School attendance, absence and truancy

School attendance

Going to school regularly is important to your child’s future. Children who miss school frequently can fall behind with their work and do less well in exams.

Good attendance shows potential employers that your child is reliable.

Research suggests that children who attend school regularly could also be at less risk of getting involved in antisocial behaviour or crime.

The law

By law, all children become compulsory school age at the beginning of the first term following their 5th birthday. Once a child is of compulsory school age children must receive a suitable full-time education. For most parents, this means registering their child at a school. However, some choose to make other arrangements to provide a suitable, full-time education.

Once your child is registered at a school, you are legally responsible for making sure they attend regularly. If your child fails to do so, you risk getting a penalty notice or being prosecuted in court.

Absence

Authorised absence

If your child is ill or unable to attend school for some reason, you should contact the school by phone to notify them. Depending on the reasons for absence, the headteacher will decide whether the absence can be authorised or not. Where absence is sickness related, schools may require medical certification, particularly where the absence lasts a few days, where the absence is frequent, or it persists over a lengthy period.

Unauthorised absence

Absence from school is likely to be recorded as unauthorised absence when:

• there is no parental explanation
• the school is not satisfied with the explanation for an absence.

In either of these situations, you could face a legal sanction.

Headteachers are not permitted to agree a leave of absence during term-time unless there are exceptional circumstances.

If a parent intends to take their child out of school for a leave of absence during term time, they must have requested this in advance and their request must be agreed by the headteacher. Failure to do this could result in a fine or prosecution.

Parents can be fined, by the local authority where their child attends school, if their child is absent from school without authorisation for five days or ten sessions over a ten-week period. This can include a mixture of holiday absence, lateness and other unauthorised absences.

The local authority (or other authorised officer) retains the discretion to issue a penalty notice before the threshold where they believe this would be appropriate.

The Nottinghamshire Code of Conduct sets out the arrangements by which fines will be issued in a fair and transparent manner.

Appealing against a penalty notice fine

There is no right of appeal to the local authority against an education penalty notice once it has been issued correctly and in line with the Nottinghamshire Code of Conduct. 

Penalty notice fines can be withdrawn in very specific circumstances only, as set out within the national regulations and the local code of conduct.

Parents who believe that the reason for their child’s unauthorised leave of absence from school in term time was not properly understood by their child’s headteacher, and that it should have been considered as exceptional, must raise the matter directly with their child’s school.

The local authority cannot overturn a headteacher’s decision to unauthorise a pupil’s absence from school during term time.

Pay a fine

If you need to pay a penalty notice fine please phone 0115 804 3500.

If you have received a penalty notice fine, and have a question about it, you can email pnenquiries@nottscc.gov.uk or phone 0115 804 0600

Support

Support from school

Your child’s school is the first place to go to discuss any attendance problems. If your child starts missing school, there may a problem you are not aware of. Ask your child first, then approach their teacher or form tutor.

The school should try to agree a plan with you to improve your child’s attendance. If you don’t follow the plan and things don't improve, the school will take further action.

Support from the council

The council can also help if you are struggling to ensure that your child goes to school. Potential forms of support include:

• support to help reduce the burden on children where families are in difficulty (for example, if a child is spending a lot of time caring for someone)
• working with families and schools to overcome bullying and other serious problems.

If you think you need this help you can contact the Early Help Unit 0115 804 1248.

Frequently asked questions

If you have a question about the penalty notice fine you have received please review the Frequently Asked Questions [Word].