Schools must also report students whose intermittent absences reach 10% of term days.
Dubai: Private schools in Dubai must notify education authorities when a student is absent for five consecutive days without a valid reason or accumulates unexplained absences amounting to 10 per cent of school days in a term, under new safeguarding regulations.
The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) has made these reporting requirements mandatory under its Policy Framework for Safeguarding and Learner Protection, linking attendance monitoring to the early identification of risks to students’ safety and wellbeing.
Schools must report a student once either threshold is reached, whether the absences are consecutive or spread across the term.
However, KHDA has stressed that schools must act immediately if a student’s absence raises concerns about their safety, even if the reporting thresholds have not been met.
The framework requires educational institutions to establish written attendance policies suited to students’ ages, learning arrangements and the type of education they provide.
Institutions must maintain accurate attendance records, investigate repeated or unexplained absences and look for patterns that could indicate a student needs protection or additional support.
Staff must also immediately alert the institution’s designated safeguarding lead whenever an attendance concern suggests that a student may be at risk.
Schools can set lower reporting thresholds for individual students with known vulnerabilities, allowing them to intervene earlier when a student’s circumstances require closer monitoring.
For students under 18, schools must follow up on attendance concerns with parents, guardians or caregivers.
Students aged 18 and above should generally be contacted directly. Their families may be involved with the student’s consent or when there is a risk of harm to the student or others.
The policy also requires institutions to document attempts to contact students and their families, along with any protective measures taken. If contacting a family could put a student at greater risk, the designated safeguarding lead must decide on an appropriate alternative.
Different rules for universities and nurseries
The five-day and 10 per cent reporting thresholds do not automatically apply to universities or vocational and technical training institutions.
These institutions must establish their own attendance thresholds, taking into account academic semesters, course modules, credit hours and arrangements for part-time, evening or distance learning.
Early childhood centres must calculate absences based on the days each child is enrolled to attend. For example, a child registered for three days a week will have their attendance assessed against those three days.
Immediate action when a student goes missing
Under the framework, all educational institutions must have clear procedures for responding when a student cannot be accounted for during the school day.
Such incidents require an immediate response, with the matter escalated to safeguarding personnel, school leaders, parents and relevant authorities, depending on the circumstances.
Institutions must also establish written procedures for handling missing-student incidents and test their effectiveness during the 12-month implementation period.
The requirements also cover boarding facilities, which must appoint a residential safeguarding lead and a deputy from the framework’s effective date.
Schools offering boarding must put arrangements in place for supervision outside normal school hours, visitor access controls and risk assessments within 12 months.
Existing boarding staff must also complete Level 2 safeguarding training for higher-risk settings within three months.
KHDA said attendance monitoring is part of a wider safeguarding system designed to identify potential harm early and ensure students receive appropriate protection and support.
