Get information and support Free legal guides and template letters Exclusion and children out of school Children out of school Illness What should happen if my child has a medical condition and needs extra support in order to attend school? The school’s duty to support pupils with medical conditions If your child goes to: a maintained school an academy (but not a 16-19 academy), or a pupil referral unit, the governing body or proprietor (in the case of an academy) “must make arrangements for supporting pupils at the school with medical conditions”. This is a legal duty on them under section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014. All medical conditions must be supported, whether they are physical or mental health needs. The Government’s statutory guidance explains to schools, parents and carers how this duty should be carried out. The guidance clearly says that schools should make sure that: reintegration back into school is properly supported so that children with medical conditions fully engage with learning and do not fall behind when they are unable to attend (paragraph 3) arrangements are in place to support pupils with medical needs so that they can access and enjoy the same opportunities at school as any other child (paragraph 5), and staff are properly trained to provide the support that pupils need (paragraph 7). The school should agree an individual healthcare plan with you. This will set out how your child’s health needs will be met, including when and by whom, and whether any staff training is needed. The school must also have a written policy regarding pupils with medical conditions and how they will be supported. This should be available on the school website or on request. The school’s duties relating to disability If your child’s medical condition amounts to a disability, all settings have duties under the Equality Act 2010 to make arrangements to make sure that they can access education without significant disadvantage. This is the case even if your child attends an independent school. What happens if my child is unable to attend school for any period due to a medical condition? The local authority’s duty to provide suitable alternative education Your local authority LA has a legal duty to secure suitable, full-time alternative education for those children of compulsory school age who, by reason of illness, exclusion or otherwise, may not for any period receive suitable education unless such arrangements are made for them (section 19, Education Act 1996). All LAs should have regard to the statutory guidance called: 'Arranging education for children who cannot attend school because of health needs' when putting in place alternative education. You’ll see from the guidance (page 8) that supporting medical evidence will be required. 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.” It also states (page 7) that LAs should provide such education as soon as it is clear that the child will be away from school for 15 days or more, whether consecutive or cumulative, and should do so at the latest by the sixth day of the absence. Your LA should work with appropriate medical professionals to avoid delays in arranging appropriate provision 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. The education provided for your child must be suitable. This means that it is suitable to your child’s age, their ability and aptitude, and any special educational needs they may have. If you feel the arrangements your LA has proposed for your child are not suitable, you should let your LA know and request that the arrangements change, so that they are suitable. The education provided must also be full time. “Full-time education” is not defined in law, and LAs will often only offer a few hours of home tuition per week. However, the guidance states (page 4) that this should be “good quality education equivalent to that provided in mainstream schools, as far as the child’s health needs allow.” If a child receives one-to-one tuition the hours could be fewer as the education may be more intensive. It is unlawful to 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 limit 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. What happens if my child cannot attend school and I am threatened with an Attendance Order? If you are being threatened with an Attendance Order because of your child’s absences from school, you should write to the relevant person or department (which is likely to be the Educational Welfare Service) to explain that your child has a medical condition and this medical condition is preventing them from attending school. You can suggest to them that serving an Attendance Order in these circumstances would be premature and inappropriate, and what is needed is co-ordinated action by support agencies to identify and make provision for all of your child’s needs. Hopefully, once everyone involved realises that your child’s non-attendance is to do with their medical needs rather than deliberate truancy, the threat will be withdrawn. If your LA continues with the threat of serving an Attendance Order, or actually serves it, you will need to speak to a criminal solicitor who is familiar with education cases. You should check if you qualify for legal aid. Manage Cookie Preferences