What happens when school starts proceedings against you for low attendance

[katalex]

I met with the deputy head in early January to discuss my year 11 son's low attendance (he hasn't been in since the beginning of September due to poor mental health) and how to get him back to school. I have been working with the SENCO on strategies since late September but I don't think he knew anything about this. He just treated me like I just couldn't be bothered to get my child to school, which couldn't be further from the truth.

We talked about a staggered return, which I agreed to try (even though we already tried this in October and it didn't work) but he said that they had already started proceedings against me for failing to carry out my legal duty to make sure my son attended school regularly. However, I haven't heard anything from the council yet. Are they so overloaded with referrals from schools that it takes over a month to contact a parent whose child hasn't been to school all year?

What should I expect when they do contact me? I have plenty of evidence that I can supply regarding all of the doctor's appointments, resort from the psychiatrist assessment and subsequent diagnosis, weekly therapy with a clinical psychologist since July plus emails and meetings with the SENCO and all the things we have tried. DS also has an Early Help worker. The school referred him to the county council back in September to provide some help to get him back to school. They have not contacted me so far. They also tried to refer him to the local health needs school but that request was denied. DS is going to try starting the staggered return tomorrow. Unless I've forgotten to list something here, I honestly don't know what else I could have done.

Any advice would be very helpful as I'm quite worried.

@cestlavielife I will give them a call tomorrow. I have just read the guidance and I really wish this had been available last year. It is really useful to know what the school/LA should be doing. Honestly, the school could not have been less helpful until I got in touch with the SENCO. At the end of year 10, Ds and I met with student 'support' to ask for 'early' help. She was the coldest, most uncaring, unsymptathetic person I have ever met. Her attitude to DS was basically, get over it, you'll be in year 11 so you have no choice but to be in school.

I asked for some very reasonable adjustments, such as not being punished for being late. DS has sleep problems and has trouble waking up so he worries about being late. Then worrying about being late makes him late so he says he can't go to school because he'll be punished. I was told that they can't make any exceptions without evidence that it is a medical issue causing the lateness. We were working on it with his GP at the time but she was adamant that he would be punished if late. We also asked for him to be able to see someone in student support first thing if he's really anxious. That's the worst time for him and, if he can get into school, he's often ok for the rest of the day. She said that the only time that he is allowed to see her is at break or lunch time, no exceptions. It seems they would rather he didn't attend at all.

They won't even give out 'time out' cards anymore (or so they tell me). To get out of a lesson, if overwhelmed, DS would have to go up to the teacher to tell them there's a problem and he needs to leave, then wait for them to call someone to come and get him, all while everyone's looking at him wondering what's going on. It's ludicrous. They don't even have a student support area anymore. The staff are located in the admin offices. There is nowhere for the students to go to calm down.

@lifeturnsonadime DS has told me about many things that cause him anxiety in school: the ever increasing reasons to get a detention or isolation (new headteacher implementing more disciplinary measures), some of the teachers are, according to DS, disrepectful/horrible to the students, far too high expectations (he is expected to get grades 6-8 but tends to get grades 3-5), struggling to concentrate for the whole hour and then having to concentrate for another whole hour (we suspect ADHD), worrying about not getting to class on time, being late for school, falling asleep in class. There are so many things.

I don't know if he would get on better at college. He wants to do an apprenticeship but he has to get 5 GCSEs. As far as I'm aware, colleges in our area only do maths and English GCSE if you don't pass. My hope is that the LA can provide home tuition next year (if he can't get his GCSEs this year) so he can get enough GCSEs to progress.

@JustKeepBuilding Ds's absences were all unauthorised until he got his diagnosis of anxiety disorder at the end of November 2022. They wrote to me and phoned me repeatedly requesting medical evidence. They knew that he wasn't able to see a psychiatrist until November because of long waiting lists in child psychiatry (private) but they still hounded me about it. I don't know what they would have done if he'd been waiting for a CAMHS appointment. It would have taken much longer.

@WhatsitWiggle We started off just driving into the school car park a couple of times in a week. The next week he actually got out of the car and walked to the side gate that he would normally go in. After that we went into reception and sat in the chairs by the door for a minute before leaving. Then his Early Help worker took him into the building and DS gave him a quick tour. I wanted him to do that again and then to go in in uniform but no lesson but DS said that would make him more nervous about going back. He just wanted to get straight back to lessons. If he can't manage a lesson this week then I'll talk to him again about maybe just spending half an hour in the library or something like that.

Question for anyone who might know: Just out of curiosity, if it's the school's responsibility to inform the LA that a student has been out of school for 15 days and then the LA is responsible for arranging alternative provision for education, how come no one from the LA has contacted me about this? I should have heard from them in September but DS has been out of school for 5 months.

Question for anyone who might know: Just out of curiosity, if it's the school's responsibility to inform the LA that a student has been out of school for 15 days and then the LA is responsible for arranging alternative provision for education, how come no one from the LA has contacted me about this? I should have heard from them in September but DS has been out of school for 5 months.

The LA doesn't want you to know because they would rather not have the responsibility.

School should have informed them.

What you need to do is write to the Head of Children's services saying that they are in breach of s.19 of the Education Act 1996 for failing to make alternative arrangements for a child out of school for more than 15 days.

www.ipsea.org.uk/faqs/what-support-should-the-la-give-me-if-my-child-is-out-of-school-for-any-other-reason

If they continue to fail to make provision then you can escalate. Unfortunately I had months and months without provision for my eldest and ended up having to make a claim to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman which was successful.

I would also look at the local offer on the website for your LA it might be that they have links to an online provision for your child, some use things like interhigh or Nisai learning.

I found my MP (Tory) was very helpful in assisting me with dealing with the LA I had a meeting with her and she was copied in to all correspondence. That might be something you could consider.

I have linked IPSEA upthread about s. 19 I'd get on to them about EHCP deadlines. They have a helpline and were worth their weight in gold in helping me to manage the LA.

www.ipsea.org.uk/asking-for-an-ehc-needs-assessment

It is a minefield, i hope you get it sorted

It is the LA with the duty to provide education for those unable to attend school and sadly it is only provided if parents force the LA to provide it. Email the Director of Children’s Services informing them of the situation and reminding them of their duties. Finish by saying if provision isn’t put in place ASAP you will be forced to begin judicial review proceedings. If that email doesn’t work contact SOSSEN for help with a pre-action letter.

The absences should have been authorised, I would challenge those. “Only where the school has a genuine and reasonable doubt about the authenticity of the illness should medical evidence be requested to support the absence.” Even if they did require medical evidence GP evidence is sufficient.

In my area once in touch with the specified ewo
Everything fell into place
Cannot fault the lea

Re the 15 days - it's very easy to bash the Local
Authority for not providing this that and the other but actually it isn't that simple. The resources, funding and money is not there to meet many obligations. IME the 15 days being one of them. It's on the same level as the government telling teachers they could all have a pay rise but not providing schools with the funding to give it. Yes, education should be provided for children with 15 days absence - but with what team? What money? What staff? What place? In my local authority there is provision but it's one person delivering this service as that's all the funding there is. So the provision is maybe an hour tutoring a week.

Those of you who have contacted the MP are taking probably the only realistic action but those who are saying you have to force the LA are not really understanding the limitations of what's available.

Also although the new guidance says that no evidence is necessary, for those of us actually doing the job, we are aware of the flip side of this that there are a large number of children absent due to "illness" who are not Ill- they do not want to go to school and their parents do not make them. There always have been and there always will be. I've also dealt with a lot of cases of fabricated illness presented as plausible illness necessitating very little time at school. Some people do not value education, some parents are unwell themselves and are a risk to their children. It's all too easy to claim illness or anxiety, and issuing guidance that moves away from seeking evidence is only going to risk taking provision away from those who really do need it.

An unpopular view maybe but I've done the job a very long time and i believe that there is secondary harm caused by allowing anyone and everyone to declare themselves or their child too anxious or unwell for school without there being proper professional oversight of the situation.

Not everyone wants the best for their child. We should be very careful that we are continuing to exercise our duty of care to those children by making it easier for those parents to keep them out of school.

Just some thoughts from my position on the inside of this.

@cestlavielife

That's nice to hear I am glad they were helpful and there was a good outcome

@lifeturnsonadime

Not great practice or helpful to assume no SEN but I would say that there aren't many cases where there is undiagnosed SEN and at least one professional hasn't "noticed" and there's genuinely no awareness at all that there is an SEN issue. Between a group of professionals it's usually something that is clearly on the radar.

@lifeturnsonadime

I am sorry to hear your son had such a tough time but sounds like he is really thriving now - great news

Having been through the system with my own DS and supporting hundreds of parents IRL and on MN to secure provision for their DC I understand the system very well. Forcing LAs, via JR if necessary, is realistic advice.

Lack of funding is not a lawful excuse not to meet statutory obligations. The duty is to actually provide the provision not a duty to attempt to provide it. Case law last year made that clear.

If LAs claim to not have enough funding to provide statutory provision perhaps they could use the extortionate amount of money they spend on representation to defend indefensible SENDIST cases against unrepresented parents.

Well it happened with 2 of my children.

So many children are failed.

You are showing your position on this in the last couple of posts you've made.

The 15 days to trigger AP is there for a reason. To protect children. Lack of funding is no excuse to break the law and to fail children.

I have no doubt you believe you know best, yours is the kind of job that encourages authoritarian parent blaming individuals, just like case officers in Sen teams.

