Welcome back to a new academic year.  This week I highlight updated Prevent duty guidance and a DfE toolkit and example letters for communicating with parents around attendance.

DfE updates Prevent duty guidance
A number of DfE pages have been updated to reflect changes to the Prevent duty guidance by the Home Office for England, Scotland and Wales. This includes the following:

• The Prevent duty: safeguarding learners vulnerable to radicalisation
• Making a referral to Prevent
• Regional Prevent coordinators

The Home Office’s updated Prevent duty guidance will come into force on 31 December 2023, subject to Parliamentary approval. In addition, the DfE has published new Prevent duty risk assessment templates for early years, schools and FE providers. The use of these templates is not mandatory, but they do refer to statutory requirements of the Prevent duty.

Tackling poor attendance
Professor Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer, has written to schools alongside other health professionals to provide a public health perspective on illness and school attendance. The letter says that it is usually appropriate for pupils to attend school with mild respiratory illnesses, including general cold symptoms. Schools are encouraged to share NHS guidance with parents. The letter also says that attending school can help alleviate symptoms of anxiety, and that prolonged absences are likely to heighten anxiety about attending.

The DfE has published a toolkit and example letters for communicating with parents to support attendance alongside example attendance letters and emails to parents, as part of its ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance.