Getting attendance codes right in alternative provision is more than a matter of administrative accuracy. The codes you record determine how your census data reads, how your attendance statistics are interpreted, and in some cases, whether safeguarding concerns are flagged appropriately. This guide covers every code relevant to AP settings and the principles behind using them correctly.
Why Attendance Codes Matter in AP
The DfE's attendance codes were designed primarily for mainstream schools, but AP settings must use the same framework. Some codes are used far more frequently in AP than in mainstream education, while others require careful judgement when applied to pupils with complex circumstances.
Incorrect code usage skews your attendance statistics, creates problems at census time, and can mask patterns that should be visible to your designated safeguarding lead. A digital register system that guides staff to the right code and prevents common errors is significantly more reliable than a paper-based approach.
The Most Important Codes for AP Settings
Code B: Off-site educational activity
This code is used when a pupil is receiving education off-site, at a provider that is not the school that has registered the pupil. In AP, it is frequently used when a pupil attends another provision on a dual registration basis. The registering school uses Code B; the AP setting marks their own register independently.
Code X: Not required to attend
Code X is used for sessions where a pupil is not expected to attend, such as sessions outside their agreed timetable. In AP, this commonly applies to part-time placements where a pupil attends on specific days only. Correct use of Code X is essential to ensure that attendance percentages accurately reflect the sessions a pupil was actually expected to attend.
Code D: Dual registration
Used when a pupil is registered at more than one school simultaneously. The session is marked as Code D at the school the pupil is not attending for that session. This is one of the most common codes in AP given the prevalence of dual registration arrangements.
Present codes: / (AM) and (PM)
The forward slash marks morning presence; the backslash marks afternoon presence. These are the baseline codes for any session where the pupil attends and no other code is more appropriate. They appear simple but are frequently misapplied when settings try to use them as a catch-all for sessions where a pupil was partly present.
Code L: Late arrival
Marks a pupil who arrives after the register closes but before the end of the session period. In AP settings with pupils who struggle with punctuality, the distinction between Code L (present but late) and Code U (arrived after the register period) matters significantly for attendance data and for the picture it paints for commissioners.
Code U: Arrived too late to be recorded as present
This is an unauthorised absence mark, used when a pupil arrives so late that the register period has closed. It counts as an absence for statistical purposes. In AP settings, persistent Code U marks are a meaningful indicator of disengagement that should be flagged and addressed proactively.
Code E: Excluded
Records a session during which a pupil is subject to a fixed-period exclusion. AP settings rarely use this code in the same way mainstream schools do, but it is relevant for settings that have their own exclusion procedures.
Illness codes: I and M
Code I is used for illness absence, and Code M for medical or dental appointments. In AP settings with high proportions of pupils with long-term health conditions, these codes are used frequently. The distinction between Code I (self-certified illness) and illness-related codes that require medical evidence becomes particularly important when managing persistent absence.
Authorised vs Unauthorised Absence
AP settings, like mainstream schools, must make a decision about whether to authorise an absence. Authorised absences are those the school accepts as legitimate, most commonly illness, medical appointments, and some family circumstances. Unauthorised absences are those for which no acceptable reason has been provided.
The threshold for authorising absence should be applied consistently and documented. If an absence is authorised, record the reason. If it is not, ensure the code reflects this accurately. Ofsted inspectors and commissioners look at the balance of authorised and unauthorised absences and may question decisions that appear inconsistent.
Common Errors in AP Settings
The most frequent mistakes observed in AP attendance recording include:
- Using present codes (/ and ) for sessions where Code B or Code X is more appropriate
- Failing to mark Code D for dual registration sessions at the registering school
- Inconsistent application of Code U versus Code L for late arrivals
- Marking illness absences without a documented reason, making subsequent authorisation decisions difficult to justify
- Using the same code for very different circumstances because the distinction is not clear to all staff
Attendance Codes and the School Census
Attendance data is submitted to the DfE through the school census termly. The codes used in your register feed directly into this submission. Errors in coding are not always apparent until the census is prepared, at which point correcting historical data is time-consuming and may require investigation.
Digital systems that map register codes to census requirements in real time and flag potential errors before submission significantly reduce this risk and the associated administrative burden.