And it's complete nonsense that parents in any way encourage children to be off school contrary to what many schools , LA's and EWO's want to believe, it's fucking hard managing children who can't be in school, I had to give up my career due to failures in school and subsequently of the LA.

As for professional oversight, don't make me laugh, waiting lists at CAMHs are excessive. Children have to literally be killing themselves, like my son was trying to do , to get any form of proper professional oversight.

God your posts are triggering. You literally have no idea how hard this is for parents and children in this position.

And as for some parents might harm their children well they should be known to social services anyway. They don't tend to be ones who out of the blue start to say they can't cope in school.

@JustKeepBuilding I forgot to mention that we are on week 12 if the EHCP process. So far only the health team has called to ask me a few questions. DS hasn't had any assessments. When I requested an EHCP for his sibling in 2021, it took 8 months.

@katalex

You can sometimes arrange some of the assessments yourselves depending on your area.

In our area you can self refer for Salt and OT. That might speed the process up possibly?

And it's complete nonsense that parents in any way encourage children to be off school contrary to what many schools , LA's and EWO's want to believe, it's fucking hard managing children who can't be in school

There are plenty of parents who do encourage non attendance. This is difficult for you to understand, because you aren't one of them, but parents like that are out there.

OP schools are underfunded and overwhelmed. The staff will all be in one place to cut costs. The room to go and calm down will have been shut because no one can staff it.

It's the same with LA tutoring. Even if it was funded, no one wants the job.

Unless you have to appeal, which I appreciate many do, the EHCP process doesn’t need to take 8 months. You can force the LA to stick to the statutory timescales.

During the EHCNA the LA must seek advice from:
a) the child’s parent or the young person;
b) educational advice (usually from the head teacher or principal);
c) medical advice and information from a health care professional;
d) psychological advice and information from an educational psychologist;
e) advice and information in relation to social care;
f) advice and information from any other person the local authority thinks appropriate;
g) where the child or young person is in or beyond year 9, advice and information in relation to provision to assist the child or young person in preparation for adulthood and independent living; and
h) advice and information from any person the child’s parent or young person reasonably requests that the local authority seek advice from.

H can include things like SALT, OT, psychiatrist, clinical psychologist.

Anyone asked for advice must respond within 6 weeks. If the LA can’t assess in house or via the NHS within the statutory timescale the LA must commission independent assessments. You do not need to sit on the normal waiting lists and staff shortages are not a lawful excuse not to comply.

You need to email the Director of Children’s Services pointing out their duties and informing them you will pursue JR if they fail to comply. Then contact SOSSEN if they don’t comply.

It is worth reading IPSEA and SOSSEN’s websites to understand the process and legislation better.

There are plenty of parents who do encourage non attendance.

They won't be the ones pushing for EHCPs and alternative provision though. It's harder work than sending a child to school.

This was really in response to the EWO who is bemoaning the fact that the LA has a duty to provide an alternative education to children who have been out of school for more than 15 days.

A child who can't manage mainstream school STILL has the right to be educated. It's very ableist to suggest that those who can't manage should be left to flounder.

@lifeturnsonadime

Bemoaning - no, I'm really not. I'm saying that the funding within local authorities severely limits the provision they can offer. I really find it regretful you feel the need to accuse me of moaning.

@lifeturnsonadime

I also took the time to say I was sorry to hear about your son. What a shame you have been so aggressive towards me in your other posts.

Glad that you know all you need to know and don't need to consider any other perspective.

@lifeturnsonadime

It is absolutely true that many parents do not want their children to attend school, nor do they make them do so and I can absolutely assure you that there are plenty of children not in school for this very reason. However I have not suggested you are one of them and you clearly had a different experience for different reasons. And I appreciate to outsiders it's a strange concept that many people find it hard to believe that people would choose not to bother sending their children to school every day.

However I came here to offer advice to the OP and since I have clearly hit a nerve with you I think I will toddle off back to my LA where I don't think I know best at all, but I do perhaps know differently to many people.

OP, hope some of my advise has been useful and wishing you all the best.

@katalex

I'm so sorry you are going through this. We are in a very similar situation but a little further on than you. DD also Yr11 but has been out a bit longer than your DS. We followed a very similar path with you, trying to stage a staggered return, part-time timetable etc - the anxiety is too great to get anywhere near school these days.

We had EWO involvement, I really did think we would be prosecuted as sadly the EWO felt that we weren't being strict enough with our DD. It was suggested that we needed to implement sanctions (impossible to do as not only was she not going to school, she had and continues to have no enjoyment in life at all). We managed to demonstrate that we wanted our DD to receive education by facilitating short pieces of work to be completed each day at home.

We haven't yet been prosecuted and I hope it doesn't come to this. This situation is beyond hard and seems to be a lot more common than people realise - but when you are going through it you can feel so isolated and vilified by society. Wishing you and you DS all the best

Bemoaning - no, I'm really not. I'm saying that the funding within local authorities severely limits the provision they can offer.

