Managing attendance - the three-stage approach
Stage three - Statutory attendance action
Where attendance has not improved following initial and formal attendance and inclusion action, the lead professional must review whether the threshold has been met for statutory enforcement action. If an attendance and inclusion consultation has not taken place with a member of EIT at stage two, it must take place at the earliest opportunity after determining that improved school attendance cannot be achieved by voluntary agreement with the parent/carer.
Lead professionals, as officers of this council, can inform parents that any final decision to prosecute or take other enforcement action will not be theirs; nor will they be responsible for determining the outcome of a stage three attendance intervention. However, they should be open and transparent regarding their duty to inform EIT of cases that have progressed through stages one and two without progress and provide objective evidence in relation to work at stages one and two to engage the parent to improve attendance.
To proceed to stage three, the lead professional must be able to evidence a minimum of 6 contacts with the parent in relation to promoting the child or young person’s attendance at school.
In conjunction with the lead professional and team around the family, the SEWO will complete a review of the evidence in the case, including interventions previously offered, their outcomes, the wishes and feelings of the parent and child and provide a final analysis and recommendation for the next steps.
At this stage, the SEWO and the lead professional must consider whether it is in the best interests of the child or young person to extend the period of the parenting contract with the aim of avoiding legal proceedings, or whether education legal planning should be initiated.
SEWOs will work closely with professionals to make robust decisions with regard to whether there's sufficient evidence to indicate that legal intervention has become the most appropriate course of action, and whether a parent or carer has potentially committed an offence under the terms of the Education Act 1996
Education legal planning meetings
Once the lead professional in conjunction with a SEWO has agreed that the threshold is met to initiate legal action, the SEWO will convene an education legal planning meeting (ELPM) to consider whether the local authority should proceed with enforcement action in relation to attendance.
At the meeting, the SEWO will review the evidence provided by the referring school or lead professional, taking into account the previous support and assistance provided to the young person and the parent or carer, the extent to which they have cooperated with this help, and whether sufficient progress has been made.
Although the decision to move to an ELPM is a significant escalation, such meetings will continue to be based around the core principles of attendance and inclusion work set out above using a team around the family approach.
The meetings will maintain a strong focus on the voice of the child and provide an opportunity for parents and carers to set out their position with clarity, including any concerns they may have with regard to the process leading to this point, and provide their own solutions to challenges around attendance.
The meeting should include, where possible, all of the following:
- The local authority lead professional
- The school
- The parent(s)
- The child (if age appropriate)
- Any professional from other agencies or services that have relevant involvement with the family and whose view would assist in making decisions and delivering upon the attendance and inclusion plan
Even at this stage, the SEWO will aim to seek solutions that avoid the need for legal intervention and divert parents and carers from prosecution through agreeing a parenting contract, or reviewing and updating an existing agreement. Detailed guidance in relation to education legal planning, including information on the full range of parental responsibility measures available, is included later in this guidance.
Any decisions made at panel (particularly when a further period or review of test of compliance with a parenting contact is agreed) must be subject to strict review with clear agreement in relation to which professional is responsible for monitoring progress and taking further action if an improvement in attendance is not secured.
The evidence required of the school or lead professional in advance of the ELPM is detailed in the Education Legal Planning Guidance section of this handbook. This evidence should be provided to the SEWO chairing the meeting no less than 5 days prior to the scheduled date by completing the report to the ELPM included in appendix 7 (PDF, 186kb).
The three-stage approach to managing attendance is summarised in appendix 1 (PDF, 201kb).
Page last updated: 16 January 2023
