MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
INSTITUTE OF NURSING AND MIDWIFERY
ATTENDANCE (PRE-REGISTRATION NURSING AND MIDWIFERY) POLICY
1.0
Introduction
This policy has been developed to meet the requirements for attendance monitoring in order to
comply with the professional requirements of the programmes
In order to meet the requirements of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) students on all
nursing and midwifery must meet the required level of attendance and demonstrate that they have
met the learning outcomes for both theory and practice. This is vital for entry onto the appropriate
part of the NMC Register.
All programmes must satisfy the NMC requirements in terms of attendance and this varies across
the programmes as follows:



Pre-registration nursing programmes: minimum of 4600 curricula hours, a minimum of 2300
of which are theory hours and 2300 are practice hours
Pre-registration midwifery (three year programme) : not less than 156 weeks including
annual leave, i.e. 45 programmed weeks of theory and practice per year (NMC 2009,
Standard 10). The practice to theory ratio is required to be no less than 50% practice and no
less than 40% theory (NMC 2009, Standard 12)
Pre-registration midwifery (shortened programme): no less than 78 weeks including annual
leave, i.e. 68 programmed weeks of theory and practice (NMC 2009, Standard 10). The
practice to theory ratio is required to be no less than 50% practice and no less than 40%
theory (NMC 2009, Standard 12)
All pathways in the pre-registration programmes contain scheduled leave entitlements and there are
agreed polices and practices for the management of unscheduled leave requirements.
It is acknowledged that during any period of study there may be times when a student is unable to
attend theory or practice due to ill health or personal reasons. Throughout the programme students
can access advice and support from the programme team and the University student services which
are outlined in the student pack, which will have been given to every student at enrollment.
2.0
Principles of Operation
In ensuring compliance with this policy, the following principles will apply:

Academic staff will implement the attendance policy consistently, fairly and transparently

Students will be given clear and unambiguous information relevant to the attendance
requirements of the programme

