The policy is to provide clarity on the arrangements and responsibilities when a pupil is absent from school owing to illness for 15 days or more (consecutively or cumulatively throughout an academic year) or is due to be absent for 15 days owing to illness.
Schools and KCC put enhanced support and reasonable adjustments in place for pupils who miss 15 or more school days in any one year because of their ill-health or medical needs. This includes access to external agencies and support from a specialist education provider.
KCC’s Corporate Director for Children, Young People and Education, Sarah Hammond, said: “Schools remain the best and most appropriate agent for delivering a child or young person’s education and wider social development but we know attendance can be impacted by ill-health factors.
“We are now ready to ask for the views of children, young people and their parents or carers on how we propose to bring all stakeholders together to support Kent’s pupils who suffer from ill-health or who have medical needs .
“We want to hear what people think of our proposed policy so we can make sure it is right before it is agreed.”
You can have your say by visiting www.kent.gov.uk/healthneedspolicy before Sunday 28th July.
If you have any questions or require any of the consultation material in hard copy, please email edsen@kent.gov.uk.
For alternative formats and languages, please email alternativeformats@kent.gov.uk or call 03000 421553 (text relay service number: 18001 03000 421553). This number goes to an answering machine, which is monitored during office hours.
ENDS
