Flexi-schooling and the impact on health and safety management.

What is 'Flexi-schooling'?

The inspectorate’s annual report warns of a "rise in unorthodox patterns in education."

'Flexi-schooling' is certainly a new phenomenon that is open to interpretation. So, what are the impacts?

Why are Ofsted worried?

The key concern for Sir Martyn Oliver and Ofsted is tracking and monitoring. While Sir Martyn concedes it is a "small number" of schools allowing 'flexi-schooling', the problem is how these instances are recorded.

Schools are recording instances of 'flexi-schooling' as authorised absences, which seems to be alarming Mr Oliver and Ofsted. 

Mr Oliver states that, based on a cross-reference of GP records from an Education Policy Institute and school records, up to 40,000 children aged between 5 and 15 are expected to attend school but are not attending. 

What are the hidden impacts?

Hearing that as many as 40,000 pupils are not attending school is frightening when we consider academic progress and the educational supervision that comes with being in the classroom. 

At Medical Tracker, we're just as concerned about the regular oversight from care professionals that these students could be missing. The pastoral and physical care delivered during school time is vital for many pupils. 

Many schools use Medical Tracker extensively, daily, to monitor the health and safety of children. Health and safety are more all-encompassing than noting a head bump or a playground fall. In most cases, our schools use our platform to monitor all mental and physical conditions of their pupils and staff, which is facilitated by consistent, regular attendance.

If students are sporadically attending school, it becomes increasingly difficult for schools to rely on paper methods to keep track of students' day-to-day safety, medication use, and longer-term conditions. 

Mr Oliver also highlighted the administration of EHCPs (Education Health and Care Plans) and the impact attendance has on children receiving these plans promptly. 

The EHCP conundrum

EHC assessments are requested through a local authority if a child is believed to need an EHCP. Mr Oliver stated that there has been a 140% increase in requests for EHCPs. This rise in demand will help explain why some local authorities are struggling to keep up. 

With late requests and delayed diagnoses, children in need of the resulting care from an EHCP are significantly impacted. 

Dr Sue Soan writes that a key element for children on EHCPs is the social relationships they have or rather don't have. 

Where does this leave us?

A well-established issue is arising due to several factors in the education system. The outlook is a little uncertain, and schools relying on 'flexi-schooling' could be encountering difficulties with their health and safety reporting. 

Schools using digital alternatives such as Medical Tracker may find maintaining a more consistent health and safety monitoring approach easier. 

If your school still relies on paper-based health and safety tracking and monitoring methods, it may be time to explore an alternative. If this is the case, let us know below, and we'll contact you.