 
 
Attendance and Exclusions
School Attendance
You must make sure your child gets a full-time education that meets their needs (e.g. if they have special educational needs). You can send your child to school or educate them yourself.
Children must get an education between the school term after their fifth birthday and the last Friday in June in the school year they turn 16.
It is the responsibility of parents / carers to ensure their children receive appropriate education at school or otherwise. If your child is ill or unable to attend their education provision for some reason you should always contact the provider on the first day of absence.
School Attendance Support Service (SASS)
SASS acts to champion the right of all children to receive a high quality education. The service will work to overcome any barriers to learning through skilled problem solving with a range of partners.
Changes to legislation in 2013 mean parents are no longer entitled to take their child on holiday during term time.
Any application for leave must only be in exceptional circumstances and the headteacher must be satisfied that the circumstances are exceptional and warrant the granting of leave. Headteachers would not be expected to class any term time holiday as exceptional.
Parents can be fined by the local authority for taking their child on holiday during term time without the consent of the school. It’s important that parents understand that the initial fixed penalty notice of £80 is issued to each parent for each child (if paid within 21 day). A two-parent family with two children would be fined £320. This increases to £160 to each parent for each child (if paid within 28 days). So for a two-parent family with two children, this would increase to a £640 fine.
Emotionally Based School Avoidance
Emotionally Based School Avoidance is the ‘fear’ which brings with it some very debilitating symptoms. Emotionally Based School Avoidance is the behaviour displayed to avoid feeling the fear.Â
Children may refuse to go to school for prolonged periods if they:
- are anxious
- have problems with social relationships
- are bullied
- have poor literacy or numeracy skills
- become disaffected
If you’re having trouble getting your child to go to school, the school and the local authority can help.Â
The school will discuss attendance problems with you and should agree a plan with you to improve your child’s attendance. Parents can also seek advice from SASS or the SENDIASS  teams.
Further Information:
School attendance and absence: Overview – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Exclusions
Every school has a behaviour policy, which lists the rules of conduct for pupils before and after school as well as during the school day. You can ask the school for a copy of the policy document.
Punishments
- Schools can punish pupils if they behave badly.
- Headteachers can exclude your child (also called being ‘expelled’ or ‘suspended’) if they misbehave.
Examples of lesser punishments (sometimes called ‘sanctions’) include:
- a telling-off
- a letter home
- removal from a class or group
- confiscating something inappropriate for school (e.g. mobile phone or MP3 player)
- detention
What happens when you child is excluded
There are two kinds of exclusion – fixed period (suspended) and permanent (expelled).
Your child’s school will let you know about an exclusion or suspension as soon as possible and follow up with a letter including information about how long your child is excluded for and why. Suspensions and exclusions can start the same day but the school can’t make you collect your child straight away.
You should also be told how to challenge the suspension or exclusion, if you want to.Â
Alternative education and exclusion
If a child has been suspended for a fixed period, schools should set and mark work for the first 5 school days. If the suspension is longer than 5 school days, the school must arrange full-time education from the sixth school day.Â
Permanent exclusion means your child is expelled. The local council must arrange full-time education from the sixth school day. The school must tell you about any alternative education they or the local council arrange. It’s your responsibility to make sure your child attends.
Contact the school (for fixed period suspensions) or the School Attendance Support Service  (SASS – for permanent exclusions) if they haven’t arranged anything after 5 days.
You can complain to the Department for Education (DfE) if you’re not happy with their response.
Complaining about a punishment and exclusions
The letter from school about the exclusion will tell you how to challenge the decision. If you disagree with the way your child’s been punished, first talk to the head teacher. If you’re not satisfied, ask for a copy of the complaints procedure.
 You can  Challenge exclusions and SEND IASS can talk you through the process.
You can make a claim to a court or a tribunal if you think your child’s been discriminated against. Contact the Equality Advisory Support Service for help and advice.
For more general complaints (e.g. if you don’t want to challenge the exclusion but you’re not happy with the way the school handled it), follow the normal school complaints process.
Resources:
Attendance and behaviour advice for parents – WNC
School suspensions and permanent exclusions – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Behaviour in schools: sanctions and exclusions: Challenging exclusion – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)