Attendance Policy

Last updated October 2025.

Policy Statement

The purpose of this attendance policy is to ensure consistent participation in online tutoring sessions, promote accountability, and maximise educational outcomes for students. Attendance is fundamental to learning outcomes. In line with the 2024 Department for Education (DfE) guidance, Study Mind adopts a “support-first” approach, prioritising the identification of barriers to attendance

Scope

This policy applies to all students, though especially under 18 years of age, enrolled in online tutoring sessions provided by Study Mind. This policy applies to all Study Mind led tutoring and events. Where Study Mind is providing a service on behalf of a third party (for example, a school), the Attendance Policy of that third party will supersede this policy.

In order to qualify as an attendance issue, the following must apply (please see definitions):

• Lessons must have been agreed in writing by both student and tutor.
• Lessons must have an exact date and time agreed.
• Lessons must have been booked on the booking site by the tutor on the student’s account.

Definitions

Session or Lesson: A scheduled online tutoring class, in-person session (tutoring, event or summer programme).

Excused Absence: An absence due to illness, family emergency, pre-approved vacation, or other reasons deemed acceptable by Study Mind.

Unexcused Absence: An absence without prior notification or an acceptable reason.

Attendance Expectations

Students are expected to attend all scheduled tutoring sessions.
Excused absences are permitted, though will still be charged if within 12 hours of the agreed time.

Any missed lesson should be rescheduled as soon as possible to ensure continuity of tutoring.

Where it is the fault of a tutor or Study Mind that a lesson is missed, the lesson will not be charged.

Students should log in at least 5 minutes before the session start time to ensure technical issues are addressed.
Students and tutors must both be proactive about booking lessons throughout the booking, ideally booking lessons at the end of the previous one.
Tutors are expected to monitor and update on individual attendance to Study Mind.

Notification of Absences

Parents or guardians must notify the tutor or Study Mind at least 24 hours in advance if a student will miss a session, providing the reason for the absence.

In case of sudden illness or emergency, notification should be given as soon as possible.

Excused Absences

Absences will be excused for the following reasons:

• Illness (a doctor’s note may be required for extended absences).
• Family emergencies.
• Pre-approved family vacations or events (with at least one week’s notice).
• School-related activities or events (with prior notification).

Unexcused Absences

Failure to notify the tutor or Study about an absence in advance, except in emergencies, will be considered unexcused.

Students with consistent unexcused absences may have to meet with Study Mind management to discuss the issue. Where these students are on a package provided by a partner, such as their school, their hours may be transferred to another student, if desired by the paying institution.

Late Attendance

Students are expected to be punctual. Being late by more than 10 minutes without prior notice will be recorded as late.
Tutors may log off the lesson after 15 minutes, after having reached out to the student. If there is no response from the student or notice about their attendance, the tutor will charge for the lesson. Once this has been charged, students will not be able to get those credits back.

Tutor Responsibilities

• Tutors will take attendance at the beginning of each session.
• Tutors will be flexible and supportive in arranging make-up sessions for excused absences.
• Tutors/Managers will ensure that they reach out to the student, in either the booking site messaging platform, monitored WhatsApp group or email, to ask about the missed lesson. 
• Missed lessons are logged immediately in the booking system, which is flagged to the DSL
• The DSL follows this up and monitors the communication channels, phoning the parent/carer to speak to them regarding the absence.

Parent/Guardian Responsibilities

• Ensure the student is ready and available for each scheduled session.
• Provide timely notification of absences.
• Support and encourage consistent attendance and punctuality.

Study Mind Responsibilities

• Maintain accurate attendance records.
• Communicate attendance expectations and policies to students, parents/guardians, and tutors.
• Monitor attendance patterns and address issues promptly. Where a tutor has reported a missed lesson, with no response, Study Mind must promptly reach out to the student themselves, as well as any attached guardians to their account. If there is no response from the student or guardian, Study Mind will reach out to the local authorities where concerns about student welfare may occur, and this will be led by the safeguarding team and DSL.
• Ensure a process for arranging make-up sessions is in place.
  

Eyes On Policy

In accordance with the 2024 Working Together guidance, Study Mind maintains an active safeguarding approach for students who disengage from education.Where a student misses five consecutive lessons, a designated member of staff must make direct arrangements to see or speak to the student in person.

This contact may include:

• A home visit, school visit, or alternative in-person welfare check, where appropriate.
• A video call or other form of live communication if face-to-face contact is not feasible.
• Liaison with parents, guardians, or carers to confirm the student’s welfare and discuss any barriers to attendance.

