Council Introduces New Measures To Protect Children and Young People

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. 

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

DAY 1:

DAY 2:

DAY 3: