Covid

Council facing legal action over mandatory attendance rule

Local authority is 'demanding' all children are back in the classroom

Local authority is 'demanding' all children are back in the classroom

A council in the West Midlands is facing legal action over claims children in clinically vulnerable families must attend school or face a fine.

The Good Law Project is supporting a mother who has a serious medical condition and is on immunosuppressant drugs, while her youngest child has a rare form of epilepsy that is triggered by illness.

Her two eldest children have gone into school whenever Covid case numbers have been low, but have stayed home when risks have risen.

The Good Law Project says until recently, the children’s headteachers supported this, but now Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is “demanding” all children are back in the classroom. The family has been told they could face a fine or prosecution, the project said.

The Department for Education’s guidance says a child should “follow the advice of their specialist” if told to isolate or reduce their social contact because of their medical condition or treatment, rather than because of the pandemic.

In an email to heads last month, it added: “Schools should consider all applications for leave of absence on an individual basis, taking into account the specific facts and circumstances, and relevant background context behind the request.”

In a pre-action letter, lawyers claim Solihull is breaching human rights and equality laws. The council also had “no power” to “tell headteachers what to do”.

The DfE said that headteachers could grant leaves of absence for pupils in exceptional circumstances.

“Now every child aged 12 and over with specific underlying health conditions has been offered the vaccine, it is right that all children are supported to return to class with additional measures such as regular testing in place.”

A council spokesperson said it was considering the letter.

Latest education roles from

Director of Governance – HRUC

Director of Governance – HRUC

FEA

Principal and CEO

Principal and CEO

Hills Road Sixth Form College

Senior Quality Officer

Senior Quality Officer

University of Lancashire

Chief Financial Officer

Chief Financial Officer

Minerva Learning Trust

Sponsored posts

Sponsored post

IncludEd Conference: Get Inclusion Ready

As we all clamber to make sense of the new Ofsted framework, it can be hard to know where...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Helping every learner use AI responsibly

AI didn’t wait to be invited into the classroom. It burst in mid-lesson. Across UK schools, pupils are already...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Retire Early, Live Fully: What Teachers Need to Consider First

Specialist Financial Adviser, William Adams, from Wesleyan Financial Services discusses what teachers should be considering when it comes to...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

AI Safety: From DfE Guidance to Classroom Confidence

Darren Coxon, edtech consultant and AI education specialist, working with The National College, explores the DfE’s expectations for AI...

SWAdvertorial

More from this theme

Covid

Johnson considered sacking Williamson after Covid exam chaos

The former Conservative PM told the Covid inquiry he was in a 'homicidal mood' following the 2020 grading scandal...

Ruth Lucas
Covid

DfE was ‘confident’ over Covid testing plan to keep schools open – rather than closures

DfE permanent secretary tells the Covid Inquiry mass testing would have been 'executed really well' in January 2021 -...

Ruth Lucas
Covid

Williamson texted PM he was ‘f****d over’ by Covid decisions

Covid inquiry sees expletive-riddled text sent by Gavin Williamson to Boris Johnson over school closures and catch-up tsar's appointment

Ruth Lucas
Covid

Covid inquiry unearths more school pandemic ‘chaos’

And former education secretary says he was given just one day to plan for closing classrooms

Ruth Lucas

Your thoughts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *