On this page we explain what happens if a child cannot attend school due to illness.

What medical evidence is needed if a child cannot attend school due to illness?

The statutory guidance Working together to improve school attendance says schools are not expected to routinely request that parents provide medical evidence to support illness absences. In the majority of cases a parent’s notification that their child is too ill to attend school will be that evidence and can be accepted without question or concern.

Only where the school has genuine and reasonable doubt about the authenticity of the illness should medical evidence be requested to support the absence.

Where medical evidence is deemed necessary, school should not be rigid about the form of evidence requested and should speak to you about what evidence is available (paragraphs 365 and 366 of the guidance applicable from 19 August 2024).

Does a school have to tell the local authority if a child is missing school due to illness?

Yes. If:

• your child is of compulsory school age
• they have been recorded as absent due to illness and 
• there are reasonable grounds to believe, that because of illness, they will have to miss
  • at least 15 consecutive (back to back) school days, or
  • at least 15 school days during their current school year

the school has a legal duty to tell your local authority (LA) about this.

The school must do this as soon as possible. It is called a “sickness return”.

This is set out in Regulation 13 (9) of The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 and paragraph 58 of Working together to improve school attendance (applicable from 19 August 2024).

When should education be put in place for children who cannot attend school due to illness?

Your LA has a legal duty to secure suitable, full-time alternative education for children of compulsory school age who would not otherwise receive it due to illness, exclusion or another reason (section 19 of the Education Act 1996).

The statutory guidance called: 'Arranging education for children who cannot attend school because of health needs' says (page 7) as soon as it is clear that a child will be away from school for 15 days or more because of their health needs and the home school is unable to provide suitable education, the LA should arrange suitable alternative education. The suitable education should begin as soon as possible and at the latest by the sixth day of the absence.

You’ll see from this guidance (page 8) that supporting medical evidence should be used to understand your child’s needs and the most suitable provision for them. Your LA may expect this to come from a consultant, but the guidance states:

“Local authorities, working closely with the child’s home school, medical practitioners (such as a GP or consultant) and the child’s family, should make every effort to minimise the disruption to a child’s education by identifying the most suitable provision.

Where specific medical evidence, such as that provided by a medical practitioner, is not readily available, the child’s home school or the local authority should consider liaising with other medical practitioners and consider other evidence to ensure appropriate provision can be arranged as soon as possible.”

Your LA should work with appropriate medical professionals to avoid delays in arranging appropriate education for your child. If your LA has not provided this education, you should write to your LA and request that it puts alternative education in place.

What education must be provided?

The education provided for your child must be suitable and full time, although the statutory guidance says if a child receives one-to-one tuition, the hours of face-to-face provision could be fewer as the education may be more intensive (page 10). You can find more information about the duty to provide suitable, full time alternative education on our alternative education for children who cannot attend school page, and what you can do if you are unhappy with the education arranged for your child.

LAs must not withhold or reduce the provision, or type of provision, for a child because of how much it will cost. Your LA must not have a policy that limits a child’s education to a specified number of hours per week due to cost or availability. The only time your child should receive part-time education is if it is in their best interests, based on their needs only.

If illness has affected your child’s free school meals, or you are not sure whether your child is eligible for free school meals, you may find these resources produced by Contact helpful.

If you haven’t been able to find the answer to your question on this page, you may find it helpful to look at our FAQs.

Illness FAQs