Section 19 of the Education Act 1996

Section 19 of the Education Act 1996

Gloucestershire County Council (GCC), Schools, and Parents/Carers of children resident in Gloucestershire have a responsibility to work together to ensure children are supported to access an appropriate, full-time education.

Section 19 (S19) of the Education Act 1996 places a duty on the Local Authority to assess the need to arrange Alternative Education Provision where attendance would not otherwise be possible (subject to eligibility critieria) under the following categories:

• Permanent exclusion
• IllnessOtherwise

Gloucestershire's Policy relating to Attendance and its Section 19 responsibilities is available via the following link - https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/media/ndop0ciw/attendance-and-section-19-policy-v10.pdf

Permanent Exclusion

Where a school takes the decision to permanently exclude a child, they are required to communicate that decision with GCC on the day that the permanent exclusion is issued. By completing the online form below, the school is fulfilling its responsibility, and enabling GCC to commence the arrangements to provide Alternative Education Provision.

https://forms.gloucestershire.gov.uk/SchoolExclusion

Further information relating to Exclusions and Suspensions can be found here.

Illness or Otherwise

Where school (in consultation with a Parent/Carer) feels it is necessary and having followed Gloucestershire's Graduated Pathway and made reasonable adjustments in line with their own statutory duty, it can request that GCC considers the need for Alternative Education Provision under the categories of 'Illness' or 'Otherwise' by completing the following in-depth referral:

https://forms.gloucestershire.gov.uk/S19Form

*If the student is currently in hospital or is recovering at home post-surgery, please call GHES on 01242 532363 to discuss before you complete the referral.

Where a child is under the treatment of a medical professional, and where that professional believes the child is too unwell to access the school where they are on roll, a request can be made by that clinician for Section 19 provision to be made available by Gloucestershire's Hospital Education Service (GHES) by completing the following referral:

https://forms.gloucestershire.gov.uk/GHESServiceRequestForm

More information about GHES can be found here.

*Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 places a statutory duty on the council to assess the need for alternative education provision for children who cannot attend school. Personal data relating to a child requiring intervention under our Section 19 obligations may be shared with and by the council in line with our Public Task. You can learn more about how the council uses personal data relating to children’s services in our Privacy Notice’.

Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 Training Videos

Following feedback from schools and as part of the continued desire to support schools to engage effectively with the Section 19 process the Multi-Agency Support Service have produced a range of Section 19 training videos to support schools. We hope you find the training videos below informative and supportive.

Section 19 of the Education Act 1996- S19 Legislation

Section 19 of the Education Act 1996- Referral Form

Section 19 of the Education Act 1996- Referral Process

Section 19 of the Education Act 1996- What to Expect in a Multi-Agency Meeting

Section 19 of the Education Act 1996- Post-Meeting Pathways and Review Process

We will be looking to add to these videos, if you have any suggestions for a training video or supportive resource, please do email S19Referrals@gloucestershire.gov.uk.