Managing attendance for Religious Observances and holidays

Schools must authorize absences for religious observances using the R code in attendance records. For family ceremonies like christenings, absence requests are processed like normal requests, using C for authorized and O for unauthorized absences. Contact DfE or Local Authority for guidance on attendance codes.

As explained on page 13 of the DfE's attendance guidance here, schools must treat the absences for religious observance (such as Eid) as authorised. You can use the R: Religious observance attendance code to reflect this on a student's attendance record. There are two ways that these marks can be added in Arbor:

• Record a planned absence to fill attendance marks on opening with the right code
• Use the Bulk Edit Marks page to edit the code after registers have been taken

For a religious family ceremony

You may find that guardians make requests for students to miss school to attend christenings, bar/bat mitzvahs, etc.

Absence requests like this are normally treated processed in the same way as a normal absence request and should not be treated in the same way as a religious observance. The following attendance codes would be suitable to use:

If you are still unsure as to what attendance code to use, please contact the DfE or your Local Authority.