Sen child and school absence

[Katiemarie96]

On the 6th of October my autistic 7 year old had an absolute meltdown at the school door laying on the floor kicking and screaming and we brought her back home as it wasn’t fair on her to be that stressed at school all day she probably wouldn’t have calmed down and I’d have had to go and collect her anyway, now today I get an email saying it’s not a reason to be off school and they gave put it down as unauthorised and given me a warning. Is this right because they know she has autism i really don’t think it’s fair they’re threatening a potential fine if she has more days off because of this for something she can’t help? Anyone else had a situation like this?

Has she had several absences since the start of term? Am I correct to assume that she’s been in school since then?

I’d expect that you would have had at least a meeting to discuss strategies in the event of a meltdown and what could be put in place to reduce or avoid the impact of it, I suppose it’s a question of having a plan in place.

Challenge this. If DD is absent due to ill health, including mental ill health arising from overwhelm due to SEN, the absences must be authorised. The Regulations (School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024) make it clear where a pupil is absent because they are unable to attend due to sickness the absence must be regarded as authorised. DfE’s statutory attendance guidance also states absence due to illness must be coded as I, thus authorised.

What support is the school providing? Does DD have an EHCP?

@Bluevelvetsofa No this was her first absence due to this this term, no strategy’s at the moment as this is the first time it’s happened she’s normally okay going in, they’ve literally not even called us into the school to discuss what we could do in the future if this happens again so going to have to call a meeting ourselves.

@flawlessflipper I did this this was a case when I searched the internet for some info, says any absence due to mental health has to be marked as authorised on the government website so going to challenge this with the school tomorrow and hopefully they change it. No she doesn’t have an EHCP no one has ever even mentioned her having one at all so I don’t know what it is or what it means for her

Challenge the school in writing. Follow up all verbal conversation with emails.

An Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) is a legal document that sets out a child’s needs and the support they need. You can request an EHCNA yourself. This is the needs assessment you first request. IPSEA and SOSSEN are charities who have lots of helpful information on their websites, including model letters you can use to request an EHCNA.

One instance of absence due to feeling overwhelmed and because of her autism, shouldn’t be regarded as unauthorised. Knowing her diagnosis, the school should be making adjustments, which would include strategies for reducing the impact of a meltdown, should she be feeling overwhelmed.

The staff should be aware of potential triggers and how they can be avoided, or the impact of them lessened.

It would be helpful for the future if you can get someone working with her (e.g. a paediatrician) to produce a report in effect explaining that forcing your child to go into school in these circumstances will harm her mental health.