You may be an EWO but you don't understand that the law does not limit LAs spending.

You appear not to be aware that LAs spend vasts sums of money denying appropriate education rather than funding it.

www.specialneedsjungle.com/70million-council-costs-parents-send-tribunal/

If you were really interested in the welfare of children you would not make assumptions that children who are unable to be at school cannot have SEN if no one has noticed. It's not in anyone's interests to notice, it costs money.

And sorry no, the Not Fine in School facebook page has 32.7K members. Most people really do want their children at school. Barriers are put up by schools, LAs and EWO's enforce attendance at any cost by making out, entirely incorrectly, that AP isn't available, because of incorrect statements about the legal position of local authorities.

There are some who don't of course. But that's unusual.

OP sorry for the derail. I do hope that you sort out provisons for your son. Ignore those who tell you that AP isn't viable. It is if he can't go.

@JustKeepBuilding is giving excellent advice.

I am very bitter about the whole thing because in a fair society where all children are treated equal families wouldn't be put through this.

I apologise for missing that particular post and thank you.

It is not easy.

It is not personal but you are misinforming people on here by implying that funding for AP is limited when by law it isn't.

I have been fighting the LA for 6 years over 2 children. I had to personally fund the limited education my eldest had, my daughter is fully funded after an extensive battle because that is what parents have to do to achieve equality in education.

It is easy to think parents aren't interested, many give up because of the barriers that are created and the amount LAs spend to deny appropriate educations. It's obscene.

I know you are just doing a job but your posts about s. 19 and limited funding are enraging because children deserve better than this. If you are going out in your job telling parents that if their child is not in school they have no chance of education then this is simply incorrect.

An Educational Psychologist saw my son just before he took his GCSEs at home and commented in his report that it is a credit to him and us as parents that we made the decisions we made. We were accused, years ago, of not being strict enough by an EWO and told he had to be in school.

I saw our local councillor for education (conservative) during the first years of my son being out of school and her view was that money is wasted on SEN kids and would be better spent on gifted and talented!

@lifeturnsonadime

It's completely inappropriate to state "if you really cared about the welfare of children". I don't know why you are being so aggressive. Of course I care about the welfare and education of children and your statement is childish. Would you accuse a health professional of not caring about people if you didn't like the advice they gave you or didn't agree with what they stated was their own professional experience?

I have never once suggested that LA funding trumps the legal duty to provide. What I have repeatedly said is that there are enough people staff, teams, resources, physical buildings etc to meet the provision. A bit like the huge number of TA vacancies. An EHCP entitles a child to 1-1 provision but the PROVISION is limited because people don't apply to fill those vacancies. Same with LA provision. It's a subtle difference and I am sorry that you're so angry and jaded that you aren't quite able to understand this.

And no, I am not giving bad advice. I can't remember all the other things that you've accused me of but I've given good advice on thos thread. Out of the two of us, you can advise others on your own personal experience and factual information available in the public domain.

On the other hand I can advise how that information translates into real life cases and how they are approached and dealt with.

If you scroll back to the beginning you will notice that I came onto this thread to reassure the OP who was worried that she would be prosecuted. Hardly fair to accuse me of being authoritative and not caring about children's education is it.

If you have beef with how you were treated by an EWO, a school or an LA in the past, take it up with them. It's got nothing to do with me and stop attacking me for coming onto a thread to give advice and speak from experience that I am perfectly well placed to give.

You need to deal with your own issue here.

Yes. Every day I go out in my job and tell people if their children don't go to school they have no chance with education. Then I fine them all and put the money in the pot for the Christmas do.

Sadly DC whose parents know the system, can advocate for them and enforce their rights get better support. It shouldn’t be like that, but it is how the system operates at the moment and that isn’t going to change any time soon.

Lack of funding and resources doesn’t excuse the LA of their duties to provide s.19 provision or EHCP provision. Parents can force LAs to provide both regardless of the LA’s claims to lack funding, resources, staff to do so. Parents can challenge LAs who claim to be able to only provide 1hr a week of provision as that is not meeting their statutory duties as it is not a suitable, full time education. To perpetuate the myth that lack of funding means the LA can’t provide the provision they legally must isn’t helpful.

Would you accuse a health professional of not caring about people if you didn't like the advice they gave you or didn't agree with what they stated was their own professional experience?

Yes and I have twice.

First time it was an Educational Psychologist (council engaged) who denied the existence of dyslexia. I had to spend £500 on a private report to demonstrate my youngest has profound dyslexia requiring specialist provison.

Second time to CAMHs who state that they do not deal routinely with anxiety if a child is autistic which is discriminatory. I complained to NHS commissioners and got that overturned in my area.

Professionals are not gods. They act within limited parameters and they get things wrong.