Subject Attendance

Lesson-by-lesson attendance tracking for teaching groups - monitor engagement in individual subjects.

What is Subject Attendance? Subject Attendance is the register taken by subject teachers during each lesson throughout the day. It tracks which students attended specific teaching groups (e.g., Year 7 Maths Set 1, Year 8 English Set 2).

Table of Contents

Accessing Subject Attendance

Step 1: Navigate to Subject Attendance

  1. Click Attendance in the main sidebar menu
  2. Click Subject Attendance
  3. You'll see a list of teaching groups you can access

Which Teaching Groups Can I See?

The teaching groups displayed depend on your role:

Your Role Teaching Groups You Can Access
School Admin All teaching groups in the school (view history only, cannot mark attendance)
Subject Teacher Teaching groups you are assigned to teach
Department Head All teaching groups in your department + groups you teach
Class Teacher Only the teaching groups you personally teach (not based on class teacher role)

Step 2: Select Your Teaching Group

From the teaching groups list, click Take Register next to the group for your current lesson.

Each teaching group card shows:

  • Teaching Group Name: e.g., "Y7 Maths Set 1", "Y8 English Set 2"
  • Subject: e.g., Mathematics, English, Science
  • Year Group: e.g., Year 7, Year 8
  • Teacher Name: Your name or colleague's name
  • Student Count: Number of students in this teaching group

Taking Lesson Attendance

Step 1: Select Date and Time

The attendance register opens with:

  • Today's Date: Already selected
  • Current Period: Detected based on your timetable
  • Change if Needed: Use the date picker for backdating or future lessons
Best Practice: Take subject attendance within the first 5 minutes of the lesson. This ensures accuracy and helps identify students who arrived late to the specific lesson.

Step 2: Review Student List

The register displays all students assigned to this teaching group in alphabetical order.

For each student, you'll see:

  • Profile Picture: Small photo for identification
  • Full Name: First name and surname
  • Admission Number: Unique student ID
  • Class Registration Status: Present in Class or Absent from Class
  • Current Lesson Status: If already marked for this lesson
  • Attendance Buttons: Present, Absent, Late, Excused
  • Comment Field: Optional notes

Step 3: Cross-Reference with Class Attendance

This is a unique feature of Subject Attendance!

The register shows whether each student was marked present in their morning class registration:

Present in Class Registration

Student was marked present by their class teacher this morning.

Expected: Student should be in your lesson unless excused.

Absent from Class Registration

Student was not present at morning registration.

Expected: Student likely won't be in your lesson either.

Important Scenarios

Scenario 1: Student present in class, absent from your lesson

  • Badge shows: Present in Class
  • But the student is not in your classroom
  • Action: Mark as Absent and add comment: "Not in lesson - investigate"
  • This flags potential truancy (skipping your specific lesson)

Scenario 2: Student absent from class, present in your lesson

  • Badge shows: Absent from Class
  • But the student is in your classroom
  • Action: Mark as Present and add comment: "Arrived late to school"
  • Notify the class teacher to update morning registration

Scenario 3: Student absent from class, absent from your lesson

  • Badge shows: Absent from Class
  • Student is not in your classroom
  • Action: Mark as Excused (they're legitimately absent from school)
  • This is the expected outcome

Step 4: Mark Each Student

Click the appropriate button for each student:

Status When to Use Example
Present Student is in your lesson Student is sitting at their desk, participating
Absent Student should be here but isn't (no valid reason) Student was present at morning registration but missing from your lesson
Late Student arrived after lesson started Student came in 10 minutes after the bell
Excused Student has permission to miss your lesson Student is on a field trip, at medical appointment, or marked absent at morning registration

Step 5: Add Comments (Optional but Recommended)

Comments are especially important for Subject Attendance to explain discrepancies:

  • Absent from lesson but present at school: "Student seen in hallway, didn't enter class"
  • Late to lesson: "Arrived 15 minutes late - no explanation"
  • Excused: "Music exam in another room"
  • Behavioral note: "Sent to Year Head's office at 10:15"

Step 6: Save Attendance

  1. Review the summary at the top:
    • X Present
    • X Absent
    • X Late
    • X Excused
  2. Check for any mismatches with class attendance (highlighted in yellow)
  3. Click Save Attendance
  4. Success message appears: Attendance saved successfully!

