Code I: illness (not medical or dental appointment)
Parent notifies the school that their child is ill.
If the pupil is too ill to attend, schools must record such absences as authorised as code I. However schools should read both the Code I information found within the statutory Working together to improve school attendance guidance as well as the DfE and Children's Commissioner Guide for Parents on School Attendance to support the appropriate use of Code I.
According to Communicating with families to support attendance, parents value clear guidance on mild illness to help them make decisions and research shows that consistency of schools’ behaviour in following this guidance is important to parents.
Essex schools should therefore make use of the NHS and Essex produced ‘What to do – Child Illness’ resource to help inform all parties in what is considered ‘too ill to attend’ and ensure the appropriate use of Code I. This information should be regularly communicated to parents, as well as to the whole school community; educating pupils and staff to ensure consistency and understanding of what it means to be ‘too ill to attend’. Schools are advised to ask that parents consult this document prior to reporting their child as absent due to illness. This is to help them decide whether their child is ‘too ill to attend’ or not, as well as to support schools to decide whether Code I can be applied. Schools in Essex are encouraged to also ensure this information sits within their published attendance policy.
The documents linked above state “In the majority of cases, a parent’s notification that their child is too ill to attend school...can be accepted without question or concern.” However, it goes on to state that “where the school has genuine and reasonable doubt about the authenticity of the illness”, or where a child is “regularly reported absent because of illness”, medical evidence can be requested. Therefore if such evidence is requested, until provided, school can choose to unauthorise the absence (see Code O).
It is important that schools communicate with transparency. Setting clear expectations in terms of illness absence will alleviate some of the ambiguity around what is considered ‘too ill to attend’.
What constitutes genuine and reasonable doubt?
Genuine and reasonable doubt, could relate to several scenarios such as whether a pupil is regularly reported absent due to being ill, historical attendance concerns, etc. Other scenarios may include, for example, siblings being absent on the same day - although this does not mean the illness is not genuine, it may lead to reasonable doubt. Another example is where a pupil reports to friends or members of staff that they are going, or did go away for the weekend, or on a family day out. These are just some scenarios that could cause a school to hold reasonable doubt over the information that has been provided.
In all such cases, schools should have conversations to try to resolve any concerns.
Equally, a pupil may be reported absent due to illness regularly and it could be an indicator of a wider concern. Schools in Essex can make use of the Essex Absence Call-Back Prompt Sheet to support the identification of where this may be the case, so that support may be put in place, before the concern becomes persistent or severe.
When should schools request medical evidence?
Schools may consider requesting medical evidence where a pupil is regularly absent because of illness, or where they believe a pupil was / is not ‘too ill to attend’.
Usually, a conversation can help to resolve the issue, alongside signposting families to the ‘What to do – Child Illness’ resource and ensuring families know that their child will be well-looked after and cared for at school, and that of course if they are at school and become ‘too ill to attend’, school staff will contact the parent/s.
Where a school deems it appropriate / necessary to request medical evidence, then:
- The evidence provided should also be looked at to assess how the school can help by putting the right support in place;
- Schools should not be rigid about the form of evidence requested and should speak to the family about what evidence is available – for example, evidence does not need to be in the form of a letter from a doctor;
- Schools should be mindful that requesting additional medical evidence unnecessarily places pressure on health professionals, particularly if the illness is one that would not require treatment by a health professional;
- Where a parent cannot provide evidence in the form requested, but can provide other evidence, schools should take this into account;
- Where a parent cannot provide any written evidence, the school should have a conversation with the parent and pupil (if appropriate) which may, in itself, serve as the necessary evidence to record the absence as authorised;
- The DfE and Children's Commissioner Guide for Parents on School Attendance states that medical evidence can be provided in the form of:
- Appointment cards;
- Prescriptions; or
- Notes of previous consultations (including from the NHS App).
- A lack of written evidence must not prevent the right support being put in place;
- Where a referral to the Essex Education Access Team is being considered, however, more detailed information from a health professional will be required to support the referral.
Schools should read both the Code I information found within the statutory Working together to improve school attendance guidance, as well as the DfE and Children's Commissioner Guide for Parents on School Attendance to support the appropriate use of Code I.
