Part III — Operating Standards
Chapter 13 — Attendance and Student Welfare
Chapter 13
Attendance and Student Welfare
This chapter sets out the attendance standard an Affiliated School
must enforce, the recording and reporting obligations that
accompany it, the exemptions available on medical or other
grounds, and the welfare obligations the School owes to its
students — including safeguarding, anti-bullying, and mental
health.
13.1 General Principle
13.1.1
Regular attendance is a condition of participation in the WISE
system. The School must enforce the minimum attendance
requirement in Section 13.2, and must maintain records that
permit it to be verified at audit.
13.1.2
Attendance is not merely an administrative metric. It is a
proxy for the student's engagement with the curriculum, and
a material factor in the validity of the Internal Assessment
mark.
13.1.3
Welfare obligations under this chapter are owed by the School
to every student enrolled in an affiliated class, whether or
not the student is a WISE candidate in that Academic Session.
13.2 Minimum Attendance Requirement
13.2.1
A student must attend not less than seventy per cent of the
scheduled school days in the Academic Session in order to sit
a WISE Examination.
13.2.2
The seventy per cent threshold is calculated on the basis of
the total scheduled school days for the Academic Session, not
on the basis of attendance in any particular term or subject.
13.2.3
Attendance is recorded on a daily basis. A student is counted
as present on a day if the student attends any part of the
scheduled instruction on that day, subject to the School's
policy on late arrivals and early departures.
13.2.4
The School's policy on late arrivals and early departures must
be in writing, must be published to parents at the
commencement of each Academic Session, and must be applied
consistently.
13.2.5
Where a student's attendance falls below seventy per cent at
any point during the Academic Session, the School must notify
the parent or guardian in writing within seven days of the
point at which the shortfall is identified.
13.2.6
Where a student's attendance remains below seventy per cent
at the close of the Academic Session, and no exemption under
Section 13.5 applies, the student is not eligible to sit
the WISE Examination for that session.
13.3 Attendance Records
13.3.1
The School must maintain a daily attendance record for every
student enrolled in an affiliated class, in the Institution
Management Portal. Where a paper register is also kept, the
paper register must be reconciled with the Portal record at
least once per term.
13.3.2
Attendance data must be submitted to WEQSC through the Portal
not later than the tenth day of the following calendar month.
13.3.3
The School must compute and record, for each student, the
aggregate attendance percentage for the Academic Session, and
must update the computation not less than once per term.
13.3.4
Where a student transfers in from another school during the
Academic Session, the attendance record for the current
session must include the attendance recorded at the transferring
school, on production of a certified attendance transfer
document.
13.3.5
Attendance records are subject to the retention requirements
in Chapter 21, and are inspected at audit under Chapter 28.
13.3.6
A pattern of inaccurate attendance recording across two or
more Academic Sessions is a Major Finding, and may constitute
grounds for Suspension under Chapter 29 where the inaccuracy
is deliberate.
13.4 Consequences of Non-Compliance
13.4.1
Where a student's attendance falls below the seventy per cent
threshold and no exemption applies, the student may not sit
the WISE Examination for that Academic Session. The School
must record the ineligibility in the Portal before the
examination date.
13.4.2
A student who is ineligible to sit the WISE Examination under
this section may, subject to the School's policy and to any
applicable law, repeat the Academic Session and sit the
examination in a subsequent session.
13.4.3
The School must not permit a student to sit a WISE Examination
where the School knows, or ought reasonably to know, that the
student is ineligible under this section. Permitting an
ineligible student to sit is a Breach, and the resulting
examination result is subject to cancellation under
Chapter 35.
13.4.4
Where the School has failed to enforce the attendance
requirement systematically — for example, by failing to record
attendance, by fabricating attendance records, or by
permitting ineligible students to sit — the matter is treated
as a Major Finding, and, where the conduct is deliberate, as
a Critical Finding.
13.4.5
Where attendance falls below the threshold for a student who
is a Scholarship Recipient under Part IV, the School must
notify WEQSC. The scholarship may be suspended for the
following Academic Session, subject to the provisions of the
relevant scholarship chapter.
