Pupils with SEN, disabilities or medical conditions often need to miss school more frequently than their peers for medical reasons related to their condition. Although the absences are authorised by the school, the government still requires schools to classify these children as "Persistently Absent" if their attendance falls below 90%.

None of the measures brought in to tackle Persistent Absence will have any effect on the number of medical appointments a child needs. So insisting that this type of absence is included in the measurements for Persistent Absence only serves to cause unnecessary stress for both schools, who are themselves under huge pressure to improve attendance, and parents. Many of whom, despite there being guidance to the contrary, are still sent letters threatening fines and council involvement if they do not reach attendance goals that have been set for children without complex health needs.

The GOV.UK website defines the term "Persistently Absent" as describing children who "regularly fail to turn up". As there is no distinction between authorised and unauthorised absences in the classification, pupils who have legitimate and necessary absences for medical reasons are continuously misrepresented. This in turn has serious potential to impact negatively on opportunities afforded to them post school.

Questions on attendance do still often form part of the referencing process for both educational institutions and employers. Although the equality act specifically protects adults in this situation by prohibiting employers from referring to any absences related to a disability in a work reference (treating these absences in the same way as parental leave), schools are unable to do this when classifying pupil attendance. The only exemptions to the policy are for students in private schools.

Children in this situation already have to deal with so much more overall by the fact that they need to miss school in the first place, catch up on missed lessons and have far more complex health issues to cope with. Often also affecting their sleep and ability to concentrate. All of this does not need to be compounded for children or their families by labelling them in a way that infers truancy or that their absences are somehow avoidable.

To really be able to improve pupil engagement, the data needs to be collected so that it reflects the reality of people's situations, is fair to all, helps parents and schools build relationships and sets realistic targets for what is possible.

Please sign and share this petition so the policy can be changed to demonstrate inclusivity and represent ALL children fairly as they deserve.

(image shows stock image with model)