The government has recently published a consultation setting out how legal interventions should be used in “promoting good attendance” in schools. It describes the current system as a postcode lottery.

Expert legal advice – solicitors in England & Wales

If you are facing a school non-attendance penalty or prosecution and you need a solicitor, please contact us at Ashmans. We represent clients across England and Wales. Get confidential legal advice during a free, no obligation enquiry.

Penalties for school absence

There were 454,167 persistent absences in 2019. This number increased in 2020, and does not include non-attendance due to Covid-19.

Local councils and schools have various legal powers if a child is absent from school without good reason. This includes giving each parent a fine of £60, which rises to £120 each if payment is not made within 21 days. Failure to pay within 28 days could result in a prosecution. The court can then order a fine of up to £2,500, a community order or a jail sentence of up to three months.

However, the government says the current system is too inconsistent, with different approaches to sanctions across the country. Some local authorities did not issue any fines at all in the year 2020/21. Others issued more than 1,500.

Consultation on non-attendance

In an attempt to tackle this problem, the government has issued a new set of proposals, the details of which are contained in a recently published consultation. The consultation says schools should have robust policies for promoting school attendance and dealing with absences. It also sets out how legal interventions, such as penalty notices, should be used by local authorities.

The consultation is open until 28 February 2022. The government is seeking views on their proposals, which include:

  • Schools to be required to have an attendance policy which must have regard to the statutory guidance on the expectations of schools.
  • Guidance on the expectations of local authority attendance services.
  • A national framework for attendance legal intervention, including a new regulatory framework for issuing fixed penalty notices.
  • Bring the rules for granting leaves of absence in academies in line with other state-funded schools.

Data collection trial

Schools have also been asked to sign up to a new daily attendance data collection trial. This will send data from school registers directly to the trial, which will then be analysed by experts. The Children’s Commissioner is also examining local authority data to determine how best to support children who are persistently absent from school.

Will penalty notices increase?

The government will publish its response to the consultation after it closes at the end of February. It seems like the government is taking a hard stance towards school absences, and is particularly keen for local authorities to use penalty notices to promote attendance. Therefore, it is possible that the use of penalty notices will increase in the not-too-distant future.

Criminal defence solicitors in England & Wales

If you are facing a school non-attendance penalty or prosecution and you need a solicitor, please contact us at Ashmans. We represent clients across England and Wales. Get confidential legal advice during a free, no obligation enquiry.

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