Cross-Referencing with Class Attendance

Why This Matters

The class attendance indicator helps you identify:

  • Truancy: Students who attend school but skip your specific lesson
  • Late Arrivals: Students who were late to school and missed registration
  • Medical/Admin Absences: Students pulled from your lesson for appointments
  • Data Errors: Students who were incorrectly marked absent in the morning

Action Based on Discrepancies

Class Registration Your Lesson Action
Present Present ✅ Normal - no action needed
Absent Excused ✅ Normal - student absent from school
Present Absent ⚠️ Flag for investigation - possible truancy
Absent Present ⚠️ Notify class teacher - update morning registration

Viewing Attendance History

Accessing History

  1. From the Subject Attendance page, select your teaching group
  2. Click View History
  3. A table of all past lesson attendance records appears

History Features

The subject attendance history includes:

  • Full Attendance Log: Every lesson you've taken attendance for
  • Search & Filter: Find specific students, dates, or statuses
  • Matrix View: Calendar grid showing patterns across multiple lessons
  • Export: Download as CSV, Excel, or PDF for reporting

Matrix View for Teaching Groups

The matrix view shows attendance patterns over time for your specific teaching group:

  1. Click Matrix View
  2. Select date range (e.g., last 2 weeks, this term)
  3. See a grid with:
    • Rows: Each student in your teaching group
    • Columns: Each lesson date
    • Cells: Color-coded attendance status

Identifying Patterns

  • Consistent Absences: Student missing your lesson regularly
  • Day-of-Week Patterns: Student often absent on Fridays (possible pattern)
  • Declining Engagement: Attendance getting worse over time
  • Time-of-Day Patterns: Student often absent in afternoon lessons

Subject-Specific Reports

Teaching Group Attendance Report

Generate a summary report for your teaching group:

  1. From Subject Attendance, select your teaching group
  2. Click Generate Report
  3. The report includes:
    • Overall attendance percentage for the group
    • Individual student attendance percentages
    • Students with <85% attendance (flagged)
    • Comparison to school average
    • Trend over time (improving or declining)

Individual Student Subject Attendance

View a student's attendance in your specific subject:

  1. Navigate to the student's profile
  2. Scroll to Subject Attendance section
  3. Select your subject from the dropdown
  4. See:
    • Attendance percentage in your subject
    • Comparison to their overall class attendance
    • Lessons missed, late arrivals, excused absences
    • Comments from all lessons

Department-Wide Report (Department Heads)

If you're a department head, you can generate department-wide attendance reports:

  1. Navigate to Attendance → Subject Attendance → Department Report
  2. See:
    • Attendance percentage for every teaching group in your department
    • Comparison between teachers/sets
    • Students with poor attendance across multiple department subjects
    • Subject-specific attendance trends

Subject vs Class Attendance: Key Differences

Feature Class Attendance Subject Attendance
Frequency Once per day (morning registration) Every lesson throughout the day
Purpose Track if student is at school today Track if student attended specific lessons
Who Marks Class Teacher or Year Head Subject Teacher or Department Head
Scope All students in a homeroom class Students in a specific teaching group
Granularity Daily (one record per day) Per-lesson (multiple records per day)
Main Use Whole-school attendance reporting Subject engagement and truancy detection
Parent Communication Daily absence notifications Subject-specific absence patterns
Cross-Reference N/A Shows class registration status for comparison

Best Practices

Subject Attendance Tips:
  • Take Attendance Early: Mark within first 5 minutes of lesson to catch latecomers
  • Check Class Registration: Always review the class attendance indicator for context
  • Comment on Discrepancies: If student present in morning but missing from lesson, add detailed note
  • Use Excused Appropriately: If student was absent from class registration, mark as Excused in your lesson
  • Flag Patterns: Review matrix view weekly to spot students consistently missing your subject
  • Communicate with Class Teacher: Share concerns about students who attend school but skip your lessons
  • Update if Students Arrive Late: Change status from Absent to Late when they enter
  • Don't Rely on Memory: Take attendance every lesson - it's easy to forget who was absent
  • Use for Behavior Tracking: Comment field can note if student was sent out or left early

Common Questions

Q: What if a student was absent at registration but arrives for my lesson?

A: Mark them as Present in your lesson and add a comment: "Arrived late to school". Notify the class teacher to update the morning registration.

Q: Should I mark a student Absent or Excused if they were absent from class registration?

A: Mark as Excused - they have a valid reason (they're absent from school). Reserve Absent for students who should be there but aren't.

Q: A student was present in my morning lesson but absent in my afternoon lesson. What does this mean?

A: They may have gone home sick, left for an appointment, or be truanting. Check with their class teacher or year head. Add a comment in the register.

Q: Can I take attendance for a lesson I taught yesterday?

A: Yes! Use the date picker to select yesterday's date and mark attendance retrospectively. Try to do this within 24 hours for accuracy.

Class Attendance