Specific guidance in respect of recording pupil attendance whether at school or at home is set out in DE Circular 2021/16 - Attendance guidance and absence recording by schools and associated addendum.
Decisions regarding the recording of pupil attendance will be down to schools and the individual circumstances of each child. If evidence cannot be provided in terms of either the specific medical condition or that learning is being completed then school should record attendance as an unauthorised absence (Codes { or }, or D, H or N) where appropriate.
We would suggest that registration of pupils working from home would happen once a day (rather than twice a day) for example provided that work was being completed as required. We appreciate that for some schools, this may be very challenging therefore schools may have to rely on a combination of their professional judgement and pupil’s work on whether or not pupils have engaged with learning at home.
If a pupil is asymptomatic with COVID-19, as per DE Circular 2021/16, their attendance will be recorded as Code “(“ which is an authorised absence. In this situation, parents should talk directly to their school about provision of education materials. Schools will wish to support pupils as much as possible to complete school work if they are well, however, clearly in these circumstances teachers will be continuing to teach all classes during the school day so expectations must be realistic.