School absence fine?

[indianabones2021]

So just had a letter from the school saying 2 weeks absence will not be approved and if we decide to go ahead we'll be referred to the Local Education Authority, Birmingham, where we may be issued a Penalty Notice or have legal action taken.

We have 2 kids (9 and 7) - would be first absence of this type for both.

Questions:

• I am pretty sure we'll be fined, but what would it be? £80 per parent - per child for the whole absence period (2 weeks) or per day?
• What is this legal action they mention?
• What are the chances of this "legal action"?

Thank you.

I would say it doesn't make much difference. My friend works on this in a school in a very deprived area - the people not bringing their kids to school are not sunning themselves for 2 weeks in Spain but they have addiction issues and extreme poverty and chaotic lifestyles that prevent children attending school regularly and sadly these fines don't really address these issues.

The only real issue is the stage 3 as far as I can see. It looks horrendous

I’m wondering how these fines work for families struggling with emotionally based school avoidance. How does it work?
Especially with teens who are impossible to physically manoevre in to school .
The only solution seems to deregister them to be home educated? But is this the best solution? If a child is maybe attending 75% of the time for ebsa reasons , is this not better than withdrawing them from school altogether?. Previously for instance schools could enter ebsa as an absence code, but the support out of school is simply not available, and if all avenues (camhs, gp, therapy etc) have been exhausted , is it simply the case that the government assume that the best solution for families already in crisis is to fine the parents and drag them through court?

So I’ve spent time reading up on this in more detail. Specifically the law and the council’s enforcement policies. Links are below.

In amongst all the lengthy legal talk it seems the school can only refer absences to the council if there are 10 sessions (5 days) worth in a 10 week period. In essence you could take your kids out 4.5 days every 10 weeks and according to these policies they cannot refer the matter to the council. They call it the absence "threshold".

I see no evidence that you get multiple fines for one absence period.

It also indicates that you would have to be a repeat offender for proceedings to be taken to court. Since this is the first and only time (i hope) there is little chance of that happening.

Please correct me if you think I'm wrong in my interpretation.

https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/29494/bcceducationprosecutionpolicy2024.pdf

https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/29495/bcceducationpenaltynoticecodeofconductseptember2024.pdf

I'm going to dwell over this before I approach the headteacher. I don't plan on bringing up these topics but I do want to understand in more detail the sudden change. My younger daughter tells me her best friend still isn't back from holiday and we're 8 school days into the new year.

I'm very worried about this - my son is autistic and ebsa and we're currently fighting the ehcp battle for appropriate school provision. His attendance last year was under 60%... he does attend nearly every day but is late (so classed as late after registration or unauthorised ) I thankfully have family who help take him in otherwise I'd never make it to work.

My main concern is if we receive a parenting order or a jail sentence how will I work? I work with children and my dh works with vulnerable adults which both require a dbs check. I'm passed myself with worry.

Correspondence from our school has said that you don't have to meet the threshold in order for them to refer you for a fine. This is stop people taking their kids out for 4.5 days to try and beat the system, @indianabones2021

But how can your school enforce this? In our case the school has a page for absence but is brief and shares links to the council. They also have a letter which I will try and upload in the morning. It says exactly the same. 10 sessions in 10 weeks for fines to be issued.

Doesn't your school have to refer it to the local council?

Honestly, I would risk the legal action on principle! It's often not possible to see grandparents (who live abroad) in school holidays for many different reasons. Spending time with extended family is important, and yes, you shouldn't have to wait until they are on their death bed!

I agree. Are any other culturally compatible nations that have such draconian measures?

i would wager, a LOT, that most parents taking their kids out for 14 consecutive days are doing it for the cheap guaranteed sun

Possibly where it is a consecutive spell. But these aren't the kids being failed. It's the kids who attend maybe two or three times a week, and have parents who don't prioritise their education. The children that my friend deals with are lucky if they get a new school uniform at the start of the year, never mind a holiday. And these fines don't address these issues that are ingrained into certain areas.

yes

but this scenario is about 14 consecutive days

Is there a particular reason why you can’t travel in the long summer, Easter or October half term holidays (that is, if you have a two week October holiday)? Have you checked the absence and performance data for the school on the school performance tables - it can be very illuminating.

You ask a lot of questions but the simple answer is always the same... ££££

Just put some rough dates in for a family on SkyScanner or Google and you'll soon understand.

Do you intend to homeschool? That way you needn't bother about term dates. Just have holidays when you want.

So the letter that the school's website refers to is below. EDIT, I wasn't able to paste the picture so I'll paste the text:

Re: National Framework for Penalty Notices for school absence
I am taking this opportunity to write to inform you of some important
changes the Department for Education is introducing regarding school
attendance and the issuing of penalty notices when children are absent from
school.
A new National Framework for Penalty Notices is being introduced. The new
regulations will come into effect from the 19th of August 2024. The aim is to
improve consistency in the use of penalty notices across England.
The national framework includes:
• A single consistent national threshold for when a penalty notice
must be considered of ten sessions (usually equivalent to five
school days) for any unauthorised absence within a rolling ten
school week period. The 10-week period may span different terms
or school years. For example, two sessions of unauthorised absence
in the summer term and a further eight during the autumn term.
• An increase to the rate of a penalty notice from £120 to £160 if paid
within 28 days and £60 to £80 if paid within 21 days. If a second
penalty notice is issued to the same parent for the same child within
a rolling three-year period, the notice will be charged at the higher
rate of £160 with no option for this second offence to be discharged
at £80.
• A national limit of two penalty notices that can be issued to a parent
for the same child within a rolling three-year period, so at the 3rd
(or subsequent) offence(s) another tool must be considered (such
as prosecution or another attendance legal interventions).
This means that if you have applied for a leave of absence to take place from
September 2024 and the school has not agreed to authorise it, you may
receive a penalty notice at the level prescribed by the new framework.
Please be aware that new legislation does not allow schools to authorise any
holidays in term time or authorise leave retrospectively.
The local authority is in the process of consulting with schools and partner
agencies to develop a revised local code of conduct. The document will be
published on Birmingham City Council’s website.

The links to Birmingham Council's policies are below:

https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/29494/bcc^educationprosecutionpolicy^2024.pdf

https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/29495/bcc^educationpenaltynoticecodeofconductseptember^2024.pdf

From these I want to quote a couple of portions:

"When may a penalty notice for absence be appropriate?
12. When a school becomes aware that the national threshold has been met,
they must consider whether a penalty notice can and should be issued or
not. The national threshold has been met when a pupil has been recorded
as absent for 10 sessions (usually equivalent to 5 school days) within 10
school weeks, "

"13. Birmingham City Council will consider issuing penalty notices within the
national framework in the following circumstances:
▪ Ongoing unauthorised absence - When:
o a pupil has had a minimum of 10 sessions of unauthorised
absence within a period of 10 school weeks;"

Yep - that's an option. Thanks for the recommendation.

Can't the grandmother come to you?

Is healthy enough to move about but not healthy enough to travel.

But this thread isn't about that - it's about the penalties for school absences.

If you can afford to consider home schooling I can't understand why you can't afford to travel in the school holidays.

It wasn't a seriously reply. That post clearly skipped through 3 pages where I highlight multiple times that the whole reason is to travel during term time like the majority of others is price.

Thank you for explaining. Sometimes there are things people can't afford to do. If you want to breach the rules to do it more cheaply it seems that you will have to accept the consequences of that.

What’s your relationship like with the school generally Op?

We have a good relationship. Our kids are well behaved, never received any complaints. We haven't ever needed to request any time off before.

Honestly 2 weeks off for a holiday is a lot. Imagine if everyone did that. Lots of people have family abroad, myself included. Just think it’s morally wrong.