Here we can give you advice on school attendance and discipline and exclusion.  We also provide information on what happens if a child is frequently absent, late or believed to be missing from education. 

 

By law, all children between 5 and 16, must receive a full-time education. Your child reaches compulsory school age on the date below which is on or after their fifth birthday:

 

 

By law, compulsory education for all children in England ends on the last Friday of June in the school year they turn 16. Your child cannot leave school before this date. Even if they have received their National Insurance card, it is still against the law for them to leave and begin full-time work.

 

The Education Welfare Service (EWS) is committed to the principle that all children and young people have the right to a suitable education and must not be prevented from achieving or fulfilling this entitlement.  The EWS works in partnership with parents, carers, children and young people, schools and communities.  It acts on behalf of the local authority (LA) in enforcing a parent’s duty to provide appropriate education for their child.