Dear Parents/Carers,

I am writing to you as many of you will have seen the horrific images in the National news yesterday or today about the historical abuse of pupils at a special school in Walthamstow, London. This was shocking to us all, and undoubtedly may have caused you concern.

I wanted to reassure you that the staff team at Oaklands treat all pupils with dignity and respect at all times. Everything we do is driven by our unique values which is underpinned by having a deep understanding of SEND, autism and the individual learners needs. Our positive behaviour policy means that no child would ever be left alone or isolated and our school does not have a 'calm room' like the one referred to in the press footage. In addition, we have robust recruitment processes to ensure that the staff who work at Oaklands have gone through rigorous safeguarding checks. Our policies can be found on the school website here: https://www.oaklands.leicester.sch.uk/policies/

All of the staff who work at Oaklands care deeply about each of our pupils and we have been equally distressed to see a school in the news with such upsetting safeguarding failures.

If you wish to talk about any of our policies, please do feel free to call the school to speak with a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

Regards
Sarah

SEND Transport Consultation- Post 16 transport

Dear Parents/Carers,

I would like to draw your attention to the SEND transport consultation that opened on 7th November.

Please view the news release here: - Consultation under way on school transport funding.

As you may be aware, Leicester City Council’s budget is in crisis and it is expecting a substantial gap between its spending and its income in 2025/26. Consequently, the council is exploring ways in which it can reduce cost.

The council currently spends more than £4 million a year on the transport costs of around 500 young people with SEND. The funding for Post-16 SEND transport had been due to end in July 2024, following a consultation that took place two years ago. However, after concerns were raised by many special school parents/carers about the process, the council announced that funding would continue for the 2024/2025 academic year, and a new consultation would take place.

The proposed new policy includes the general withdrawal of support for Post-16 transport for the academic year 2025/26 onwards. It also sets out in detail where exceptions will be made to this, however, these exceptions will mean that only a very small percentage of SEND pupils will meet the criteria for transport support and this would take the form of a Personal Transport Budget only.

The new consultation asks for views on this revised SEND transport policy, and how it will impact parents and children.

The council is not required to provide Post-16 school SEND transport, and receives no funding from the Government to do so. Therefore, without strong opposition to their proposed new policy, transport for SEND pupils post-16 may be withdrawn. I would strongly encourage you to have your say in this consultation. Whilst this policy does not affect the transport for your child whilst they are at Oaklands School, we feel that it is important that you as parents/carers of future Post-16 SEND transport users have a say. This will affect you and your child when they are 16 yrs old.

The consultation will run until 2 January 2025 and can be found on the council’s website here: Leicester City Council - Citizen Space

If you have any questions about this or would like to speak to me about it, please do call the school office.

Yours sincerely

Sarah Osborne

(Headteacher)

With the introduction of the new National Framework for Penalty Notices, the following changes will come into force for Penalty Notice fines issued for unauthorised absence that occurs after 19 August 2024.

Per Parent, Per Child

Penalty Notice fines will be issued to each parent, for each child who was absent. For example: 3 siblings absent for term time leave will result in each parent receiving 3 separate fines.

5 Consecutive Days of Term Time Leave

Penalty Notice fines will be issued for term time leave of 5 or more consecutive days, and for fewer days where this has happened before.

10 Sessions of Unauthorised Absence in a 10-week period Penalty Notice fines will be considered when there have been 10 sessions of absence in a 10-week period.

First Offence

The first time a Penalty Notice is issued for Term Time Leave or irregular attendance the amount will be: £160 per parent, per child when paid within 28 days. Reduced to £80 per parent , per child if paid within 21 days.

Second Offence (within 3 years)

The second time a Penalty Notice is issued for Term Time Leave or irregular attendance the amount will be: £160 per parent, per child when paid within 28 days. (No option to pay at £80 level).

Third Offence and Any Further Offences (within 3 years)

The third time an offence is committed for Term Time Leave or irregular attendance a Penalty Notice will not be issued. The case will proceed to the Magistrates’ court. Magistrate’s fines can be up to £2,500 per parent, per child. Cases found guilty in Magistrates’ Court can show on the parent’s future DBS certificate and may impact on job applications and travel abroad.

Court prosecutions

Penalty Notices will not automatically be issued. Parents are advised that where the LA considers that a Penalty Notice is not appropriate due to the level of concern about a child’s absence, prosecution action may be taken.

By law, all Penalty Notice payments go to the local authority and not to schools.

We are pleased to announce that we have successfully maintained our flagship status for the Inclusion Quality Mark after our recent review.  To see the full report please click on the link below

https://primarysite-prod-sorted.s3.amazonaws.com/oaklands-school-leicester/UploadedDocument/51c987de-edf0-41fe-b035-dbec1c55233b/oaklands-school-review-may-2024.pdf

Tuesday 7th May 2024

Advice regarding unauthorised leave from school

Dear Parents/Carers,

I am writing to inform you that from the 19 August 2024, new regulations come into force regarding unauthorised leave of absence from school. The changes have come after almost 400,000 penalty notices were issued to parents in England in 2022-23 for unauthorised school absences - which is much higher than pre-pandemic levels.

The Dfe are trying to improve consistency across England by introducing a new National Threshold at which a penalty notice would be considered. The Dfe aim is to improve the deterrent of penalty notices by increasing the amount. A fine must be considered if a child misses five days of school for unauthorised absence.

The following information comes from the Dfe advice and the local authority:

For unauthorised absence from August 2024, Penalty Notices will increase to £160 per parent per child (discounted to £80 if paid within 21 days).  If there is occasion to issue a second Penalty Notice for unauthorised leave of absence within a rolling 3 year period, it will be issued at the higher rate of £160 per parent per child, with no opportunity to pay at the lower level.  A Penalty Notice cannot be issued if there is a third occasion of unauthorised leave of absence in the rolling 3 year period and it is highly likely that the local authority will take direct prosecution action in the Magistrates’ Court which can result in you receiving a criminal conviction.  Please also be aware that any cases of extended periods of unauthorised absence, linked to holidays or trips away, are highly likely to result in prosecution action by the local authority.

If your child has unauthorised leave of absence prior to the end of the summer term in 2024 and a penalty notice is deemed necessary, there will be a Penalty Notice of £120 per parent per child (discounted to £60 if paid within 21 days), or, your case will be referred by the Local Authority directly to the Magistrates’ Court.

Schools consider on a case by case basis whether to issue a penalty notice. Our priority at Oaklands School is always to work with parents/carers and support families to improve attendance. Every moment in school counts and we know that days missed add up quickly. Evidence shows that pupils who have good attendance enjoy better wellbeing and school performance than those who don't.

There are only a few circumstances where a child is allowed to miss school, such as illness, hospital appointments, or where the school has given permission because of an exceptional circumstance. An exceptional circumstance does not include taking holidays in term time due to a child’s needs; family holidays must always be taken in the school holidays. If you are unsure about whether an absence will be authorised, please do call the office and ask to speak with me or our attendance officer, Sally Bott.

Further information about the changes to penalty notices can be found here: Fines for parents for taking children out of school: What you need to know – The Education Hub (blog.gov.uk)

Regards

Sarah Osborne (Headteacher)