All parents, carers and schools want children to learn and be happy. However, all children are different and have different needs to enable them to reach their full potential. If your child is having difficulties attending school, then it is important that you as their parent or carer speak to their school directly in the first instance. This is especially important if your child has any health conditions that are affecting their attendance.
If your child has an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP), you can ask their school to arrange a review, to help address any difficulties around school attendance.
The Attendance Service
We would encourage you to speak first with your child's school about any difficulties they may be having attending. However, if the situation continues or you cannot reach agreement with the school, you can ask the school to speak to their allocated Education Welfare Officer (EWO) and make a referral for you (some academies may provide their own attendance support).
EWO’s are part of the Attendance Service, and are often able to help improve your child's attendance over time. They can support you through the development of an Attendance Action plan or advise you about the consideration for an Education Supervision Order (ESO), and they also have strong links with other teams including SEND Family Services and the Elective Home Education Service.
The EWOs will work together with both you and the school, and will also take your child's point of view into account in order to achieve the best attendance that is possible. They will have a variety of ideas and strategies to help all parties work together to improve your child's attendance.
If your child's school does not have an EWO, you can contact the Lead Attendance Officer or Assistant Lead Attendance Officers by email at SchoolAttendance@Suffolk.gov.uk.