Action we can take
If your child does not attend school regularly and on time, we may take legal action against you. This could include any of the following.
Education Supervision Order
If we think you need support getting your child to go to school but you are not co-operating, we can apply to the family court for an Education Supervision Order.
A supervising officer will be appointed to work with you on your child's attendance at school. You may be prosecuted if you don't comply with reasonable directions.
Penalty Notice
A Penalty Notice is a type of financial penalty you must pay. It can be issued to you if your child has an unauthorised absence from school. Penalty Notices are issued per parent, per child.
If you pay the Penalty Notice, you will no longer be criminally liable for the period of unauthorised absence. If you do not pay, you may be prosecuted in a criminal court.
From 19 August 2024, there will be changes to the rules for issuing penalty notices and how much you must pay.
For full details – including how much you must pay, how to pay, and changes from 19 August 2024 – go to Penalty Notices.
Prosecution
If the decision is made to prosecute you, depending on the offence you may receive:
- a financial penalty of up to £1,000 per parent, per child.
- a financial penalty of up to £2,500 per parent, per child, and/or 3 months in prison.
The higher penalty will apply if it's evident you were aware of your child's poor attendance at school and there was no reasonable justification for the absence.
Parenting Order
Following prosecution, the court may issue you with a Parenting Order. The full requirements of the order will be set out when it is issued by the court.
All Parenting Orders require attendance at parenting classes for up to 12 weeks. We will arrange and supervise these parenting classes. Orders will also tell you what you must do to improve your child's school attendance.
If you do not comply with an order, the matter will be taken back to court and you may be given a more serious penalty.
School Attendance Order
We may issue a School Attendance Order if we think your child is not getting an efficient and suitable full-time education, either at school or at home.
For example, you may have:
- failed to apply for a school place
- declined the offer of school place
- registered your child for 'elective home education' but failed to satisfy us that you are providing a suitable education
If you receive a School Attendance Order, you must enrol your child at a named school within 15 days. If you do not, you will be prosecuted through the Magistrates Court.
Once you comply with the School Attendance Order:
- it will remain in force for the rest of your child's time in primary or secondary education
- your child must remain on the school roll of the named school
- you will not be allowed to move your child to a different school or withdraw them from the school without our permission