of exclusion, they must follow the statutory guidance. If the pupil has a poor attendance record, the school and local authority must address the issues behind the absenteeism and use the other remedies available to them.” 

• A school should not remove a pupil from roll until they have received in writing a request from a parent to home educate. 
• The school must also notify the Local Authority if a parent has decided to home educate their child(ren). 
• Schools should therefore complete the/Off Roll Notification e-form - https://bso.bradford.gov.uk/Secure/PupilRegistration/  
• The school must also notify the Elective Home Education Team by email - electiveheducation@bradford.gov.uk. 
• Schools must not remove a pupil from its roll if a parent requests to remove their child from roll and they fail to identify a subsequent education provision. 

Reasonable travelling distances 

5. except in the case of a boarder, that he has ceased to attend the school and no longer ordinarily resides at a place which is a reasonable distance from the school at which he is registered; 

A “reasonable distance” is defined by the DfE as being 45 minutes away by public transport if the child is of a primary school age, or 1 hour 15 minutes if the pupil is of a secondary school age. 

• The school should off roll once they receive confirmation that the child is no longer living within a reasonable distance of the school.  A child should not normally be taken off roll for this reason until there is confirmation that the child is known to a new LA.  For children moving within Bradford, it will not normally be appropriate to remove a child from roll until the school receives confirmation that the family are residing at the new address.   
• An Off-roll notification form must be submitted  to the local authority - https://bso.bradford.gov.uk/Secure/PupilRegistration/ 

Long term absence 

6. in the case of a pupil granted leave of absence exceeding ten school days in accordance with regulation 7(1A), that — 

1.  the pupil has failed to attend the school within the ten school days immediately following the expiry of the period for which such leave was granted; 

2. the proprietor does not have reasonable grounds to believe that the pupil is unable to attend the school by reason of sickness or any unavoidable cause; and 

3. the proprietor and the local authority have failed, after jointly making reasonable enquiries, to ascertain where the pupil is; 

It is important that a parent provides the school with a date at which the pupil will return to school, and that parents are made aware as part of the requesting leave process of the consequences of not returning from a period of leave on time.  If the pupil does not return to the school the school should; 

• Write to the parent reminding them of the return date, and warning them that if the pupil does not return to school within 10 days they may be removed from the school roll. 
• If the pupil subsequently fails to return to school, the school should investigate as per the usual CME procedure. 
• Once the school confirms that they are unable to locate the family, the school must complete a CME referral and send it to the Local Authority - for further guidance visit: CME Guidance .
• The school must await confirmation from the local authority before removing a child from roll if their whereabouts are unknown. 
• This scenario does not apply for families where permission was not granted, ie an unauthorised leave of absence was taken. 

Medical reasons 

7. that he is certified by the school medical officer as unlikely to be in a fit state of health to attend school before ceasing to be of compulsory school age, and neither he nor his parent has indicated to the school the intention to continue to attend the school after ceasing to be of compulsory school age; 

Schools can liaise with the Education Safeguarding Team in cases such as this, and they will be able to provide advice on how to make contact with an appropriate medical officer. 

Continuous Unauthorised Absence for 20 School days 

8. that he has been continuously absent from the school for a period of not less than twenty school days and — 

1. at no time was his absence during that period authorised by the proprietor in accordance with regulation 6(2); 

2. the proprietor does not have reasonable grounds to believe that the pupil is unable to attend the school by reason of sickness or any unavoidable cause; AND 

3. both the proprietor of the school AND the local education authority have failed, after reasonable enquiry, to ascertain where the pupil is; 

An investigation led by the school should take place whenever a pupil is absent from school for a continuous period without any contact from parents and/or when child protection concerns exist. 

• Schools also have a statutory duty under Section 12 of these regulations to notify the local authority where a child has been absent from school for 10 consecutive days due to a period of unauthorised absence. A school can do this by completing the CME form when they believe a child is missing.
• For further guidance visit: CME Guidance .
• The school must await confirmation from the local authority before removing a child from roll if their whereabouts are unknown. 

