Medical evidence will be required for any absence the week before or after a school holiday.

Information regarding Legal Sanctions & Actions

The school will make every attempt to contact the parent or carer by telephone and in writing if we have concerns regarding their child’s/children’s attendance. In the first instance we would invite them to discuss the problem unless the absence relates to leave in term time without permission. Where all other avenues have been exhausted and support is not working or not being engaged with, attendance may be enforced where necessary through statutory intervention or prosecution to protect the pupil’s right to an education. A referral may be made to the LA under the following circumstances based on the national framework for penalty notices:

• A single consistent national threshold for when a penalty notice must be considered of ten sessions (usually equivalent to five school days) of unauthorised absence within a rolling ten school week period, may span different terms or school years This will include unauthorised absence for lateness Code U.
• A term time holiday taken without permission would count towards the ten sessions.
• A national limit of two penalty notices that can be issued to a parent for the same child within a rolling 3-year period, so at the third (or subsequent) offence(s) other legal prosecution will be considered.

Penalty notices are issues to each parent or carer for each of their children for example two parents with three children would receive a total of six penalty notices, one parent with two children will receive a total of two penalty notices.

From September 2024 each penalty notice is £80 if paid in the first 21 days, from days 22 to 28 the fine doubles to £160 for each penalty notice.

For the second offence issued to the same parent for the same child within a rolling 3-year period being charged at a higher rate of £160 for days 1 – 28, with no option for this second offence to be discharged at the lower rate of £80.

The Attendance and Children Out of School (ACOS) service has asked us to point out that it is not possible to pay these fines by instalments or lower the cost when they have increased, or to simply fine one parent.

Payment can be made online and instructions on how to pay are included on the penalty notice letter. Any problems with paying online should be discussed as early as possible with the Attendance and Children Out of School by ringing 020 7974 1007.

If a penalty notice is not paid or the Attendance and Children Out of School (ACOS) service feels that that the level of absence warrants court action, the local authority will arrange for a court hearing. There are a range of sentencing options available to the magistrate including the maximum penalty of a fine of up to £2500 per parent for each offence as well as the possibility of up to three months in prison.