All children of school age must receive a suitable full time education. The child’s parent is responsible for ensuring the child receives a suitable education.
New national framework
A new national framework for penalty notices for school absences came into effect from Monday 19 August 2024.
The changes are:
- A new national threshold of 10 unauthorised sessions for any reason (equivalent to 5 school days) within a rolling 10 school week period for when a penalty notice must be considered.
- You will no longer be able to take your child out of school for one week’s holiday without a penalty notice being issued.
- There will be an increase in the penalty fine from £60 to £80 if paid in 21 days. If the fine is not paid by the first 21 days, it will rise to £160 if paid within 28 days of being issued.
- If a second penalty fine is issued to the same parent for the same child within a 3-year rolling period, the fine will automatically rise to £160 with no option to pay the lower rate of £80.
- If a parent then commits a third offence in a 3-year rolling period, the local authority will need to consider other enforcement options available to them.
Any penalty notice issued before Monday 19 August 2024 will not count towards the new thresholds.
If you have already booked a holiday for next year you will receive a penality notice at the new rate.
To request your child has leave granted during term time you must submit an Absence request form at least 20 days before the proposed absence. Only your child's Head Teacher can agree whether an absence can be authorised in exceptional circumstances.
School attendance
There may be times when your child doesn't attend school. This will fall into two categories; authorised absence, or unauthorised absence.
- Illness
- Medical appointments (routine medical/dental check-ups should be made out of school hours whenever possible), if the medical appointment occurs in the morning or afternoon, your child is expected to attend school before or after the appointment (you'll need to provide evidence of the appointment)
- Transport that wasn't provided by us when it should have been
- Unavoidable cause (this means an unusual/extraordinary event that couldn’t be avoided
- A specified, limited period for an immediate family member's bereavement, crisis or serious illness
- A funeral of an immediate family member
For the following, you will need to complete an absence request form to get authorisation for the absence at least 10 school days before the event:
- Religious observance
- A specified, limited period for children of service personnel about to go on deployment (you'll need to provide a letter from the Commanding Officer as evidence)
- One day for a wedding of an immediate family member (you'll need to provide the invitation as evidence)
- One day for an immediate family members graduation ceremony/passing out parade (you'll need to provide the invitation as evidence)
- A one off sporting events/performing arts competitions if your child is participating and is at county standard or above (you'll need to provide a letter from the performing arts/sports regional governing body as evidence)
- Caring for other family members
- Birthdays
- To interpret for family members
- Having no school uniform/shoes
- Bullying
- Friendship problems
- Head lice
- Learning difficulties
- Family holiday
- Weddings abroad (even if it's immediate family)
- Family anniversaries
- Death of a pet
- Travel problems
- Attending immigration interviews with parents or guardian
- Moving house
- School refusal
- Lateness after the school's registration period
This list provides examples and isn't exhaustive.
If your child is ill
You need to contact the school on the first day of absence and let them know of any days that your child will be unable to attend. The school will decide if the absence is authorised or not.
Arriving late
Getting your child to school on time is important. Arriving late at school can disrupt your child, the teacher and other children. Check the start time of your child's school. Arriving late may count as an authorised absence
If your child misses school
If your child does not attend school regularly and the absence is unauthorised you may be issued with a penalty notice or become subject to a criminal prosecution.
If you think your child may be missing school, is unhappy at school or if you have any concerns, you should contact the school as soon as possible.
Penalty notices
You always need permission from the headteacher if you want to take your child out of school during term time. You do this by completing an absence request form and giving it to the school in plenty of time. If you don’t the absence will be unauthorised.
If your child has unauthorised absences from school, you will received a ‘Notice to Improve.’ This gives you a period up to six weeks to improve things. If your child has more than 2 days of unauthorised absence during that time, we can issue a penalty notice without further warning.
A penalty notice will only be issued to you if 10 unauthorised sessions are recorded against your child's name within a 10-week rolling period (10 absences are equal to 5 school days as there are 2 sessions in a school day). The unauthorised sessions can be made up of one or a combination of the following:
- your child has an unauthorised absence from school
- your child has been late to school after registration has closed
- your child is found during a truancy sweep and the absence hasn't been authorised by the school
- you repeatedly fail to provide the school or our Inclusion, Attendance and Welfare Service reasons for your child's absences (this includes ignoring our attempts to contact you)
- your child is found in a public place during the first 5 days of a fixed term or permanent exclusion
A fixed penalty notice of £80 is issued to each parent or carer for each child.
| When you pay | Amount to pay |
|---|---|
| Payment within 21 days | £80 |
| Payment within 22 days and 28 days | £160 |
If you receive a second penalty notice for the same child within a rolling 3-year period you will be charged at a higher rate of £160 with no option for this second offence to be discharged at the lower rate of £80.
How to pay
If we issue a penalty notice, we will send a letter that tells you how to pay.
You will have to pay the full amount on the penalty notice, you cannot pay in instalments. It is important to pay the penalty notice because you will be prosecuted if you don’t.
Any further unauthorised absences will be treated as separate offences.
How to appeal
You can't appeal against a penalty notice, but it can be withdrawn for the following reasons:
- it shouldn't have been issued (it's been issued outside our code of conduct or no offence has been committed)
- it's been issued to the wrong person
- it was materially defective
If you believe your notice was wrongly issued, you need to contact us, in writing (within 14 days of receiving the notice). You need to state why you believe the notice has been incorrectly issued. We do not offer payment extensions whilst we consider your reasons
You can send your statement to us by email or post.
- Email: penaltynoticeofficer@plymouth.gov.uk
- Post: Penalty Notice Officer, Inclusion, Attendance and Welfare Service, Ballard House, West Hoe Road, Plymouth, PL1 3BJ
If a penalty notice is withdrawn, you'll receive a notice of the withdrawal and any amount you've paid will be refunded. Proceedings won't continue for the offence for which the withdrawn notice was issued.
Inclusion, Attendance and Welfare Service (IAWS)
If you have concerns about your child’s attendance, you should first contact your child’s school to ask for support. If you feel you still need advice, you can contact the IAWS. The IAWS ensures that all statutory school aged children are accounted for, receiving and attending suitable, full time education.
Contact details
- Email attendancesupport@plymouth.gov.uk
- Call 01752 307405