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Part time timetables (PTTT)
Published
Information for Parent Carers about Part Time Timetables
What is a Part Time Timetable (PTTT)
A part time timetable is when a pupil attends school for less than full time hours; the duration of ‘full time hours’ will vary from school to school and will be published in the school’s attendance policy.
This does not apply to the settling in of children in their first year of education (Reception) when they may be attending for half days etc, however once the expectation is that most children are attending full time, all of the information below applies (even if the child has not yet reached their 5th birthday).
How a PTTT is arranged, agreed and monitored
A reduced timetable can only be put in place with the agreement of all parties – parents, school, social worker (if applicable) and ideally the child. They must be short term, with a view to increasing time back up to full time as soon as possible. Often they are used to enable the school to carry out assessments to ensure the correct provision is in place for the child or if there is a medical need that results in the child being unable to attend full time at that point.
A reduced timetable is not considered an appropriate method of managing poor behaviour, or pupils at risk of exclusion, in the longer term. This intervention should only be considered after other strategies have been exhausted and they should be for the benefit of the pupil, such arrangements must be made with the agreement of parents/carers and would normally be in put in place whilst assessments are being carried out in order to ascertain the provision needed to meet the needs of the child.
Any child on a reduced timetable is expected to be on the graduated pathway (assess/plan/do/review process) and have a My Plan in place to record the needs, targets and provision in place, with clear review dates, this should be shared with all parties, ideally the school will have also undertaken a My Assessment with the family.
Schools are advised to monitor reduced timetables regularly, no longer than every 6 weeks but ideally ongoing monitoring should be taking place weekly as the intention is to gradually increase the duration of attendance until the child is attending full time again.
What to do if as a parent you are concerned that your child is not attending / enabled to attend school
Any concerns regarding attendance should be addressed to the school. Under new guidance every school must have a member of the senior leadership team with responsibility for attendance and this person should be identified in the school’s attendance policy. If your child has a Special Educational Need or Disability you would normally contact the school SENCo to discuss your child’s provision.
Who in the Local Authority (LA) can I contact if my child’s school is not responding to my concerns related to my child’s attendance
Every school in Gloucestershire is allocated an Inclusion Officer from the Education Inclusion Service and they will be your first point of contact. If you call the general helpline on 01452 427274 then you will be put through to someone who will be able to help you.
What data is a school required to share with the LA regarding attendance
Most schools in Gloucestershire share their attendance data directly with the local authority through their management information system, however there are some schools in Gloucestershire who don’t share data and it is not a legal requirement.
It is important that the local authority has a central record of all children not accessing full time education in the usual way, including those accessing alternative provision full time away from their mainstream school, regardless of where they are on roll. Therefore, schools are requested to advise the local authority of children receiving an amended timetable as they occur, when they are amended or when they cease.
For those schools who don’t automatically share data with the local authority, The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 state that schools must send a return to the local authority giving the full name and address of every registered pupil of compulsory school age, who has been absent from school, where the absence has not been treated as authorised, for a continuous period of not less than ten school days, specifying the cause of the absence.