Recording attendance

As attendance monitoring is such a crucial part of the EMA scheme, you can use or enhance your existing systems to record attendance.

Each attendance check needs to be recorded, ready for collation at the end of the week. You can use any method that suits your Learning Centre, including manual or online recording.

Collating attendance

You need to collate your attendance data each week, as it is used for authorising the weekly EMA payment. This is the evidence that lets you decide if the student is in attendance or not.

You should use the processes your Learning Centre already has for collating the attendance data.

Attendance confirmations at the end of the academic year – May, June and July

There are 3 attendance confirmation options you can use up to the end of the academic year.

1. In attendance – students are entitled to EMA while they are in learning. This can include full time study, study leave and blended learning.
   
   
2. Not in attendance – students are not in learning and their absence is not authorised.
   
   
3. Holiday – students are still on the school register but are not undertaking learning. They should therefore not receive payments. We recommend using this option for students who are no longer in learning. This means they will not receive payment texts that might otherwise cause confusion and unnecessary administrative work.

Most students will be eligible for payment provided they're in learning up to their final exams. If the academic year extends past the final exam date, we recommend using the holiday option. This is because there will generally not be any further learning at that point.