SEND Local Offer - Children not in school

Find information on situations where children may not be attending school and the support that's available.

For health reasons

Pupils who live in Nottinghamshire and who are unable to attend school for health related reasons can receive support from the Health Related Education Team.

For more information, go to Children absent from school due to illness (Nottinghamshire County Council)

Home education

Elective home education (EHE) is when a parent chooses not to send their child to school full-time but assumes responsibility for making sure their child receives a full-time education other than at school.

Home education is a big decision with a lot to consider. While parents and carers retain the right to educate their children at home, the local authority remains responsible for ensuring that no child is missing education.

If you are a young person, parent or carer, or professional and needs further information, go to Elective home education (Nottinghamshire County Council)

Difficulties with identifying a school place

Fair Access Team (Nottinghamshire County Council)

Nottinghamshire County Council's Fair Access Team works in partnership with schools, other local authority agencies and families, to secure and maintain appropriate education for a range of vulnerable pupils who are, or might otherwise become missing from education.

The Fair Access Team aims to ensure all childrenof statutory school ageare able to access appropriate and suitable education.

For more information, go to Fair access and children missing education (Nottinghamshire County Council)

Exclusions

Exclusion is the formal sending home of a child from school for disciplinary reasons.

An exclusion can be fixed term (temporary) or permanent.

For more information on:

fixed term exclusions, go to Fixed period exclusions from schools (Nottinghamshire County Council)
permanent exclusions, go to Permanent exclusions from school (Nottinghamshire County Council)

Alternative education

Alternative education is used by the local authority and schools for pupils who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not receive suitable education. It is also used by schools for pupils on fixed term exclusions or pupils being directed to offsite provision to improve their behaviour.

Alternative providers offer an alternative education package to that offered in a mainstream school setting, but will still have a focus on English, maths and science (functional skills).

Can I request alternative education for my child?

Although parents can talk to their child's school about alternative provision as a possible option, it is not usually possible for a parental application to be made directly to an alternative provider. This is because most pupils will remain on roll at their mainstream school and the school will pay for their provision.

Nottinghamshire County Council can make alternative provision arrangements for students who are without a school place or access to education.

Nottinghamshire County Council maintains a directory of alternative providers who have undergone a tendering and quality assurance process to become registered and this is made available to schools on request.

Advice and support

Ask Us Nottinghamshire is a service which offers free impartial and confidential information, advice and support for parents and carers of children or young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

You can contact Ask Us if you are the parent of a child with SEND, or if you are a young person up to the age 25 years looking for support.

Go to their website to get in touch or for more information on the support they offer.

Visit the Ask Us Nottinghamshire website