AQW 30879/22-27 Written question to the Minister of Education
To ask the Minister of Education, pursuant to AQW 30279/22-27, to outline the reasons why no actions have been taken, given the acknowledgment within the Attendance Guidance & Absence Recording By Schools – Circular 2024-13 that The Department of Education and the Education Authority are aware that schools may not always be completing these forms, despite it being a legal requirement to do so.
Asked by Michelle Guy MLA on 10 September 2025
- Answered
- Written
- Tabled
- 10 September 2025
- Answer due by
- 25 September 2025
- Answered
- 12 September 20252 days after tabling
- Department
- Department of Education
- Priority question
- No
Answer
It is the role of the Board of Governors is to ensure that the Principal keeps a General Register of the pupils at the school. Part of this role will be the completion and submission of completed SA1 forms when it is appropriate to remove a pupil from the school register.
Current guidance for Boards of Governors in respect of the maintenance of a school register is available at the link below:
Guidance on pupil registration and attendance
A pupil’s name may be removed from a school’s register only in the following circumstances:
| Reason for Removal | Date of Removal |
| Confirmation that pupil is registered at another school in Northern Ireland | Day of last attendance |
| Departure from Northern Ireland | Day of last attendance |
| Expulsion | Day of expulsion |
| Death | Day of death |
| Leaves school after having completed his/her compulsory education | Day of last attendance |
| Parent/carer advises that child is being removed under Regulation 6(2) of The Registration and Attendance of Pupils Regulations (NI) 1974 [No. 78], for example elective home education. | Day of last attendance |