Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 28
28
Rejected
Paragraph: 133
Lack of authorised mental health absence code burdens families with medical evidence.
Recommendation
Mental health-related absences are not commonly authorised by schools, sometimes due to requirements to provide medical evidence which can often lead to fines or prosecution for families. The introduction of an authorised mental health absence code could eliminate the need for medical evidence in cases of known and established mental health difficulties and reduce the need for intervention via prosecution.
Government Response Summary
The Government rejects introducing a specific mental health absence code, arguing it would be unhelpful, burdensome for schools to differentiate illness types, and likely lead to inaccurate data, while affirming existing guidance for authorising mental health-related absences under the 'illness' code.
Paragraph Reference:
133
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
Children and young people’s mental wellbeing is a priority for the Government. Schools should be safe, calm and supportive learning environments that promote and support wellbeing. The Department has issued guidance to schools about instances where a mental health issue is affecting attendance, which builds on the broader attendance expectations. It includes examples of effective practice where children with a mental health need have been supported to attend. Where a pupil is unable to attend school due to illness, for either a physical or mental health related reason, schools must authorise the absence (contrary to some of the evidence heard by the Committee, there is no rule that mental ill health should not be authorised as illness). Code I ‘illness’ is used to record the absence in the attendance register. While the Government understands the intent behind this recommendation, there are concerns that creating an additional code is unhelpful in practice and could place a burden on schools. This is because, at the point of taking the register (at the beginning of each morning session and once during each afternoon session), it would be difficult for the teacher to determine whether an absence due to illness was related to a mental health reason or a physical health reason, or a combination of the two. Teachers will often understand the issues a child is facing but it would be inappropriate to expect them to make a judgement on the nature of a child’s illness at that point in time. Data gathered via the new code is likely to give an inaccurate reflection of the underlying problem. In the majority of cases a parent’s notification that their child is too ill for school will be accepted without question or concern. Only where the school has a genuine and reasonable doubt over the authenticity of illness should medical evidence be requested to support the absence. Schools are well placed to observe their pupils and identify those whose behaviour suggests they may be experiencing a mental health problem, and to decide what pastoral support to provide. The Department’s guidance and training initiatives aim to help schools with this in an appropriate way.