To ask the Minister of Education whether independent audits of children’s attendance records are carried out.

The Principal has overall responsibility for school attendance. The Board of Governors should provide support to the school by reviewing schools attendance reports and ensuring that appropriate action is taken to encourage good attendance. Teaching staff should regularly monitor attendance.

School Inspectors and officers of the Department of Education and the Education Authority are entitled to inspect both pupil attendance records and pupil registration records and to make extracts from them. The Principal is required to make such periodical or other returns from the registers to the Department of Education and the Education Authority as they may require.