Under the Education Act 1996, parents and carers have a duty to make sure their children regularly attend school. If parents or carers fail to do this, they can be prosecuted.

Working within a Code of Conduct the Local Authority can issue a penalty notice to parents or carers if a child has missed a number of sessions without permission from the school.

If your child falls within one or more of these categories within a 12 week period
 

• 10 sessions (5 days) of unauthorised absence with under 90% attendance
• 20 sessions (10 days) of unauthorised absence
• Persistently arrives late for school after the close of registration

You could receive a Penalty Notice of £60 which will increase to £120 if not paid within 21 days. The Penalty Notice will need to be paid in full before 28 days of the notice being served. Failure to pay a penalty notice may result in prosecution (a separate penalty notice may be issued to each parent for each child).

In law, an offence is committed if a parent fails to secure a child’s regular attendance at school. Wigan Council Attendance Service, in conjunction with schools, will use these powers as an early deterrent to prevent patterns of unauthorised absence developing.

You may also receive a Penalty Notice for the offence of failing to secure regular school attendance under the following circumstances:
 

• Your child is stopped on a truancy sweep
• You fail to ensure that your child is not in a public place during the first 5 days of a fixed term or permanent exclusion.

The Local Authority and schools are committed to providing the best possible future for your child. If you have concerns about your child’s attendance at school or if you are experiencing any difficulties please contact your school and ask for support.

Amendments have been made to previous regulations regarding holidays during school time and the Department of Education state that from September 2013 "Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances."

Wigan LA and the Governors are not supportive of holidays in school time and will not authorise holidays in term time.

Education Penalty Notice.