School absense fine - anyone not paid and been prosecuted?

[Cms1974]

Has anyone not paid the fine and not heard anymore or been proscecuted ? Does anyone know what the criteria is for a head to be able to fine? Ie number of days, poor attendance as well as time off for a holiday....lets thanks in advance

The head doesn't fine you, it's nothing to so with the school, it's the local authority. And yes, people have been prosecuted for non-payment; it doesn't just go away.

In our school the only parents fined had children who already had poor attendence.

They paid and expected it. I have never been fined.

I would imagine that the lea or council are fairly on top of prosecuting non payers

On our local news just now. West Sussex:

900 fines 12-13
2400 fines 13-14
2800 fines 14-15

The policy will be clearly set out on the counil website. It is the council who fine not the school, if they issues the fine they will follow up non payment, it won't just go away!

Its just a way of getting extra money for a council, nothing to do with upholding educational standards through attendance.

So you won't just get away with not paying- its the council issuing the fine...

It doesn't go away. You need to work with the school/Education Access officer about absences and agree plans when absence becomes a problem to avoid being fined.

Each school has an attendance policy which sets out when they will refer to the local authority for a penalty notice to be issued. Most of the schools in the authority I work for refer after 10 sessions (one week) if unauthorised holiday or if attendance hasn't improved after a warning letter (5 missed sessions although the schools usually exercise some discretion and will try to support if family having problems).
I have seen parents fined for not paying the penalty charge. And the fine can be upto £2500.

No I paid my fine! My son's missed the first week back to school as we were on holiday, we got fined.

It is the head(in my area anyway) county council confirmed this in writing.

I'm a HT. We 'authorise' the fine but we don't implement it or see the money from it. If you don't pay it goes to the Magistrates court and you get a caution (but in the case of one of my parents) you then don't have to pay the fine.
Bloody stupid system all around. We get all of the flack and bad will from the parents, the children go away anyway and then we don't see the money.
It's a complete waste of my time but I'd be criticised by OFSTED for not implementing it