Pupils in Custody 

9. that he is detained in pursuance of a final order made by a court or of an order of recall made by a court or the Secretary of State, that order being for a period of not less than four months, and the proprietor does not have reasonable grounds to believe that the pupil will return to the school at the end of that period; 

In this scenario there should be regular contact between Bradford & District Youth Justice Service and School regarding any child at risk of a custodial sentence. 

• If the pupil receives a custodial sentence and remains on the school roll, Bradford & District Youth Justice Service should be consulted to confirm that the child will be receiving education provision during their sentence. 
• If they are, then the absence may be coded as “B” as they are being educated at an off-site provision. 
• If they are in custody, detained for less than four months and are not accessing an education, then the absence may be coded as “Y”. 
• Bradford & District Youth Justice Service can be contacted on 01274 436060.
• If the child can be removed from roll, submit an Off-Roll Notification Form: https://bso.bradford.gov.uk/Secure/PupilRegistration/  

Death of a pupil 

10. that the pupil has died; 

• The Local Authority should be notified as per usual reporting procedures. 

Year 11 Leavers 

11. that he will cease to be of compulsory school age before the school next meets and the relevant person has indicated that he will cease to attend the school; 

• Notification to the local authority is not required. 
• The school should follow their normal off-rolling procedures and may remove Year 11 leavers from roll from the last Friday in June of the relevant year. 

Private Independent schools 

12. in the case of a pupil at a school other than a maintained school, an Academy, a city technology college or a city college for the technology of the arts, that he has ceased to be a pupil of the school; 

• This applies to non-maintained, independent schools only; and off-roll notifications to the LA from Independent Schools must be submitted on every occasion, particularly in cases where there are concerns around the safety of the child or there are known risk factors surrounding the family.  
• Submit an Off-Roll Notification Form - https://bso.bradford.gov.uk/Secure/PupilRegistration/  

Exclusions 

13. that he has been permanently excluded from the school; 

• The school should send notification to the local authority, to be received directly by our Exclusions Team.. 
• Follow the Exclusions guidance https://bso.bradford.gov.uk/content/behaviour/pupil-exclusions/exclusions to notify the Exclusions Team.  Documents relating to the exclusion should be attached ie exclusion letter sent to the parents of the child. 
• Submit an Off-Roll Notification Form once the exclusions process has been completed, a child can officially be removed from roll - https://bso.bradford.gov.uk/Secure/PupilRegistration/  

Reception aged children 

14. where the pupil has been admitted to the school to receive nursery education, that he has not on completing such education transferred to a reception, or higher, class at the school. 

• If the child’s destination is not known and you are concerned, a CME form should be completed - for more guidance, please visit CME Guidance .
• The school may off-roll the child once advised to by the LA, or should the Nursery become aware that the child is now attending an education provision. 
• Submit an Off-Roll Notification Form - https://bso.bradford.gov.uk/Secure/PupilRegistration/ 

School to School (S2S) Transfer of data - Common Transfer File (CTF) 

Whenever a pupil is deleted from a school roll, the school has a statutory duty to upload a CTF to the Department for Education (DfE) School-to-School (S2S) website. The Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations 2006 describe the information that must be transferred and the method of transfer. 

The school releasing the pupil must send a CTF to the new school within 15 school days of deregistration. Where possible, the CTF should be sent to the new school before the pupil leaves. This applies to any transfer at any time between educational establishments for pupils aged 3 to 16 years (Nursery to end of Year 11). 

When generating a CTF, the following codes should be used 

• local authority number (where new school is based) followed by the new school number (for DfE registered schools) 
• XXX XXXX where the destination school is not known or the pupil is missing 
• MMM MMMM where the destination school is outside the maintained sector (independent) or the child is being educated otherwise than at school or the child has moved outside England or Wales. 

More information on the secure transferring of CTFs can be found via https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-to-school-service-how-to-transfer-information