Section 19 of the Education Act 1996

Section 19 of the Education Act 1996

Gloucestershire County Council (GCC), Schools, and Parents/Carers of children resident in Gloucestershire have a responsibility to work together to ensure children are supported to access an appropriate, full-time education.

Section 19 (S19) of the Education Act 1996 places a duty on the Local Authority to assess the need to arrange Alternative Education Provision where attendance would not otherwise be possible (subject to eligibility critieria) under the following categories:

• Permanent exclusion
• IllnessOtherwise

Gloucestershire's Policy relating to Attendance and its Section 19 responsibilities is available via the following link - https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/media/ndop0ciw/attendance-and-section-19-policy-v10.pdf

Permanent Exclusion

Where a school takes the decision to permanently exclude a child, they are required to communicate that decision with GCC on the day that the permanent exclusion is issued. By completing the online form below, the school is fulfilling its responsibility, and enabling GCC to commence the arrangements to provide Alternative Education Provision.

https://forms.gloucestershire.gov.uk/SchoolExclusion

Further information relating to Exclusions and Suspensions can be found here.

Illness or Otherwise

Where school (in consultation with a Parent/Carer) feels it is necessary and having followed Gloucestershire's Graduated Pathway and made reasonable adjustments in line with their own statutory duty, it can request that GCC considers the need for Alternative Education Provision under the categories of 'Illness' or 'Otherwise' by completing the following in-depth referral:

https://forms.gloucestershire.gov.uk/S19Form

*If the student is currently in hospital or is recovering at home post-surgery, please call GHES on 01242 532363 to discuss before you complete the referral.

Where a child is under the treatment of a medical professional, and where that professional believes the child is too unwell to access the school where they are on roll, a request can be made by that clinician for Section 19 provision to be made available by Gloucestershire's Hospital Education Service (GHES) by completing the following referral:

https://forms.gloucestershire.gov.uk/GHESServiceRequestForm

More information about GHES can be found here.

*Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 places a statutory duty on the council to assess the need for alternative education provision for children who cannot attend school. Personal data relating to a child requiring intervention under our Section 19 obligations may be shared with and by the council in line with our Public Task. You can learn more about how the council uses personal data relating to children’s services in our Privacy Notice’.

S19 Re-referral Form - Live from 5th March 2026

Gloucestershire County Council’s Attendance and Section 19 of the Education Act (1996) Policy is clear that:

4.10. ‘Where it is assessed there is not a requirement to provide alternative education provision (AEP) under Section 19 of the Education Act, this decision is final. Only where it can be evidenced that a child’s needs have changed or that new evidence can be provided will GCC re-visit the need to arrange AEP. This is initiated by the submission of a new Section 19 request by the home school.’

To support professionals to evidence where a child’s needs have changed or new evidence is available, Gloucestershire County Council have developed a shortened Section 19 Re-referral form. This re-referral form allows professionals to request Gloucestershire County Council assess the need to arrange Alternative Education Provision where attendance would not otherwise be possible as part of its duty under Section 19 of the Education Act 1996.

The shortened re-referral form is only accessible within 28 working days of the original ‘Signposting Decision Date’ at triage or ‘Assessment Panel Discussion Date’ where progressed to a multi-agency forum.

The S19 Re-referral form is not appropriate where a child has changed school setting since the original referral or for referrals made in a previous academic year.

Professionals will be asked to confirm that the re-referral is within the identified timeframe above and meets eligibility criteria outlined above and that they understand where the re-referral does not meet the eligibility criteria that it will be declined.

The link to the shortened S19 Re-referral form can be found below.

https://forms.gloucestershire.gov.uk/S19ReRequestReferralForm

Schools still have a duty to provide an appropriate education while the child’s re-referral is considered and ahead of the revised S19 decision point.

Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 Training Videos

Following feedback from schools and as part of the continued desire to support schools to engage effectively with the Section 19 process the Multi-Agency Support Service have produced a range of Section 19 training videos to support schools. We hope you find the training videos below informative and supportive.

Section 19 of the Education Act 1996- S19 Legislation

Section 19 of the Education Act 1996- Referral Form

Section 19 of the Education Act 1996- Referral Process

Section 19 of the Education Act 1996- What to Expect in a Multi-Agency Meeting

Section 19 of the Education Act 1996- Post-Meeting Pathways and Review Process

We will be looking to add to these videos, if you have any suggestions for a training video or supportive resource, please do email S19Referrals@gloucestershire.gov.uk.