Exceptions to the attendance policy will be considered and may be applied when exceptional
circumstances occur (e.g. extreme weather conditions), and these will be notified and
applied to all students during a stated period.
3.0
The process for managing student attendance
3.1
Punctuality
Students are expected to attend all scheduled classes and prescribed activities on time. Students
who arrive more than 10 minutes late may not be permitted to enter the classroom until the next
available opportunity, to ensure classes are not interrupted. Students arriving late will not appear as
attended on the register for the session. Details of programme attendance requirements will be
stated in the progranmme handbook, attendance requirements specific to any module will be
included in individual module handbooks. In relation to the mandatory sessions, students who
arrive later than 10 minutes following commencement of the session are not permitted entry to the
session. Students who are excluded from sessions because of lateness will have this recorded as
absence on their overall attendance / non-attendance record.
3.2
Mandatory Training
Students must attend all scheduled and timetabled mandatory training sessions and annual updates.
Such mandatory training and update sessions incorporate moving and handling, emergency life
support, first aid, introduction to personal safety, safeguarding children and the vulnerable adults
and fire session. In view of health and safety reasons, students will not be permitted to commence
your practice placement if they fail to attend such scheduled mandatory sessions and annual
updates. Failure to attend mandatory training will ultimately affect progression on the programme.
Students who have not attended mandatory sessions are not able to progress on the programme. In
this instance the student is stepped OFF the programme for a minimum period of one year. No
bursary is paid for this period of time.
Attendance at planned simulated learning sessions and Personal and Professional Development
Tutor group is mandatory for students on the nursing programme
3.3
Leave Entitlements
Annual Leave Entitlement
Students are entitled to 7 weeks annual leave for each year of study, with the exception of students
on the shortened midwifery programme who entitled to 10 weeks annual leave in the course of their
programme This leave entitlement incorporates Bank Holidays in recognition that students may
work Bank Holidays when in placement. The annual leave dates are pre-programmed into the study
timetable and are designed by the Programme team at the University. Confirmation of annual leave
dates are given annually by the Programme Leaders.
Bank Holidays
Bank Holidays which fall during theoretical study are granted as self-directed study days. Bank
Holidays falling during placements are worked as either rostered days or days off as indicted by the
clinical placement rota.
Compassionate Leave
The requirement to take compassionate leave / special leave must in the first instance be discussed
with the Programme Leader (PL) who will provide advice on the amount of leave that can be taken.
The PL may request evidence to support a request for compassionate leave. On occasions where the
need for compassionate leave arises outside of normal working hours and / or it is not possible to
contact the Programme Leader, a message should be left on their telephone answer machine and/or
their e mail, stating the reason for requiring compassionate leave. If possible, an anticipated
intended date of return and a contact telephone number should also be communicated.
An extended period of compassionate leave may result in the need for the student to interrupt a
programme and rejoin at a later date.
Maternity Leave
This policy is based on the ‘The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
(MHSW)’ which include regulations that protect the health and safety of new and expectant mothers
that work and the Department of Health Pregnancy Guide (DoH 2006).
Students are advised to consider taking an appropriate period of maternity leave and are able to
keep their bursaries for up to 45 weeks during pregnancy if they interrupt their course. Students
who are pregnant and require maternity leave must inform the Placement Manager and the
Programme Leader at the earliest possible time following confirmation of the pregnancy. The
Programme Leader will advise the student and offer support as required to ensure that the best
interests of the mother and baby are considered. Whilst it is not compulsory that a student must
inform their employer that they are pregnant in the early stages it is important for the new and
expectant mother and child’s health and safety that the university is supplied with written
notification as early as possible. Please note that until an employer has received written notification
from an individual, they are not obliged to take any action other than those resulting from the risk
assessment for all their employees.
Students wishing to continue on the programme after the 28th weeks of pregnancy must provide the
Placement Office with a medical certificate from a registered general practitioner or midwife which
states clearly that they are able to undertake all activities required of a student for both practice and
theory. Failure to do so will mean that the student will be interrupted from the programme. A
further certificate must be submitted at 32 weeks, and 36 weeks. On occasions – particularly during
a theory block - a student may wish to continue studying following this period, however a certificate
must be submitted on a weekly basis.
Following our risk assessment procedures certain placement areas may be deemed unsuitable for
students who are new or expectant mothers so a placement allocation may require changing at
short notice. To ensure the ongoing assessment of risk students in placement have a responsibility
to inform their placement area prior to each allocation during this period and will be required to
present written notification and / or medical certification to the ward / unit manager.
In the interests of safety to the mother and baby a ward / unit manager may ask to see the student’s
certification from a registered practitioner or midwife at any stage, following Week 28, particularly if
he /she has concerns about the student’s level of fitness to continue to work. In line with EU
requirements, student must take a minimum of 2 weeks maternity leave post delivery but are
requested to give this careful consideration and discuss the implications with their GP or Midwife.
Students wishing to return to the programme at any stage following pregnancy must present a
certificate from their GP indicating that they are well enough to return to clinical practice and / or
theory. Furthermore, if a caesarean section has been performed, the individual must not return to
their programme until a six weeks post–natal check has been undertaken and a medical certificate
has been submitted to indicate they are fit and well to return to clinical practice and / or theory.
The Programme Leader will make every attempt at flexibility, however there may be occasions when
the programme may need to be interrupted as it is not possible to meet the professional attendance
requirements. The implications of this means that an interruption to the programme cannot be
avoided.
Paternity leave
Students are advised to contact their programme leader to discuss their entitlement and the
management of this.
3.4
Recording attendance to meet practice learning hours
Each student will be given an attendance card for each year of the programme. All hours worked in
the practice areas are to be recorded and verified by the mentor or practice area manager. All
practice area managers are required to complete a ‘weekly return’ form and forward to the Student
Office with details of any sickness / absence or time made up. The Programme Leader will monitor
the sickness and absence records and will contact the student if there are any concerns. All sickness
or absence days over the 3 years of the programme are recorded on students’ final reference even
though they will have been made up. The attendance cards for nursing students will also have a
section where simulated learning hours are recorded as well as Personal and Professional
Development group hours.
3.5
Implications of Sickness and Absence
In line with the criteria set by the NMC and Middlesex University, in order for students to progress
satisfactorily through their programme of study it should be noted that progression on the
programme may be interrupted if:


A student accumulates sickness and / or absence exceeding 10 days in each year of Programme
The student may be required to step off the programme to retrieve the days missed and rejoin
with the next cohort. This will result in the bursary being frozen until the student returns to the
programme which is usually a period of 12 months.
If non-attendance for the taught component of a module exceeds 25% of the module the student
may be excluded from taking the assessment and may have to repeat the module.
Should the student attendance record show sickness / absence exceeding these limits in any of the
programmes, the student will receive a letter requesting attendance at a meeting with the
Programme Leader and if necessary the Director of Programmes where it will be decided if the
student programme will be deferred.
3.6
Support for Ill Health
If any student is experiencing problems with ill health or it is felt that their performance is being
affected by a health-related matter, the Programme Leader (PL) should offer the student advice and
direct them to the most appropriate source of specific support. All students will be made aware
that they can contact their PL for advice and support on health-related issues and concerns. If there
are instances of repeated or sustained non-attendance caused by ill health problems, students may
be referred for a medical examination with the Occupational Health department. A referral will be
made following discussion with the student.
3.7
Management of Repeated Non-attendance
In instances where persistent non-attendance has occurred for any reason, a student may be
required to provide a medical certificate from the first day of absence through sickness. Students
who fail to attend class or practice without following the agreed procedures will be marked as
absent and an accumulation of absences may lead to their discontinuation from the programme.
3.8
Recording and Reporting Sickness and Absence
Within the nursing and midwifery programmes sickness is recorded when a student does not attend
theory or practice because of ill health and follows the procedure outlined below for notification of
sickness.
An absence is recorded if a student is absent from theory or practice and fails to notify the
appropriate personnel using the relevant procedure as outlined below. Unauthorised absences
should not occur during any part of the programme. Any period of sickness or absence will be
recorded on the student’s final reference which is written by their Personal and Professional
Development Tutor.
If a student is unable to attend a University class, they must follow this procedure:



Email the seminar group Leader and Programme Leader as early as possible to inform them
of their inability to attend class in the case of nursing programmes or e-mail the Module
Leader in the case of midwifery programmes.
If the student is unable to e-mail the relevant person prior to the beginning of class then
they should inform a colleague so that they can pass on the message and ensure the non
attendance is entered onto the register. This must however be followed up by a
confirmation e-mail form the individual student to the relevant person as outlined above.
It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the information is relayed promptly and
accurately.
If a student is unable to attend a Practice Placement, they must follow this procedure:






Telephone the Practice Placement as early as possible before commencement of the shift in
line with the local Trust Sickness Policy
Provide anticipated duration of the absence if known
Record the name of the person taking the message
Record the date and time the telephone call was made
Telephone Placement Office providing the relevant information as indicated in section 4.2.1.
When fit enough to return from sickness, the student must contact the practice placement
at least 12 hours before commencement of their next shift. The student should also
telephone the Placement Office prior to returning on the placement.
Failure to notify the Placement Office and Practice Placement area of sickness will result in the
student being recorded as absent.
Certification
If a student is off sick for 1 - 3 days, a certificate will not be normally be required. Students must
report their return to the Placement Office on telephone number: 020 8411 6786 / 6787 / 6788 /
6789.
If a student is off sick for 4 to 7 days of sickness a self-certificate, obtainable from chemist shops or
General Practitioners’ surgeries, should be completed and submitted to the Placement Office for
inclusion in the students file.
If a student is off sick for 8 or more days, (including Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays), they
must obtain a medical certificate from their General Practitioner. This certificate should be sent to
the Placement Office where it will be included in the student’s file. For salaried students, the
medical certificate should be sent to the relevant Trust Human Resources Office with a copy to the
Placement Office.
3.9
Retrieval of Missed Programme Hours
If practice hours are missed through sickness / absence or authorised leave the student will be
required to make up this time to ensure they meet the NMC prescribed hours to register as a nurse
or midwife. Whenever possible the student may negotiate with the practice placement the
opportunity to make up the hours whilst still in practice. Any negotiations must be reported to the
Programme Leader in the case of nursing students and to the Clinical Practice Facilitator and Link
Tutor in the case of midwifery students. The decision lies with the practice area as to whether or not
they can accommodate the student at that time.
If theory hours are missed through sickness / absence or authorised leave the Programme Leader
(PL) may request the student to undertake self-directed study with specific learning outcomes linked
to the missed theory elements. This study would be formatively assessed. In the case of nursing
students a student may also be required to make up some theory time in practice. This should be
discussed and agreed with the PL prior to negotiation with a practice placement. In the event of long
periods of absence / sickness / leave the student must meet with the PL to determine how best this
time can be retrieved. This may result in deferment from the programme. Deferral from the
programme will result in the bursary being frozen. Students who are required to make up missed
hours must complete all outstanding hours before the end of the Year 1 of the programme.
No bursary payments will be made after the Programme has officially ended.
Developed by:
Charmagne Barnes
Agreed by:
Framework Management Team
Approved by:
NMET
Date of Approval:
June 27th 2011
Due for Review:
June 27th 2012