If, after these attempts, Study Mind is unable to establish contact, the matter will be the responsibility of the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and followed up under the Missing Children and Vulnerable Adults Protocol.

This policy ensures that Study Mind maintains an active safeguarding approach, keeping “eyes on” every learner who disengages from education for a prolonged period.

Missing children and vulnerable adults protocol

Study Mind recognises that missing education can be a critical indicator that a child may be at risk of harm or neglect. We take unexplained absences seriously and will ensure that every student’s non-attendance is followed up. In the event of an unexplained or prolonged absence from a tuition session:

The procedure is as follows for online events:

1. Study Mind tutors and admin will send out a message to the student themselves, to check why the lesson was missed immediately. The absence is logged on the booking system and is flagged to the DSL. All information must be fed back to the safeguarding and senior management team. 

2. The DSL will follow this up with a phone call to the parent/carer and student.

3. If no response in the communication channels or the phone call, the DSL will report this as a safeguarding concern to the local authority and fill out a safeguarding concern form to be logged on the student’s file.

4. If the phone call leads to any disclosures from either the student, their guardian or Study Mind staff, a Report Form will be completed and it will be followed up as a disclosure of abuse. It may be necessary for the DSL to contact local authorities/schools/police as required.

4. If the absence is noted as a ‘regular’ absence (in that, the session was simply forgotten, or the student was otherwise busy for legitimate reasons), the monitoring team will escalate that group in order to ensure that this is not a repeated pattern of behaviour. Repeated missed lessons, whether with seemingly ‘innocent’ or legitimate reasons, will be followed up on by senior management and may lead to a disclosure if any Study Mind member of staff suspects something warranting a disclosure. As per our policy, it is better to react to small actions than wait for ‘big’ danger.

Children Missing from Education (CME)

Definition: Children missing education (CME) is defined as those who are of a compulsory school age, but are either not registered at a school or else not receiving suitable education in place of a school setting. (SCIE: Department of Education, 2016).

Study Mind primarily operates online, but when operating in person events, has strict policies to ensure children and young people’s attendance is carefully monitored.

1. Attendance registers
For events such in person mocks, work experience events and in person group events, all bookings require the personal information of the student due to attend and confirmation from an adult that they are permitted to attend. Students must all have an emergency contact stated for the day. Where students cannot provide an adult or emergency contact, local authorities may be listed to ensure that students are safe and accounted for.
Study Mind staff on site are provided with a full register of all students booked in to attend. Students are marked as attending upon entry to the event.

2. Missing students
When a student is not in attendance, the first port of call will be for Study Mind staff to contact the student directly to check. In most cases, this is all the action required. Where there is no response, the emergency contact will be contacted.
If there is still no response, this will be flagged to the DSL who will flag this as a safeguarding concern, fill in the form and contact local authorities for a welfare check.

School events
When students are taking part in a Study Mind event organised by a school, the school takes responsibility for ensuring that all students are in attendance as the event will take place on school grounds during the school day.

Missing children and vulnerable adults protocol

If a child is identified as missing, meaning their whereabouts are unknown and their absence is out of character, the following steps will be taken:

• Immediate attempts will be made to contact the student and their guardian.
• If no response is received, the case will be escalated to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), who will notify local safeguarding authorities to assess the situation.
• In cases where there are serious concerns for the child’s safety, the police will be contacted immediately to conduct a welfare check.
• All cases of children missing education will be immediately reported to the relevant Local Authority. 
• Study Mind staff will cooperate fully with law enforcement and other agencies to provide all necessary information, ensuring the child’s safe return.

Staff and tutors are reminded to maintain close communication with the safeguarding team and report any concerns immediately.

Summer Camp Programmes

All students attending a summer camp programme are expected to arrive on time (within 10 minutes of the session start time). This is especially important for sessions that require group travel to another site in order to avoid disruption to the group.

If students are going to be late or absent, they must inform a member of the Study Mind team.

Students will receive a full certificate of completion only if they have completed 90% of the programme. If students fall below this, the number of completed hours will be included in a certificate. 

If a student is unable to attend due to unforeseen circumstances, they may be permitted to join the same session on another date. However, this cannot be guaranteed and will remain at the discretion of the Study Mind senior leadership team. 

Any absences from the course will not be reimbursed. 

Review and Amendments

This policy will be reviewed annually and may be updated as necessary to reflect changes in the Study Mind’s operations or feedback from anyone involved in our operations.