Attendance and Student Welfare

General Principle

Regular attendance is a condition of participation in the WISE system. The school must enforce the minimum attendance requirement set out in this page, and must maintain records that permit it to be verified at audit.

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.

Welfare obligations under this page are owed by the school to every student enrolled in an accredited class, whether or not the student is a WISE candidate in that academic session.

Minimum Attendance Requirement

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Attendance Records

The school must maintain a daily attendance record for every student enrolled in an accredited 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.

Attendance data must be submitted to WEQSC through the Portal not later than the tenth day of the following calendar month.

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.

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.

Attendance records are subject to the retention requirements set out in the Data and Technology section of this portal, and are inspected at audit.

A pattern of inaccurate attendance recording across two or more academic sessions is a Major Finding, and may constitute grounds for suspension where the inaccuracy is deliberate.

Consequences of Non-Compliance

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.

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.

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 of the WEQSC framework, and the resulting examination result is subject to cancellation.

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.

Exemptions and Reasonable Adjustments

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;
• 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.

An exemption 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.

An exemption 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.

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.

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.

Student Welfare — General Obligations

The school must maintain a safe, supportive, and inclusive learning environment for every student enrolled in an accredited class.

The school must maintain written policies in respect of:

• Child protection and safeguarding;
• Anti-bullying and anti-harassment;
• Mental health and wellbeing;
• Special educational needs and disability;
• Student welfare generally.

Each policy must be reviewed not less than once every three years, and must be made available to parents, students, and staff.

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.

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;
• Cooperate fully with any investigation conducted by the competent authorities or by WEQSC.

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.

Anti-Bullying and Anti-Harassment

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.

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;
• Provide for the support of the student affected, whether or not the concern is substantiated.

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.

Mental Health and Wellbeing

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.

Provision under the preceding paragraph may include:

• Awareness programmes integrated into the curriculum;
• Access to a counsellor, whether employed by the school or engaged on a visiting basis;
• A clear referral pathway to external services where specialist support is required.

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.

Records concerning the mental health of a student are treated as special-category data and are subject to the heightened protections set out in the Data and Technology section of this portal.

Special Provisions for Girl Students

The school must provide, for female students, appropriate sanitary facilities, access to menstrual hygiene products, and a designated rest area where feasible.

The school must make provision for the attendance of female students during menstruation, including where necessary a reasonable adjustment of the attendance requirement.

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 the Financial Framework;
• Notify WEQSC in writing where the student's continued enrolment is at material risk.

The school must maintain the enrolment of a female student in the WISE programme, and her access to the girl-child support provisions, notwithstanding any economic circumstance of the family, subject to the school's general rules on enrolment.

Special Provisions for Students with Disabilities

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.

The school must make reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities, including adjustments to:

• The mode of instruction;
• The mode of assessment;
• The physical environment;
• The attendance requirement, to the extent necessary.

Adjustments must be documented for each student, and must be recorded in the student's record in the Portal.

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.

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.

Welfare Records and Confidentiality

Records created under this page — attendance records, exemption records, safeguarding records, mental health records, and disability adjustment records — are governed by the data protection provisions set out in the Data and Technology section of this portal.

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 set out in that section.

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.

Nothing in this section prevents the school from complying with any applicable law requiring disclosure of welfare records to the competent authorities.

Breach — Consequences

A breach of any provision of this page is subject to the audit regime and, where applicable, to the suspension and termination regime set out in the Accountability section of this portal.

A Critical Finding under this page is subject to the remediation timetable, and may constitute grounds for immediate suspension.

Conclusion

The attendance and student welfare standards set out in this page are the foundation on which the safety and wellbeing of every WISE student depend. All attendance and welfare procedures not expressly set out in this portal must follow the Secretariat's official bylaws.