Most parents/carers want their children to be happy and achieve. It is more important than ever for children to have a good education, to have choices and opportunities in adult life. Children only get one chance at school, and their chances of a successful future may be affected if they are not attending school regularly.
Reducing school absence is a key priority nationally and locally. Irregular attendance and absence from school damages a pupil’s attainment levels, disrupts school routines and the learning of others. It can also leave a pupil vulnerable to anti-social behaviour and youth crime. All children who are between 5 and 16 years old are entitled to an appropriate, full time education either at school or otherwise. Where a child is registered at a school, any absence taken without the permission of the head teacher is recorded as unauthorised absence in the school register, which is a legal document.
If a child is absent from school, parents/carers must contact the school as early as possible on the first day of absence, and provide a signed note on their return to school, which should be dated and give the reason for the absence.
In North Lincolnshire, education welfare officers and education legal officers carry out the council’s legal duty in respect of school attendance.
Officers work with children of compulsory school age in accordance with relevant legislation, and work in partnership with pupils, parents, schools and other agencies. Education welfare officers review school registers, they work closely with school staff to examine reasons for absence, and intervene wherever pupils have unsatisfactory attendance. Where a child has irregular school attendance an investigation is undertaken and advice and support is provided. Intervention includes interviewing pupils and parents in schools, telephone contact with parents/carers, written correspondence and home visits. Children who have irregular school attendance are supported back into full time education as soon as possible through a fast-track intervention procedure and an action plan can be provided. Parents can be supported through a parenting contract, which will identify the intervention required to help the child return to regular school attendance, and the actions required by parents/carers, school and the education welfare officer.
A copy of the leaflet ‘Parenting Contracts – A Guide for Parents’ and the 'Penalty Notices Code of Conduct' are available to download as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. To view and print the document you will need the appropriate reader. An Adobe Acrobat reader can be downloaded free from the Adobe website (full instructions for downloading the reader are provided on the web site).
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School staff will inform you if your child is not attending and/or is frequently late. They will also inform you if homework is not being completed. For more information please visit the DfES School Attendance website.
Legal action is taken where a parent/carer is not fulfilling their responsibility to ensure their child receives a full time education as specified in the Education Act 1996.
Patents/carers are prosecuted under section 444(1) or section 444(1A) of the Education Act 1996, where a parent/carer fails to secure the regular school attendance of a child. Education Supervision Orders under Section 36 of the Children Act 1989 and School Attendance Orders under Sections 437- 443 of the Education Act 1996 are also used by the local authority to secure children’s entitlement to education.
Penalty notices have been introduced under section 23 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 as an additional sanction to address the problem of irregular school attendance. Penalty Notices are issued to all parents/carers where a child fails to attend school regularly and the absence is recorded as unauthorised. Late arrival after the register has closed is also recorded as unauthorised absence.
If a penalty notice is issued the recipient has 28 days from the date of issue to pay £50, after 28 days it increases to £100. Failure to pay a penalty notice within 42 days will result in legal proceedings in the Magistrates’ Court under section 444(1) or section 444(1A) of the Education Act 1996, for failing to secure the regular school attendance of a child. The Education (Penalty Notice) England Regulations 2004, Section 6 states that where a penalty is not paid in full, the local authority named in the notice shall institute proceedings against the recipient for the offence to which the notice relates. A person found guilty of an offence under 444(1A) will be liable to a fine up to £2,500, a term of imprisonment not exceeding three months, or both. Other sentencing options available include Parenting Order, fine and a Community Punishment and Rehabilitation Order.
The definition of a ‘parent’ in education law is broader than that of ‘parental responsibility’. Section 576 of the Education Act 1996 identifies parents as, natural parents, whether they are married or not, any person with parental responsibility (as defined in the Children Act 1989), and has care of a child or young person; which means lives with and looks after the child. The education-related provision of the Anti Social Behaviour Act 2003 applies to all parents who fall within this definition.
Holidays during term time are not an entitlement and parents/carers cannot demand leave of absence for their child. Parents are required by law to ensure that their child attends school regularly. To take a child out of school for a holiday during term time requires permission from the child’s school. Head teachers must consider the child’s age, the time and length of leave requested, key dates such as exams or tests and the child’s attendance record (including authorised and unauthorised absence). By law head teachers can grant up to 10 days (20 sessions) authorised absence during an academic year if a holiday form has been completed at least 10 days in advance by the parent/carer with whom the child resides. However, the head teacher will only grant authorised absence in special circumstances, details of these circumstances must be specified on the completed holiday form. Save in exceptional circumstances the head teacher cannot authorise more than 10 days in any academic year, and where this is agreed it will be recorded in the register differently. Head teachers have been advised not to consider holidays in term time due to parents/carers employment shift patters or set holidays as a special or exceptional circumstance, unless written confirmation is provided from their employer. Which should be from either human resources or the manager, and authenticity checked by the school, by a telephone call to the parent/ carer’s employer. Where a child has at least 10 school sessions (half days) recorded as unauthorised absence due to taking holidays in school term time, a penalty notice will be issued to all parents/carers by the local authority.
The local council recognises that most parents/carers ensure their child attends school regularly, and avoid taking holidays during term time. Legal intervention is used to secure children’s entitlement to education. The use of penalty notices to address unauthorised holidays in term time reinforces the importance of regular school attendance and benefits children, families and the community.
It is essential that you speak with school staff or with an education support officer at the earliest opportunity if you have any worries at all about securing your child's attendance. You will be given advice and support to help you fulfil your responsibility and improve your child's school attendance.
If you wish to make contact with your education welfare officer please telephone 01724 870776, or write to the Education Welfare Team at 46B Newdown Road, Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, DN17 2TX.
Three leaflets titled School Attendance; Holidays in Term Time; and, Penalty Notices, are available from your child’s school, or from the Education Legal Service, Education Development Centre, South Leys Campus, Enderby Road, Scunthorpe, DN17 2JL.