Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of managing and attending healthcare appointments on children's school attendance.

In the 2024/25 academic year, over 4 million days of school were lost due to time off for a medical or dental appointment. For children to achieve and thrive, they need to be in school. The national absence codes include a code for leave of absence for the purpose of attending a medical or dental appointment, meaning, when monitoring pupils’ attendance, schools will be able to take into consideration any absences due to this.

Parents are encouraged to make appointments out of school hours, but we acknowledge that children with medical needs may need to attend medical appointments during the school day and the school attendance framework allows for such absences to be granted by the school. Parents should get the school’s agreement in advance, and the pupil should only be out of school for the minimum amount of time necessary for the appointment.

The department has also worked in conjunction with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Royal College of Nursing who endorsed a statement on supporting school attendance, which included suggestions for clinics to support pupils returning to school after medical appointments.