My Child is not attending school.
There are numerous reasons why your child may not be attending school and in the section we will provide a general overview of these and the legal requirements associated with each.
Illness
The school’s duty to support pupils with medical conditions
Under section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014, schools, Academies and PRUs “must make arrangements for supporting pupils at the school with medical conditions”.
This duty is owed by the “appropriate authority” which is either the governing body (of a maintained school) or the proprietor (if it is an Academy).
The Government has published statutory guidance called
Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions
to explain to schools, parents and carers how this duty should be carried out.
The guidance states that schools must ensure that arrangements are in place to support pupils with medical needs so that they can access and enjoy the same opportunities at school as any other child, and must reintegrate children back into school after absences arising because of their medical conditions (paragraph 6).
The school should agree an individual healthcare plan with you. This will set out how your child’s health needs will be met, including when and by whom, and whether any staff training is needed.
The school must also have a written policy regarding pupils with medical conditions and how they will be supported. This should be available on the school website or on request.
What about absences related to Covid 19?
Shielding advice in England has been withdrawn and children are now expected to be back at school and attending regularly. Action may be taken against you for unauthorised absences if your child is of compulsory school age.
Although there isn’t a blanket policy about when an absence may be authorised, each request would need to be considered on its own merits and all the circumstances considered.
Given that schools are being encouraged to promote attendance and the impact on the absent child’s education may mean that securing authorisation is difficult.
Parents and carers should take advice particularly if their individual circumstances are unique. and or complex.
The school’s duties relating to disability
If your child’s medical condition amounts to a disability, the school also has duties under the Equality Act 2010 to make arrangements to ensure that he or she can access education without significant disadvantage.
What happens if my child is unable to attend school for any period due to a medical condition?
The local authority’s duty to provide suitable alternative education
The LA has a legal duty to secure suitable, full-time alternative education for those children of compulsory school age who, by reason of illness, exclusion or otherwise, may not for any period receive suitable education unless such arrangements are made for them (section 19, Education Act 1996).
Local authorities should have regard to the statutory guidance entitled:
Ensuring a good education for children who cannot attend school because of health needs.
You’ll see from the guidance (page 8, paragraphs 12-13) that supporting medical evidence will be required.
The LA may expect this to come from a consultant, but they should ‘work closely with medical professionals and the child’s family, and consider the medical evidence’.
In the short term at least, this could be from a GP.
It also states (paragraphs 14-15) that LAs should provide such education as soon as it is clear that the child will be away from school for 15 days or more, whether consecutive or cumulative, and should do so at the latest by the sixth day of the absence.
They should liaise with appropriate medical professionals to ensure minimal delay in arranging appropriate provision for the child.
Full-time education is not defined in law, and LAs will often only offer a few hours of home tuition per week.
However, the guidance states (at the bottom of page 4) that it should ‘equate to what the pupil would normally have in school – for example, for pupils in Key Stage 4 this would usually be 25 hours a week.’
It is unlawful to withhold or reduce the provision, or type of provision, for a child because of how much it will cost.
Therefore, LAs must not have policies that limit a child’s education to a specified number of hours per week due to cost or availability.
School anxiety
Sometimes childrens are unable to access education because of anxiety or similar difficulties, these are very often associated with the child’s SEN.
This is sometimes known as 'school refusal' although there is contention with this terminolgy as it implies that childen are wilfully refusing when the reality may be that they are unable to attend school.
It can be difficult to identify which is it is but certainly parents/carers/families and professionals should work in collaboration to remove any barriers to learning.
When a child is unable to attend school and their behaviour and/or anxiety appears to be worsening, it is important to seek help as soon as possible.
Speak to your GP or another medical/mental health professional
As a first step, you should take your child to your GP and explain what has been happening.
If the GP (or any medical/mental health professional) feels that the child is not currently fit to attend school, ask for a letter to the local authority (LA) to be provided, explaining this.
Evidence of this type would provide a documented explanation for the child’s non-attendance.
You can ask your GP to refer your child to the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (known as CAMHS), although thresholds for accessing this service are often high.
Speak to the school
Schools must have regard to guidance issued by the Department for Education on their responsibilities where a mental health issue is affecting attendance.
Ask the class teacher, SENCO and or senior management team for a meeting to discuss what might be behind the school anxiety.
Consider the school’s duties under the Children and Families Act 2014 to identify and support any special educational needs or disabilities that the child may have.
Remember that the term “special educational needs” covers a broad spectrum which includes social, emotional and mental health needs.
Your child does not need to be struggling academically in order to access SEN support.
The school may need to seek support from outside agencies. The LA’s education welfare service can be helpful in providing strategies and support for children who are beginning to school-refuse.
If the school may not be able to meet your child’s needs by itself, it may be appropriate to request an EHC needs assessment (the first step towards getting an EHC plan).
What if my child already has an EHC plan?
If your child has an EHC plan but is still struggling to attend school, it is likely that the plan needs to be reviewed and you child may need extra or different support, and/or a different setting.
You should consider asking for an early review of the EHC plan or a re-assessment of needs, especially if your child’s mental health needs have arisen relatively recently and are not covered in the plan.
The LA must continue to secure the special educational provision in the EHC plan while your child is out of school (section 42, Children and Families Act 2014).
Getting temporary education put in place
The LA has a legal duty to secure suitable, full-time alternative education for those children of compulsory school age who, by reason of illness, exclusion or otherwise, may not for any period receive suitable education unless such arrangements are made for them (section 19, Education Act 1996).
This applies whether or not your child has an EHC Plan.
Local authorities should have regard to the statutory guidance entitled:
THis can include anxiety and other mental health needs.
You’ll see from the guidance (page 8, paragraphs 12-13) that supporting medical evidence will be required.
The LA may expect this to come from a consultant, but they should “work closely with medical professionals and the child’s family, and consider the medical evidence”. In the short term at least, this could be from a GP.
It also states (paragraphs 14-15) that LAs should provide such education as soon as it is clear that the child will be away from school for 15 days or more, whether consecutive or cumulative, and should do so at the latest by the sixth day of the absence.
They should liaise with appropriate medical professionals to ensure minimal delay in arranging appropriate provision for the child.
“Full-time education” is not defined in law, and LAs will often only offer a few hours of home tuition per week. However, the guidance states (at the bottom of page 4) that it should “equate to what the pupil would normally have in school – for example, for pupils in Key Stage 4 this would usually be 25 hours a week.”
It is unlawful to withhold or reduce the provision, or type of provision, for a child because of how much it will cost. Therefore, LAs must not have policies that limit a child’s education to a specified number of hours per week due to cost or availability.
What if I am being threatened with an Attendance Order?
If you are being threatened with an Attendance Order because of your child’s absences from school, you should write to the relevant person or department (which is likely to be the Educational Welfare Service) to explain that your child has special educational needs and is experiencing mental health difficulties.
Suggest to them that serving an Attendance Order in these circumstances would be premature and inappropriate, and what is needed is multi agency support to identify and make provision for all of your child’s needs.
Hopefully, once everyone involved realises that your child’s non-attendance is to do with their anxiety and SEN rather than deliberate truancy, the threat will be withdrawn.
If the LA continue with the threat of serving an Attendance Order, or actually serve it, you will need to speak to a solicitor who is familiar with education law.
You should check if you qualify for legal aid.
Further information:
Further information on all of the above issues and much more can be found with our MEMBERSHIP.
