To have refused to sign this parenting contract about attendance

@EvilNextDoor Grow up, someone who knows their job, as that poster clearly does, probably faces uninformed keyboard warriors like you on a daily basis and will be well able to put you in your place.

OP, what you are describing doesn't sound normal for a school. If you have provided them with clear evidence of your daughters illness, they are normally very understanding. They will only act the way the way you describe if they have doubts about how true it is.

@nooschmoo of course the OP should speak to the school, but they aren’t the ones ultimately responsible for providing education to those unable to attend. The poster I quoted said the school had to provide a tutor. It was that I was responding to.

Also, if the school doesn’t refer, the OP can make the request to the LA herself using IPSEA’s model letter.

School is your first point of contact to ask, as they fill out the referral forms.

My sons attendance is at 40 % at the moment school complain needs to be more he is at a Sen school has 23 different diagnoses after repeated attempts to get him in school more ,got doctors to give him a sick note lasts for 3 month then give new one in , you might be able to try this ,he was in hospital earlier this year for 5 week and the schools rang me everyday asking why he’s not in , hospital said send sick notes in so don’t get a fine ..

Agree. It's currently not an expectation that this happens from school unless a fixed term exclusion happens. Otherwise the requests would be endless and a crazy workload. (see covid when it was an expectation).

OP this doesn't mean I think the school are right. You should go back to them with the emails suggested above.

I would have a face-to-face conversation with school administrators, if possible, and explain what's going on. You could probably arrange a call with them and your DD's doctor, and have him/her back you up on what's going on. Or maybe have a letter with an explanation of the conditions and the usual symptoms, and how that may make someone regularly ill enough to not be able to attend.

If they're at all reasonable, they'll have to listen to you, especially if your DD is keeping up with all the assignments and still passing classes... One of the things that happened here during covid times was that teachers found ways to give the lessons via zoom, or to upload them online. Maybe arrangements could be made so that the lessons could be recorded, and DD can have access to them when she's feeling well enough to learn?

I know you’re getting quoted left right and centre, but PLEASE, as part of your role, can you look at what the school can do to improve the situation? It is not about sending out teams of letters and looking forward to escalation. If you have sent out 100 letters it suggests that there are serious issues with the school. The tone of your post is appalling and short sighted.

I look at the lives of children in hundreds of schools and the lengths some schools go to to help the children in is humbling. I do hope you are focussing on what is right for each child, instead of focussing on what the parent should do. For every parent who could do better, there is a parent desperate for their child to be happy in school. I write this in full understanding that there are parents who are failing their children by not supporting their education. I urge you to not tar us all with the same brush.

OP my dd attendance is around 70% - she missed one day in every ten for medical appointments; this will increase in December. She also usually misses at least half a day a week - not always, but often. Sometimes I drop her off and just wait for the call to pick her up. My dd does all her homework and is doing well in all submitted work and scores highly in tests. So I believe you when you say your dd is doing well despite her poor attendance. It can be done! Well done to your dd.

Your dd’s school sound horrific. If the issues are mental they need to work with your dd around addressing these, providing a quiet space etc. If they are physical, there is nothing that can be done is there? I would absolutely start raising this now; speak to educational welfare, organise DLA (it is an entry pathway to assistance and helps with disability recognition) and raise with Ofsted and the governors. Definitely raise with the council that they are threatening fines over lack of medical exemption for D&V; fines are not up to them and they are causing your daughter to miss more education by going to the doctors for no reason. I would also write to your MP - you need to get someone’s interest high up. Do not accept off-rolling and do not home educate - I’m assuming she is doing GCSES this academic year or next? So she needs to stay put as any disruption would hinder her chances. The exam fees are also prohibitive and if you home educate you would be liable for all.

Good luck and I hope things start to improve for her. Well done on not signing the contract. If you did, you accepting that there is an element of choice over the absence. I am assuming you are doing all you can, don’t be afraid to ask for help.

This is unacceptable.

Absence for illness is not unauthorised absence. It is out of your control. There is no way you can commit to improve.

The guidance on school attendance can be found at Working together to improve school attendance (applies from 19 August 2024). This is statutory guidance, which means it is as close to law as it is possible to be without actually being law. The school must follow this unless there is very good reason not to and, even then, must stick as close to the guidance as possible.

Paragraphs 365 and 366 are relevant. They are clear that the school should only request medical evidence where there is genuine and reasonable doubt about the authenticity of the illness and that, if evidence is required, they should not be rigid about the form it takes.

In my view, the school's actions go beyond unreasonable and are unlawful. Given that they are aware of your daughter's medical conditions, the school clearly does not have genuine and reasonable doubt as to the authenticity of your daughter's illness. They are therefore acting unlawfully by continually demanding medical evidence. If they insisted on a doctor's note, that was also unlawful (and, since they have acted unlawfully over this, they should refund any costs you have incurred in getting the medical evidence).

