School attendance

An unauthorised absence is any absence not agreed by your child's school.

Find out how to avoid unauthorised absence by understanding your legal responsibility as a parent or carer.

If your child has an unauthorised absence

If your child has an unauthorised absence, you may receive a fine, known as a penalty notice. It’s an alternative to being prosecuted in court.

We treat unauthorised absences by following the guidance set out in Working together to improve school attendance (GOV.UK) and our Education Penalty Notice Local Code of Conduct:

When we consider issuing a penalty notice

We consider issuing a fixed penalty notice when a child has had 10 sessions of unauthorised absence within 10 school weeks. This is usually equivalent to 5 school days. The period of 10 school weeks may span more than one term or school year.

Who receives the penalty notice

We’ll issue a penalty notice to each parent or carer for each child who has an unauthorised absence. For example, if 3 children in the same family are absent, each parent or carer would receive 3 fixed penalty notices.

How much you’ll need to pay

First penalty notice

The first fine is charged at:

• £80 per child, if paid within 21 days
• £160 per child, if paid between 22 and 28 days

Second penalty notice

The fine for a second offence within 3 years is charged at:

• £160 per parent, per child, payable within 28 days
• there is no reduced sum available in this instance

Further offences within 3 years

We’ll refer any further unauthorised absences within 3 years to the magistrate’s court for consideration and possible prosecution.