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<p>Disabled children often face greater barriers to attending school than their peers,
but the government is clear that the attendance ambition for these pupils should be
the same as for any other pupil.</p><p>The department’s new ‘Working together to improve
school attendance’ guidance (attached) sets expectations on schools to be mindful
of the barriers that disabled children face and put in place additional support where
necessary to access full-time education, including making reasonable adjustments (for
example, to uniforms or school routines). The department’s attendance hubs, mentors
and advisor programmes will help schools to meet these expectations.</p><p>Local authorities
are responsible for arranging suitable education for children of compulsory school
age who, because of health reasons including long-term illness, would otherwise not
receive suitable education. The department’s statutory guidance, ‘Ensuring a good
education for children who cannot attend school because of health needs’ (attached),
sets out clear expectations of local authorities to meet this duty including that
the education provided is of good quality.</p><p>The attached Special Educational
Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan and
the Children’s Social Care Implementation Strategy, detail commitments to providing
stronger support for disabled children. This includes a Law Commission review of children’s
social care legislation for disabled children and a £30 million investment in innovative
approaches to short breaks for disabled children. Improved attendance will be a key
outcome in the new SEND and AP inclusion dashboards and in the new performance framework
for AP. Information on the implementation strategy is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/childrens-social-care-stable-homes-built-on-love"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/childrens-social-care-stable-homes-built-on-love</a>.</p>
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