North Yorkshire County Council has approved a transformation of the way lessons are provided to children who are unable to attend school due to either physical or mental health issues after it emerged it was providing those pupils with an average of just five hours’ tuition a week.
A meeting of the council’s executive heard the authority was aiming to increase the amount of education a pupil is provided with whilst absent from school by providing a range of educational options.
Members were told through working closer with health workers, the aim is to ensure the provision did not inhibit pupils’ re-integration back into school.
The authority’s education boss Councillor Patrick Mulligan said by having an increased range of options for medical tuition, including digital solutions, personal home tuition and group education, which is currently only available to secondary school stage pupils, each child would be provided with bespoke packages.
He said as the current service offered about five hours’ tuition a week, which was lower than other local authorities, the proposals would represent an improvement.
Councils have a statutory duty to arrange suitable full-time education for children who are unable to attend a mainstream
or special school because of their physical or mental health needs.
Local authorities should provide such education as soon as it is clear that the child will be away from school for 15 days or more, whether consecutive or cumulative.
They are charged with ensuring that the education children receive is of good quality and allows them to take appropriate qualifications, prevents them from slipping behind their peers in school and allows them to reintegrate successfully back into school as soon as possible.
Members heard the new model, featuring a “collaborative holistic approach” would involve greater involvement of the pupil’s home school, which will enable relationships to be maintained, meaning the school has greater accountability for their own pupils.
An officers’ report to the meeting stated: “It is anticipated that this joined up, bespoke provision will facilitate an earlier return to school for many pupils.”
The demand for the service is variable as it is needs led but currently there are between 60 to 80 children and young people on average in receipt of medical tuition.
Cllr Mulligan said: “There are a number of reasons we are doing this. We want to strengthen our oversight of the education of this population of children. There will be increased accountability for the local authority and schools. There will be an improved range of education provision and greater flexibility. We are aiming for an increase in education outcomes.”
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