Access to Education for children and young people with Medical needs

On 1 November 2001, the Government issued statutory guidance on access to education for children and young people in England and Wales with medical needs. It set out minimum national standards of education for children who are unable to attend school because of medical needs.

The education of pupils with medical needs is a partnership and it is essential that education, health and other agencies work closely together to provide the support to enable a pupil with medical needs to receive appropriate education. This includes Local Authorities and schools and related bodies.

Full details can be found on the Department of Education website.

An alternative to school

I have some interesting meetings in the last couple of days when I was able to explore more about school refusal issues. I will write about more of these later, but wanted to pick up on one this time.

I was at a ChildLine event on Monday, celebrating 20 years of ChildLine in Scotland, and recognising that 422,000 children and young people have been helped during that period. We also took the opportunity to congratulate Esther Rantzen, who founded the charity, and who celebrated her 70th birthday yesterday!

This was a chance not to be missed, and I took the opportunity of mentioning the problems faced by children who are unable to face school, and the stress that their parents experience as a result.

I was aware that Esther was involved in a number of charities besides ChildLine, now part of the NSPCC. it turns out that she is Patron of Red Balloon.

Red Balloon Learner Centres are set up specifically to help children who cannot go to school because they have been badly bullied. There are currently six centres – in Cambridge, Liverpool, Norwich, Preston, Harrow and Warwick.

Esther gave me an introduction to the Chief Executive, and I have written to her to see if there is a way that their bullying remit can be widened.

I note the following guidance that Red Balloon gives:

Usually in order to get local authority funding for a place at Red Balloon, you need to follow certain procedures. You must have made a complaint to your state school about the bullying your child received, and follow the guidelines in the school's complaints procedure (ask them for it). Once you have done this and yet your child still won't go to school and is not getting an adequate education, you could ask for a referral to your local Red Balloon.

Getting support from your GP about the connection between the bullying and the mental/physical health of your child will help you make a case. At any time, contact your local councillors or your MP about the fact that your child is unable to access a full-time education in mainstream school for fear of bullying.

Red Balloon has only limited resources, so for those of us living out-with their catchments areas, we still face difficulties accessing an alternative education for our children. However, Red Balloon Learner centres do seem to be an additional option for those lucky enough to be near one.

You can help them by making a donation; please do so here: www.justgiving.com/RiseAboveBullying

You can read more about the charity here>>>>

A letter to EWO

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your ongoing interest in my child. I am pleased to see that we share the same commitment to providing my child with a suitable education.

I would like to direct you to to the 1996 Education Act "The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable ;
a) to his age, ability, and aptitude, and
b) to any special educational needs he may have,
either by regular attendance at school or otherwise."

My child has school phobia, also known as "school refusal"or "school based anxiety." This is a recognised condition whereby children are unable to go to school due to mental health issues. This is clearly, therefore, a special educational need; indeed, it also can be categorised as a disability according to the definition of the Disability Discrimination Act. As such, we must work together to look at a “suitable education”, which may not at this time be a school-based education. Other Local Authorities provide support for pupils with school phobia such as home tutoring or internet schools and I am keen to discuss options such as these with you (I am a member of an internet support group for parents with school phobic children and can assure you that most Local Authorities work hard to fulfil their legal and statutory duties to provide children such as mine with a suitable education.) I am also keen to work with other agencies that could help my child access his education entitlement.

It is vital that we work together at this time to support my child. (I am extremely unhappy that the Educational Welfare Service for ….Council has failed to recognise my child’s needs and chosen to pursue a discriminatory approach in this instance. I would like to direct you to the case of East Suffolk Local Authority and remind you that there is a legal precedent for a council being found guilty of failing a child like mine who had been diagnosed with school phobia. Should you seek to pursue a case against me, I will not hesitate to seek legal representation and challenge your service under the Disability Discrimination Act .I will also make a formal complaint to the Local Authority, consult SENDIST and approach the media.) If you feel that this is outside your personal experience, I would be grateful if you would refer this to a Senior Educational Welfare Officer.

I feel we need to arrange a further meeting as soon as possible to discuss how we can work together to help my child.


Yours sincerely,

Your name

I am unsure as to the origins of the above letter, but it may be useful to someone battling with their education authority over thier child's education.