When school is not working: attendance, exclusion and education out of school

Step by step

1. Use the urgent route for immediate risk

   If a child is missing, at immediate risk, seriously unwell or unsafe, use the relevant emergency, safeguarding or urgent health route. Do not wait for an attendance meeting or education complaint to deal with immediate harm.

2. Name the child's exact education status

   Write down whether this is authorised or unauthorised absence, illness, emotionally based school avoidance, a part-time timetable, suspension, permanent exclusion, no school place, education otherwise than at school, or alternative provision. Different duties and challenge routes apply.

3. Ask for a support plan, not a blame cycle

   Ask the school to record barriers, triggers, strengths, reasonable adjustments, a safe contact, a phased or supported return where suitable, and who will review progress. Attendance action should sit alongside support and safeguarding, not replace them.

4. Use SEND Support and the assess-plan-do-review cycle

   Ask the SENDCo what needs have been identified, what provision is being tried, how it will be measured and when it will be reviewed. A diagnosis is not required before a school makes reasonable adjustments or provides SEND Support.

5. Collect proportionate health and professional evidence

   Ask relevant professionals to describe functional impact, risks, adjustments and what education is currently realistic. Families should not be left chasing repeated medical proof where the school or local authority can obtain evidence lawfully and proportionately.

6. Ask the local authority to consider section 19

   Under section 19 of the Education Act 1996, a local authority must arrange suitable education for a compulsory-school-age child who would not otherwise receive it because of illness, exclusion or another reason. Ask for a written decision, start date, hours, curriculum, location and review plan.

7. Test whether the education is suitable and sufficiently full-time

   Suitable education must fit age, ability, aptitude and any SEND. It should normally be full-time unless the child's physical or mental health means fewer hours are currently in their best interests. A small number of hours needs individual evidence, a plan to increase provision where appropriate and regular review.

8. After permanent exclusion, check the sixth school day

   The local authority is responsible for suitable full-time education from the sixth school day after a permanent exclusion. The school remains responsible for work during the first five school days. Ask who owns the placement and what happens if it is not ready.

9. Keep EHC plan provision active

   If the child has an EHC plan, the local authority must still secure the special educational provision in Section F. Ask for an urgent review when the placement or package no longer works, and separate the Section F duty from any wider section 19 provision.

10. Keep any reduced timetable short and reviewed

    A part-time timetable should be exceptional, agreed with a clear purpose, time-limited and reviewed. Ask what education is provided for the remaining hours, what must happen before hours increase and how the child's voice and safety are recorded.

11. Separate alternative provision from EOTAS

    Alternative provision is education arranged away from the usual school, often because of exclusion, illness or another barrier. Education otherwise than at school under an EHC plan is a separate legal route. Ask which route is being used, who commissions it and which outcomes and provision it must deliver.

12. Keep one dated evidence log

    Record attendance, offers of education, hours actually received, work completed, support requested, health changes, meetings, missed actions and the child's views. Send short factual follow-up messages after important calls so disagreements are visible early.

13. Escalate to the correct decision-maker

    Use the school or trust complaint for school actions and the local authority complaint for section 19, EHC plan or commissioning failures. Ask for a written response and remedy, not only another meeting. Exclusion review, SEND Tribunal and judicial-review routes have different deadlines.

14. Get specialist advice when time or education is being lost

    Use SENDIASS, IPSEA or another qualified education adviser where the route is unclear. Seek legal advice promptly where a child has no suitable education, Section F provision is not being delivered, an exclusion deadline is close or urgent court action may be needed. This guide is information, not legal advice.