The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024

3 Interpretation

(1) In these Regulations— “the 1996 Act” means the Education Act 1996; “the 2014 Act” means the Children and Families Act 2014; “the local authority” means— in relation to a school maintained by a local authority, that local authority; in relation to any other school, the local authority for the area that the school is located in; “mobile child” means a child of compulsory school age who has no fixed abode and whose parent is engaged in a trade or business of such a nature as to require them to travel from place to place; “registered pupil”, in relation to a school, means a person registered as a pupil at the school in the school’s admission register (within the meaning of these Regulations); “regulated employment abroad”, in relation to a registered pupil, means employment abroad for a purpose mentioned in section 25(1) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 for which the pupil has been granted a licence by a justice of the peace under section 25(2) of that Act; “regulated performance”, in relation to a registered pupil, means a performance that section 37(2) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1963 applies to and which— the pupil is authorised to take part in by a licence granted by a local authority under section 37(1) of that Act; or the pupil does not need a licence for because of section 37(3) of that Act; “sentence of detention” means— a detention and training order under section 233 of the Sentencing Act 2020; a sentence of detention under section 250 of that Act; a special sentence of detention under section 252A of that Act; an extended sentence of detention under section 254 of that Act; or a sentence of detention at His Majesty’s pleasure under section 259 of that Act. (2) A reference in these Regulations to a person with control of a pupil’s attendance at a school is a reference to— (a) a parent of the pupil; (b) the pupil, if they— (i) will be over compulsory school age by the time they start attending the school; or (ii) do not fall within paragraph (i) but are to be admitted to the school for the purpose of receiving secondary education suitable to the requirements of pupils who are over compulsory school age; or (c) any other person with authority to require the pupil to attend the school. (3) A reference in these Regulations to a pupil’s starting day at a school is to be interpreted in accordance with paragraphs (4) and (5). (4) If a pupil is to be admitted to a school by agreement between the proprietor of the school and a person with control of the pupil’s attendance, the pupil’s starting day is— (a) the day that the proprietor and that person have agreed will be the first day when the pupil will attend the school; or (b) if they have not agreed such a day, the first day when the pupil attends the school. (5) If a school’s proprietor has a duty to admit a pupil to the school, the pupil’s starting day is— (a) the day that a person with control of the pupil’s attendance has told the proprietor is the first day when the pupil will attend the school; or (b) if they have not told the proprietor such a day, the first day when the pupil attends the school. (6) A reference in these Regulations to telling something to the proprietor of a school includes telling any person authorised by the proprietor for that purpose. (7) Except in regulation 11, a reference in these Regulations to a pupil being given leave of absence from a school is a reference to their being given leave of absence from that school by a person who the proprietor of the school has authorised to do so, and a reference to a pupil being absent with leave is a reference to their being absent with leave given by such a person.