Council Introduces New Measures To Protect Children and Young People (26/02/07)

In a move to ensure the safety and wellbeing of pupils, The Highland Council is sending a letter to all parents giving details of its new policy to manage unexplained absences.

The Council has been looking closely at its practices regarding pupil absence to see how, in partnership with parents and carers, the safety of children can be improved.  From this review, a new three day rule for schools has been developed which lays out a clear set of procedures to follow in any cases of unexplained absences.

The Highland Council’s Head of Children’s Services, Bill Alexander said: “Parents, schools and the Council all have a part to play in maximising attendance, and in promoting safety and well-being.  This new policy gives clear guidance to parents, head teachers and school staff on what action must be taken when a child does not arrive at school as expected.  For the new policy to work effectively we are relying on parents to help by working closely with our schools.”

In the letter sent to parents, they are asked to agree to inform their child’s school of any prearranged absence such as a hospital appointment or other unavoidable events, prior to the absence taking place.  They are also asked to ensure that they notify the school of any unplanned absence by 9.15am on the first day, and to provide written confirmation of the absence as soon as possible.  This will help ensure a prompt and appropriate response by schools.

Forms are also enclosed with the letter so parents can provide an up-to-date list of emergency contact telephone numbers, including mobile phones, which the school can use to contact them on.

The Council’s review follows on from the new national child protection guidance from the Scottish Executive called “Safe and Well”, which highlights the requirement of each school to have a clear and robust absence policy to ensure that action is taken if a child does not arrive at school as expected.

Similar Guidance specifically for pre-school and partner centres is currently being developed. 

ENDS

The new three day rule for dealing with unexplained pupil absence is as follows:

DAY 1:

• First day of unexplained absence of pupil
  The school will endeavour to make contact by telephone, text or e-mail to parents, carers or emergency contacts informing them that the child is absent and requesting a reason for the absence. If no contact can be made with the parent/carers or emergency contacts on the first day of absence, this will be noted by the school.  If the family is known to other agencies because of possible concerns about his/her wellbeing, then contact will be made with these agencies.

DAY 2:

• Second day of unexplained absence of pupil
  The school will make vigorous attempts to contact a carer or family member by telephone, text or e-mail.  If no contact can be made on the second day of absence, this will be noted by the school. 

DAY 3:

• Third day of unexplained absence of pupil
  If no contact is established, secondary schools and schools with support staff, will arrange a home visit to check the situation.  If the child is not found and no satisfactory explanation is given for absence, the police will be notified of the child’s non-attendance.  The police will treat this as a missing persons alert.  For small schools, the police may be involved to conduct visits where it is not possible for the school to do so.