Possible penalties for non-attendance

Once you have registered your child at a school it is your responsibility to make sure your child attends regularly and punctually. If you fail to do so the Local Authority has a statutory duty to consider legal action to enforce school attendance.

There are a number of legal measures that the Local Authority can pursue, these include:

• an Attendance contract
• being included in the fast track system which means you will be expected to improve your child's attendance within a given period of time
• receiving a penalty notice. A First Penalty Notice is £80 if paid within 21 days or £160 if paid within 22-28 days. A second Penalty Notice may be issued if a Penalty Notice has previously been issued in the preceding three-year period in respect of the same child. A second Penalty Notice is £160 if paid within 28 days with no option for this second offence to be discharged at the lower rate of £80
• being prosecuted in the Magistrates’ Court. This means you could receive a community order, a fine of up to £2,500 per parent/carer, a custodial sentence or an Education Supervision Order

Penalty Notices (fines) for non-attendance at school

A Penalty Notice is a fine which may be issued as an alternative to prosecution. If it is paid it does not require a court appearance and does not result in a criminal conviction.

Section 444A of the Act gives powers to the local authority, and headteachers to issue Penalty Notices in circumstances where it is believed that a person has committed an offence under Section 444(1); that is, where a child fails to attend regularly at their registered school.

If a child is seen in a public place in the first five days of a fixed term or permanent exclusion, a Penalty Notice may be issued and is £60 if paid within 21 days or £120 if paid between 22-28 days.

Who can be issued with a Penalty Notice

Where absence warrants the issuing of a Penalty Notice, anyone with Parental Responsibility, or having day to day care of the child can be issued with one Penalty Notice for each of the children with unauthorised absence.  If two parents have two children this may result in four Penalty Notices, 2 Penalty Notices per parent.

Further unauthorised absence from school

If you receive two Penalty Notices in a rolling three-year period and your child has further unauthorised absences, legal action may be taken such as prosecution or an Education Supervision Order.

Circumstances when a Penalty Notice are issued

As set down by the Department for Education, Penalty Notices can be issued for unauthorised absence. In Hampshire, Penalty Notices are issued when a pupil has had 10 or more half-day sessions (equivalent to five school days) of unauthorised absence, in the last 10 school week period or where a parent/carer is deliberately avoiding the national threshold.

Unauthorised absence is absence not approved by the school and will be coded on your child’s attendance record as one of the following:

O: unauthorised absence
U: late after close of registration
G: non-approved leave of absence (holiday)

How a Penalty Notice is issued and amount of the fine

Penalty Notices are either posted to your home or delivered to you by hand. A First Penalty Notice is £80 if paid within 21 days or £160 if paid within 22-28 days. A second Penalty Notice may be issued if a Penalty Notice has previously been issued in the preceding three-year period in respect of the same child. A second Penalty Notice is £160 if paid within 28 days with no option for this second offence to be discharged at the lower rate of £80.

If your child has an ongoing pattern of unauthorised absence then you will normally receive a written warning of the possibility of a Penalty Notice being issued or a Notice to Improve letter. This warning or Notice to Improve letter will advise you about the extent of your child’s absence and warn you that if your child’s attendance does not show a significant improvement and if this improvement is not maintained thereafter, a Penalty Notice may be issued without further warning. 

Further support, advice and guidance is available from the Department for Education.

There is no statutory right of appeal. Once a Penalty Notice has been issued, it can only be withdrawn if it can be shown that it ought not to have been issued or was issued in error. 

Guidance document for parents

Download the guidance for parents and carers: Penalty Notices for non-attendance at schools