What happens if a child is absent from school without permission
When a school age child is on roll at a school, they have to attend regularly. This means attending every day the school is open.
When children are absent without the permission of the Headteacher, or where the reasons given to the school for absence are not accepted, schools will offer help and support to families, except in cases where such support is not appropriate such as unauthorised leave in term time.
Schools can also put families in touch with local support networks and organisations who can help.
What happens if a child is not receiving any education?
The council works hard to find children of school age who are not on roll at a school and not receiving education.
Once found, support is offered to ensure the children receive an education either by being placed in a mainstream school or an appropriate place of education.
This does not include children with an Education Health and Care Plan who are placed by SENAR.
Find out more about Education Health and Care Plans
Enforcement of school attendance
Where children are not receiving a full-time education and there is not a good reason why, parents may face a penalty notice for irregular attendance, or even be referred to court where they could receive both a fine and a criminal record.
Penalty notice
Both parent(s) are legally responsible for ensuring their child attends school regularly.
Penalty notices are issued to parent(s) separately for each child. If issued with fines, both parent(s) are required to make payment for their own penalty notice.
For example, if there are 2 parents and 2 children, 4 penalty notices will be issued.
To find out more:
Download the council's Education Penalty Notice Code of Conduct September 2024
Download the council's Education Prosecution policy 2024
What is a parent?
A ‘parent’ in relation to any child or young person, includes any person:
- who is not a parent but who has parental responsibility for them
- who has care of them
This also includes absent parents and parental partners (whether or not they are married or the natural parent of the child) as they have ‘care of’ the child.
Page last updated: 16 September 2024