13.5 Exemptions and Reasonable Adjustments
13.5.1
A student may be granted an exemption from the attendance
requirement, in whole or in part, where:
- The student has been absent for a continuous period of not less than fourteen days on documented medical grounds, supported by a certificate from a registered medical practitioner;
- The student has been absent on grounds of a bereavement in the immediate family, or of a comparable compassionate circumstance;
- The student has been absent by reason of a governmental order, natural disaster, epidemic, or similar event outside the student's or the School's control; or
- The student has been absent while representing the School, the district, the state, or the country in a recognised sports, NCC, Scouts & Guides, or co-curricular activity, on the basis of documentation as specified in Chapter 17.
13.5.2
An exemption under Section 13.5.1 reduces the denominator in
the attendance calculation by the number of days for which
the exemption applies. The student is not credited with
attendance; the exempt days are simply not counted as
scheduled days for the purpose of the calculation.
13.5.3
An exemption under Section 13.5.1 must be applied for by the
parent or guardian, or by the student where the student is
over eighteen years of age, in writing, supported by the
documentation specified. The application must be made within
thirty days of the last day of the absence to which it
relates.
13.5.4
The School must maintain a record of every exemption granted,
including the grounds, the supporting documentation, and the
number of days exempted. The record must be available for
inspection at audit.
13.5.5
A student with a disability, chronic illness, or other
special educational need is entitled to a reasonable
adjustment of the attendance requirement where the disability,
illness, or need materially affects the student's ability to
attend. The School must record the adjustment and the reasons
for it, and must apply to WEQSC for approval where the
adjustment is expected to reduce the attendance threshold by
more than ten percentage points.
13.5.6
Nothing in this section permits the School to exempt a student
arbitrarily, or to grant an exemption as a means of concealing
a failure of the School to provide instruction.
13.6 Student Welfare — General Obligations
13.6.1
The School must maintain a safe, supportive, and inclusive
learning environment for every student enrolled in an
affiliated class.
13.6.2
The School must adopt, publish, and implement written policies
in respect of:
- Child protection and safeguarding;
- Anti-bullying and anti-harassment;
- Student mental health and wellbeing; and
- Complaints and disciplinary procedures affecting students.
13.6.3
Each policy under Section 13.6.2 must be reviewed not less
than once every three years, and must be made available to
parents, students, and staff.
13.6.4
The School must designate a member of staff as the Safeguarding
Lead, responsible for the implementation of the child
protection and safeguarding policy and for the receipt of
safeguarding concerns.
13.6.5
Where the School becomes aware of any allegation that a member
of staff, or any other adult having contact with students
through the School, has caused harm to a student, the School
must:
- Take immediate steps to protect the student or students affected;
- Report the matter to the competent authorities in the jurisdiction, in accordance with the law and in any event where the allegation concerns a criminal act;
- Report the matter to WEQSC within seven days; and
- Cooperate fully with any investigation conducted by the competent authorities or by WEQSC.
13.6.6
The School must maintain a record of every safeguarding concern
and of the action taken. The record must be treated as
confidential, subject to any disclosure required by law or
by WEQSC for the purposes of its oversight.
13.7 Anti-Bullying and Anti-Harassment
13.7.1
The School must maintain a written anti-bullying and
anti-harassment policy, applicable to conduct occurring on
school premises, on school transport, at school activities,
and on digital platforms where the conduct materially affects
a student's participation in school life.
13.7.2
The policy must:
- Define bullying and harassment, including cyberbullying;
- Specify the procedure by which a student, parent, or staff member may report a concern;
- Specify the procedure by which a reported concern will be investigated;
- Specify the range of consequences that may follow a substantiated concern; and
- Provide for the support of the student affected, whether or not the concern is substantiated.
13.7.3
The School must maintain a record of reports received and of
their disposition, in anonymised form, and must be prepared to
demonstrate at audit that the policy is applied consistently.
13.8 Mental Health and Wellbeing
13.8.1
The School must make provision for the mental health and
wellbeing of its students, appropriate to the age of the
students and to the resources available to the School.
13.8.2
Provision under Section 13.8.1 may include: awareness
programmes integrated into the curriculum; access to a
counsellor, whether employed by the School or engaged on a
visiting basis; and a clear referral pathway to external
services where specialist support is required.
13.8.3
Where a student is identified as being at risk of harm to
themselves, the School must inform the parent or guardian,
unless doing so would place the student at greater risk, and
must take reasonable steps to arrange appropriate support.
