Knowsley Hospital and Home Tuition Service

If a child is absent from school for 15 days due to health needs that can be evidenced by a medical professional, they may be referred to the Hospital and Home Tuition Service for support. This follows the DoE statutory guidance for local authorities, “Arranging education for children who cannot attend school because of health needs 2023” which references Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 and The Equality Act 2010.

The guidance states a Local Authority is responsible for arranging suitable full-time education for children who – because of illness – would not receive suitable education without such provision. 

Knowsley Local authority will:

Arrange suitable full-time education (or as much education as the child’s health condition allows) for children of compulsory school age who, because of illness, would otherwise not receive suitable education.

The Local Authority must ensure the provision of 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. From 19/08/24 it is a statutory requirement for schools to inform the LA of all children with 15 days on Sickness absence (cumulative or consecutive) under the Statutory Guidance for Attendance.

How to Refer

Schools will need to notify the LA by contacting the Hospital and Home Tuition Service Manager when they believe that a student will be exceeding the 15-day absence point. The The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator is the person who takes the lead in coordinating support for children with SEND in school settings, the Early Years Area SENCO does the same thing with private nurseries and childminders.  SENCO's are the main contact for parents who have concerns about their child's SEND. is the usual person with responsibility for making referrals to the HHT in schools. They should liaise with appropriate medical professionals to ensure minimal delay in arranging appropriate provision for the child.

The criteria for accessing support from the Hospital and Home Tuition service is:

1. The child has been absent from school for 15 days (cumulative or consecutive in the academic year)

AND

1. There is a medical reason for this absence. To support this, evidence may be requested e.g. a letter from a medical professional/ doctor/ CAMHS

To refer, the school needs to complete the referral forms and return them, after receiving parental consent, to the Hospital and Home Tuition Service. 

The primary point of contact for arranging Hospital and Home Tuition is Paul Davenport, the service manager. 

Schools or parents can email the Hospital and Home Tuition Service for information at:

hospitalandhometuitionservice@knowsley.gov.uk or you can call Paul on 07384900837.

How is support delivered?

The aim of The Hospital and Home Tuition Service is to support Children and Young People with medical needs to access education either in the hospital or at home.  The service is available to all children of compulsory school age.  There is no requirement for children to be Special Educational Needs and Disability to receive support.

Each child will require a tailored plan which will meet their individual needs.  Advice from the medical practitioner will be used to determine the amount of tuition offered.  

The service will liaise with the school and other agencies/teams in the interests of the CYP so that the barriers to educational achievement are reduced.

The local authority must make sure the child continues to get a full-time education - unless part time is better for their health needs.

To achieve these aims, Knowsley will:

• Ensure that at the 15-day threshold, school begin to send work home to students. This work will be monitored by school on a regular basis and school will replenish this when needed. 
• Deliver home tuition, or education at Whiston Hospital, for students who are too sick to attend school. Knowsley Hospital and Home Tuition Service will act as a bridging service to facilitate the child’s education until the student is well enough to return to school. 
• Deliver learning sessions at our teaching base, known as the ‘Hub’, at The George Howard Centre in Whiston. The ‘Hub’ acts as a halfway house between home tuition and a return to school. 

When the child is ready to return to school a transition plan will be agreed between all stakeholders and HHT will support until the return date.