Attendance and behaviour advice for parents
Your legal responsibility as a parent or carer is to ensure that your child of school age receives a suitable full-time education, by either enrolling your child at a school or by making other arrangements through home schooling / elective home education. This is legally required under Section 7 of the Education Act 1996.
Children must start full-time education from the school term after their fifth birthday. They must stay in full-time education until the last Friday in June in the school year they turn 16.
Once enrolled at a school it remains the parent or carer’s legal responsibility to ensure that their child attends school regularly and arrives on time each day.
If your child fails to attend school regularly you may be guilty of a criminal offence and this could result in a prosecution.
You should notify your school if you change address, or your child may be recorded as missing from education.
We work with all local education providers to improve the attendance of children and young people.
Absence in term time
If your child is ill
You must contact the school on the first day of absence.
Holidays in term time
You must get permission from the headteacher if you want to take your child out of school during term time.
You can only do this if:
- you make an application to the headteacher in advance (as a parent the child normally lives with)
- there are exceptional circumstances
It’s up to the headteacher how many days your child can be away from school if leave is granted.
You can be fined for taking your child on holiday during term time without permission from the headteacher of the school.
Help with your child’s school attendance
All West Northamptonshire schools have their own attendance policies and are responsible for managing pupil attendance. Please refer to the attendance policy at your child’s school for further information. In the first instance please contact your child’s school to discuss your concerns.
If further advice is required, please contact the School Attendance Support Service. The team can be accessed via submitting a contact form using the link below or via [email protected].
Support Services in West Northamptonshire
Early Help is the principle of providing the right support at the right time to tackle issues that emerge for children, young people and their families.
It is about providing effective help as soon as a problem or difficulty emerges. It can support families to maintain positive change throughout a child, a young person, or family’s life.
Providing help at an early stage is an effective way to promote the welfare of children. It can take place at any point in a child’s life - from the foundation years to young adulthood.
The Early Help Assessment (EHA) is a simple way to identify the needs of children and families. It also outlines a plan to meet those needs. The EHA aims to provide a coordinated response so that nobody misses out on the support they need. It is used by all agencies in Northamptonshire who deliver early help.
The EHA can be used to support children and young people aged 0 to 19 years. It can include unborn babies and can also be used (with consent) for people with learning disabilities up to the age of 24.
Support for Children and Families - Northampton Children's Trust
West Northants SEND Information, Advice and Support Service is a statutory service which operates at ‘arm’s length’ from West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) and the Integrated Care Board (ICB) provides free, confidential, impartial advice, and support to children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), and their parents/carers.
They:
- offer advice to professionals who support children and young people with SEND and their families
- support children and young with SEND and the parents and carers in West Northants
- provide free, impartial and confidential information, advice and support for SEND children and young people aged 0 - 25 years
The SEND Support Service offers advice and support to children, young people, families, carers and a range of educational establishments for children with special educational needs and/or autism, aged 0 to 19 years.
An EHC plan is for children and young people aged up to 25 who need more support than is available through school’s special educational needs support. EHC plans identify educational, health and social needs and set out the additional support to meet those needs.
Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans, process and assessment
This team supports children and young people with emotional wellbeing difficulties and mental health conditions. It's referred to as "Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services" (CAMHS) or "Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services" (CYPMHS).
CAMHS/CYPMHS offer a variety of interventions and therapies in both individual or group settings. It works with families across the county to help children and young people feel better.
West Northamptonshire’s Local Offer where information about services available for children and young people (aged 0 to 25) with special educational needs and disabilities in West Northamptonshire is published.
Last updated 16 August 2024