Under the Department of Education Statutory guidelines (2015) - page 23 it has this little gem:
Although school staff should use their discretion and judge each case on its merits with reference to the child’s individual healthcare plan, it is not generally acceptable practice to:
- penalise children for their attendance record if their absences are related to their medical condition, e.g. hospital appointments;
We had experience of our son being discriminated at attendance awards despite a medical condition so this helped change the school's process! Might also be worth reading the school's policy on children with medical conditions - I bet there is something in there too!