Circumstances in which alternative education will be commissioned by the local authority
This policy applies to children and young people:
- who are of statutory school age and
- who are permanently resident in Hillingdon (including children who attend schools outside the borough) and
- who are not in school for 15 days or more, whether consecutive or cumulative due to ill health and
- where the health need and necessity for absence has been validated as necessary by a medical doctor and
- will not receive a suitable full-time education unless the local authority makes arrangements for this
Health problems include physical illnesses, injuries and clinically defined mental health problems. Suitable medical evidence will be required. This would include details of the health problem, how long the condition is expected to last and the likely outcome, and a treatment plan. This must be provided by a suitable medical professional, normally a hospital consultant. However, where specific medical evidence is not available quickly, the local authority will liaise with other medical professionals (eg the child's GP), so that provision of education is not delayed. Normally, the medical professional cannot be privately commissioned and must be UK based.
This policy applies to pupils at schools of all types (maintained schools, Academies, Free schools, special schools, independent schools). It also applies to children attending alternative provision and children who are not on a school roll. It applies whether a child cannot attend school at all or can only attend intermittently. Arrangements for alternative education will not normally be made for children and young people below or above compulsory school age.
Arrangements for alternative provision will be made as soon as it is known that a child has not attended school for 15 days for health reasons or as soon as it is clear that a health-related absence from school will be 15 days or longer, verified by a medical doctor. The 15 days may be consecutive or cumulative. The provision will commence as quickly as possible.
There may be circumstances in which suitable alternative education is already in place eg if the school has made arrangements for a pupil or the child is receiving education at a hospital school. In such circumstances, the local authority will intervene only if it has reason to think that the education provision being made is unsuitable or insufficient.
If a child is in hospital in a different borough for a long period, education provision would usually be arranged through the local education service, with the cost being met by the borough in which the child lives.