The Beaks are among the families in England and Wales who have faced fines over health-related school absences

Chloe Beak lives with chronic, debilitating migraines that leave her unable to attend school for days at a time. But instead of receiving support from her school, her parents have been fined by the local authority for her truancy.

The family’s current fix is to send their daughter in with a migraine until she gets sent home, meaning her absences are registered as authorised. If they do not, the school will consider her a truant as it believes she has emotionally based school avoidance.

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