Sickness absence is automatically authorised. The school cannot fine you if your daughter is absent due to sickness. To do so would be unlawful. In my view, threatening to do so is also unlawful. The only referral they can make to the LA is a sickness return if your daughter is absent for 15 or more days in the school year - these do not have to be consecutive days. This is compulsory and is to enable the LA to make appropriate arrangements for ensuring that your daughter is educated. Given their behaviour, I would put a lot of money on them having failed to do this. Everything in this paragraph is covered by the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024.

A school can only use a parenting contract for poor attendance where there is excessive unauthorised absence (Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 section 19). Their attempt to put one in place is unlawful.

Put the whole lot together and, in addition to the breaches I have mentioned above, I think it is likely that the school is breaking the Equality Act. If it were me, I would be furious. Far from thinking of home educating, I would be going in with all guns blazing!

You poor thing. It's not like you can just tell her not to get sick and not have health problems. So frustrating and unsupportive. This added stress isn't what either of you need. Sorry u don't have any advice, just solidarity that you're having to deal with this ontop of the health situation!

Wow @LittleHangleton you sound like a right peach - I’d love to have a 1-1 meeting with you - you wouldn’t last 5 minutes with me with that attitude I’d have shot you down within 60 seconds then made sure you’d be running around for weeks providing me with information, that’s before I’d make an official complaint about you.

Im sorry @NoContract it really does grind you down having a sick child and a non supportive school.

I wouldn’t be signing any contract with a school. All of my teen’s absence have been documented with consultants letter, I still get the stupid letters and calls but they know there is nothing I can do - on the whole the school are relatively supportive and have finally put some measures in place

Dfe provide various data on absence.

Physical and mental illnesses are both coded the same in registers so it is not (currently) possible as far as I am aware to look at absence by illness type.

You can compare students with an EHCP to all students and unsurprisingly students with an EHCP are both more likely to be absent and more likely to be "persistently absent" which is hardly surprising.

explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-attendance-in-schools

Right - I wouldn’t base too much on homework. Hopefully they will set her extra to do at home when she feels well enough to do it but not well enough to be in school.

School are obliged to provide a tutor due to medical reasons.
They are legally obligated for any child who can’t attend due to medical issues.

No, they aren’t. Under section 19 of The Education Act 1996 the ultimate duty to ensure CSA pupils unable to attend school still receive a suitable full-time education lies with the LA. Not the school.

School are obliged to provide a tutor due to medical reasons. I don’t know a whole lot about it, we started down that route as my DS was very unwell and unable to attend school pretty much for the whole of last year (luckily we finally found a medication regime that helped) but we found out about this (school DID NOT tell us anything about it) and we’d just started applying when his health improved enough to attend part time. Ask them. They are legally obligated for any child who can’t attend due to medical issues.

How do you know she’s doing well? She must have missed assessments. This is not to say that her illness isn’t genuine but it’s bound to being having an effect on her progress.

Just out of interest, of these 1 in 5 kids missing more than 10% of school each year, do many have physical health ailments keeping them away or is the issue predominantly anxiety

Your last paragraph … Interesting how some schools assume the parents are to blame (never the school!). Lack of reflection on the schools part is often a big part of the issue, creating a parent blame culture, fostering poor relations, preventing a joined up approach and truly child centred education.

1. its important to “play along” with the game. You will have more stress when they start taking steps to take control from you. Sign the agreement - you can write on the agreement THIS above your signature

Be sure you are getting to acknowledge the request and you need to know WHEN they will go it. Her needs need to be accommodated.

OP i dont think you answered my question - are your childs medical conditions predominantly mental health conditions?

they sound like they don’t get the concept that some children will be absent purely because they are ill then. I’d ignore them as clearly they don’t get common sense and they can’t threaten you with anything if it’s all evidenced. I would be seriously angry with them though! Not sure jf they are breaking any rules- but something to look into

There is no usual about EOTAS/EOTIS packages. They are completely bespoke to the individual’s needs. Some include tutoring at home. Some don’t. Some include tuition online, in the community, at a tuition centre, at an AP. Some don’t include any formal tuition at all. And it is a poor EOTAS/EOTIS package via an EHCP that only contains tuition.

As the guidance states, the attendance contracts are not a legal contract and schools cannot make parents sign.

Regardless of whether you have a letter from a Gp stating about your child's attendance, as your child is (likely to be) considered disabled under the Equalities Act definition, the school should be putting in place support by way of reasonable adjustments.

Has the school done anything to support your child?

If you decide that this school is not working for your child, there are a number of other options.

Where mainstream is not suitable for a child the local authority have a duty to provide an education for her (unless you choose to home educate).

For some children this means online schooling, there are also hospital schools for children and teens who spend significant amounts of time in hospital. Local authorities can also fund EOTAS which is education other than at school or a bespoke package. EOTAS is most often done for students with autism or other needs that don't fit into mainstream or special school and usually involves in person tutors visiting the house where the student lives.

Most students who access this type of education will have an EHCP.

This is a very short introduction to what an EHCP is.

www.gov.uk/children-with-special-educational-needs/extra-SEN-help

Don't home educate, unless you have lots and lots of money. Learn the system and you will be able to help your daughter get what she needs.