A holiday short form is the code, commonly H, that a register uses for a closed day. In EDUBase you choose your own attendance acronyms under Custom attendance marks, alongside Present, Absent, Late and Short Leave.
What is a holiday short form in an attendance register?
A short form is a one or two letter code written in a register instead of a full word. Schools usually use P for present, A for absent and L for late. Many also use H for a holiday, so a closed day is not mistaken for a day nobody was marked.
The code matters because attendance percentages depend on it. If a public holiday is counted as an absence, every student's percentage falls for no reason. If it is left blank, the register looks unfinished.
Which attendance marks does EDUBase use?
In Student Attendance, the daily register per class and section uses your own attendance marks. The marks named in EDUBase are Present, Absent, Late and Short Leave.
The Custom attendance marks feature lets your school choose which acronyms it uses. That is where a short form such as SL for Short Leave is decided. If you want a separate code for a holiday, agree it with your staff first. You can then confirm with EDUBase Support how it should be set up for your school.
- Present, Absent, Late and Short Leave are the marks named for the class register.
- Acronyms are chosen by the school, not fixed for everyone.
- Staff attendance has its own screens under Employee Attendance.
Is Short Leave the same as a holiday?
No. Short Leave is a mark for a person who is away for part of the day. Out-time rules can record Short Leave automatically when an employee clocks out earlier than the allowed time. A holiday is a day on which the whole school is closed.
Searchers sometimes mean Short Leave when they type holiday short form. Keep the two apart in your code list so that reports stay readable.
How does EDUBase know which days are closed?
Under School Setup, the Holiday Calendar holds the school's closed days. Fee automation uses it so that late fines never land on a weekly off or a Holiday Calendar date, and move to the next working day instead.
The optional Academic Duration sets the academic year dates. It can warn or block attendance and exam entries outside the year. Fees and reports are never affected by it.
How should a school decide its attendance codes?
Keep the list short and write it on the register sheet. Print blank or filled attendance sheets if staff also work on paper. Use the same letters in every campus so that combined reports mean the same thing.
Before the session starts, ask the class teachers to try the codes on one day. Correcting a past day is possible through View and update, and the change is logged.
- Use one letter per meaning and avoid two codes that look alike.
- Decide whether holidays are marked or left unmarked, and apply that rule everywhere.
- Tell parents what Absent and Short Leave mean, because absentee SMS or WhatsApp goes to them.
Ways a school can handle a closed day in its attendance records
| Approach | What it involves | Point to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Leave the day unmarked | No entry is made for the day | Staff may not know if it was missed or closed |
| Use a holiday code such as H | The school agrees a short form and teaches it to staff | Confirm with EDUBase Support how it is set up |
| Keep a Holiday Calendar | Closed days are listed once under School Setup | Fee automation uses it; check how your reports treat those dates |
| Set an Academic Duration | Year dates warn or block entries outside the year | Applies to attendance and exam entries, not to fees or reports |
| Use Short Leave for part-day absence | The mark is used for a person leaving early | It is not a school-wide holiday |
Related modules
- Student Attendance — Mark attendance from the class register, the Teacher App, a QR scan or a gate device, and tell parents instantly.
- Employee Attendance — Daily or monthly staff attendance from the register, the app, QR or a device, locked once payroll runs.
- School Setup & Multi-Campus — Campuses, classes, sections, sessions, academic year and reference lists, set once and reused everywhere.
- QR, Biometric & Geo Attendance — Automatic in/out marking from QR cards, biometric machines and phone location.