13.8.4
Records concerning the mental health of a student are treated
as special-category data under Chapter 24, and are subject to
the heightened protections specified in that chapter.
13.9 Special Provisions for Girl Students
13.9.1
The School must provide, for female students, appropriate
sanitary facilities, access to menstrual hygiene products,
and a designated rest area where feasible.
13.9.2
The School must make provision for the attendance of female
students during menstruation, including where necessary a
reasonable adjustment of the attendance requirement under
Section 13.5.5.
13.9.3
Where the School becomes aware that a female student is at
risk of being withdrawn from school on grounds of gender,
early marriage, economic pressure, or comparable circumstance,
the School must:
- Take reasonable steps to support the student's continued enrolment;
- Inform the parent or guardian of the support available to girl students under Part IV; and
- Notify WEQSC in writing where the student's continued enrolment is at material risk.
13.9.4
The School must maintain the enrolment of a female student in
the WISE programme, and her access to the girl-child support
provisions in Part IV, notwithstanding any economic
circumstance of the family, subject to the School's general
rules on enrolment.
13.10 Special Provisions for Students with Disabilities
13.10.1
The School must not discriminate against a student on the
ground of disability, in admission, in participation in the
WISE programme, or in any aspect of school life.
13.10.2
The School must make reasonable adjustments for students with
disabilities, including adjustments to the mode of instruction,
the mode of assessment, the physical environment, and the
attendance requirement, to the extent necessary to enable the
student to participate in the WISE programme on an equal
basis.
13.10.3
Adjustments under Section 13.10.2 must be documented for each
student, and must be recorded in the student's record in the
Portal.
13.10.4
Where a student requires an adjustment that cannot be
accommodated by the School — for example, because the
adjustment would require a specialist service that the
School cannot reasonably procure — the School must notify
WEQSC in writing, and must provide the student and the parent
with information about alternative provision.
13.10.5
WEQSC may approve special examination arrangements for
students with disabilities, including additional time,
assistive technology, and alternative assessment formats.
Applications are made by the School through the Portal not
less than ninety days before the examination date.
13.11 Welfare Records and Confidentiality
13.11.1
Records created under this chapter — attendance records,
exemption records, safeguarding records, mental health
records, and disability adjustment records — are governed by
the data protection provisions of Chapter 24.
13.11.2
Records relating to the mental health, disability, or
safeguarding of a student are treated as special-category
data, and are subject to the heightened protections specified
in Chapter 24.
13.11.3
Access to welfare records must be limited to those members of
staff who require access in order to discharge their
responsibilities. Access must be logged.
13.11.4
Nothing in this section prevents the School from complying
with any applicable law requiring disclosure of welfare
records to the competent authorities.
13.12 Breach — Consequences
13.12.1
A Breach of any provision of this chapter is subject to the
audit regime in Chapter 28 and, where applicable, to the
suspension and termination regime in Chapter 29.
13.12.2
The following are classified as indicated, unless the
contrary is established at audit:
| Breach | Classification |
|---|
| Failure to report a safeguarding concern to WEQSC within seven days | Critical |
| Fabrication of attendance records | Critical |
| Permitting an ineligible student to sit a WISE Examination | Major |
| Failure to enforce the seventy per cent attendance requirement | Major if systematic |
| Failure to maintain a safeguarding or anti-bullying policy | Major |
| Discrimination against a student on the ground of disability | Major |
| Failure to make reasonable adjustments for a student with a disability | Major |
| Failure to maintain attendance records | Minor (Major if repeated) |
| Failure to notify the parent of an attendance shortfall | Minor |
| Failure to make provision for the welfare of girl students | Minor (Major if deliberate) |
13.12.3
A Critical Finding under this chapter is subject to the
remediation timetable in Chapter 28, and may constitute
grounds for immediate Suspension under Chapter 29.
13.12.4
Nothing in this chapter displaces the School's right of
appeal under Chapter 35.
Further Resources
- Attendance register template —
wise.weqsc.org/forms/attendance
- Exemption application form —
wise.weqsc.org/forms/exemption
- Safeguarding policy template —
wise.weqsc.org/forms/safeguarding
- Anti-bullying policy template —
wise.weqsc.org/forms/anti-bullying
- Disability adjustment application —
wise.weqsc.org/forms/disability
- Special examination arrangement application —
wise.weqsc.org/forms/special-exam