Complex Attendance Panel

Our Purpose

Nationally, and within Sutton, there has been an increase in school absence. We recognise the need for a coordinated multi-agency approach to identify attendance barriers and support children, young people and families to re-engage with education.

The Complex Attendance Panel brings together professionals from across education, health, early help and wider services to support attendance cases that require additional problem-solving and multi-agency input.

The Panel Aims To:

Provide schools and partner agencies with access to advice and support from multi-agency professionals where attendance cases have become “stuck” and require additional support.
Identify recurring themes and barriers that may require wider strategic or systemic change, helping to inform local policy and practice.

Who Attends the Panel?

The panel includes representatives from:

Attendance Support Team
Virtual School
Educational Psychology
Early Help Services
Social Care
School Nursing
STARS
Education Wellbeing Service / CAMHS
Police
Family Hub and Parenting Support
Safeguarding Leads
Special Schools

Guest professionals may also attend where specialist advice is required.

Referral Criteria

Cases referred to the panel should meet the following criteria:

The case has been discussed with the allocated Cognus Education Welfare Officer.
The school has exhausted universal support and, where appropriate, targeted interventions through Sutton’s Graduated Response.
Attendance remains a significant concern and progress has stalled.

In addition, one of the following should apply:

There is no current multi-agency involvement because thresholds have not been met or services have closed involvement; or
Multi-agency involvement is already in place but progress is still not being made; or
A Penalty Notice, prosecution or other legal intervention is unlikely to be effective or is not considered to be in the child’s best interests.

Schools can normally submit one referral per school, per panel meeting. Referrals involving siblings or multiple household members may be considered as a single referral.

Panel Process

Referrals are reviewed by the Attendance Support Team through an initial triage process before being considered for panel discussion.

If your case is accepted:

You will be allocated a 15-minute panel slot.
You will be invited to present the case to the multi-agency panel.
The panel will discuss barriers, identify support options and agree actions.
Decisions and agreed actions will be shared following the meeting.

To make the best use of panel time, schools should provide as much information as possible when completing the referral form.

Reviews and Follow-Up

Following panel discussion:

A review update should be provided to the Cognus Education Welfare Officer after four weeks.
A further update should be provided at the end of the following term.
Where cases remain particularly complex or progress remains limited, schools may be invited back to a future panel meeting.

For more information please see our Terms of Reference

Parent and Guardian Consent

As the panel includes professionals from a range of agencies, parental or guardian consent must be obtained prior to referral.

The panel operates on the principle that information will only be shared where necessary to support the child and family, and information will be handled securely and confidentially in accordance with data protection legislation.

Required document:

Attendance Panel Disclaimer (Parent/Guardian Consent Form)

Useful Documents

Panel Dates and Referrals

Current status: Referral form currently closed.

Future panel dates will be published when confirmed.