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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

we will report your childs attendance to LA who will fine you? really?

48 replies

nailak · 12/10/2011 20:58

if your child is under 5 and in reception, and school is not even compulsory for them, if their attendance is less then 80% in the first half term, which was full time from the off, with no settling period?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

baffledmum · 12/10/2011 21:03

hard to say without understanding the background.

DD started school 2 months after 4th birthday and school expected full attendance and there wasn't any settling in period. Did you agree reduced attendance with the Head in advance? Am not saying whether you have to agree that but why would you send a child to school and then take him / her out as you think necessary without speaking with the teacher / Head.

Original poster

nailak · 12/10/2011 21:06

so if there was no discussion with head, the la can fine for a child not attending non compulsory schooling?

OP posts:

oneofsuesylvesterscheerios · 12/10/2011 21:11

I guess as soon as you enrole at school you are agreeing to the home/school contract which will be linked to attendance in reception as much as it is for any other year?

Original poster

nailak · 12/10/2011 21:13

so is that contract with LA? and is breaking the contract finable? so if my child breaks any of the behaviour rules she/we are up for fine?

OP posts:

malinois · 12/10/2011 21:23

Fines are not for breaching the home-school contract, they are for breaching the law requiring all 5-16yo to be in suitable education. As you are not breaching the law, you will not be fined.

BoulevardOfBrokenSleep · 12/10/2011 21:28

Did they maybe just send you a standard letter, without considering the fact that your DC was under 5?

Or maybe just trying to put the wind up you, low attendance drags down the school's OFSTED score apparently.

Original poster

nailak · 12/10/2011 22:08

thats what i thought, but i felt i better check...

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whenIgetto3 · 12/10/2011 22:34

it is probably just the bog standard letter, they don't even check the letter it is computer generated. We got one last year about our Yr2 DS, he had left the school 8 weeks earlier and hence his attendance dropped below 80%, just reinforced my view that the school had no idea of what was going on in it

incognitofornow · 12/10/2011 22:36

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whenIgetto3 · 12/10/2011 22:44

after Easter holidays I think

incognitofornow · 12/10/2011 22:44

This reply has been deleted

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whenIgetto3 · 12/10/2011 22:44

as in next years Easter holiday (term after he turns 5)

incognitofornow · 12/10/2011 22:45

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whenIgetto3 · 12/10/2011 22:45

thats school year obviously (sorry keep re reading and realising its not clear)

AnxiousElephant · 12/10/2011 22:59

Yes this is true.
It is true that schooling is not compulsory until 5 but if you have chosen to attend at 4 then the contract requires 100% attendance if possible. So they can refer to the LA and dole out fines although it is usually after several discussions and many repeat unscheduled non attendance.

whenIgetto3 · 12/10/2011 23:01

are you sure or does it vary between LA? Our school told me to take DD out on Friday as I needed to pick her up early and they said it didn't matter as she didn't really have to be there are she was still only 4 and they couldn't enforce it

wonkylegs · 12/10/2011 23:02

Compulsory the term after your child turns 5

Saracen · 12/10/2011 23:16

You cannot be fined by the LA because you have not broken the law.

Having signed (or not) a home school agreement does not make any difference, as is clear from the government's statutory guidance to LAs in June 2011:

"Breaches of the terms of the agreement will not be actionable through the courts. Furthermore, a child must not be excluded from school, or face punishment, as a result of a parent?s failure to sign the agreement or abide by their declaration. Furthermore parents should not face any sanction for either not signing the home-school agreement or failing to abide by its requirements."

www.education.gov.uk/schools/pupilsupport/parents/involvement/hsa/a0014718/home-school-agreements

whenIgetto3 · 12/10/2011 23:21

well we must have a nice school as we never signed a home school contract :)

Original poster

nailak · 13/10/2011 00:32

They tried to make dd sign it before summer, they didn't read it to her and she couldn't write

OP posts:

madhattershouse · 13/10/2011 00:40

We have a home/school agreement. For our school it is more about behaviour codes and putting in effort in class. A scribble was all that was required, none of mine could write prior to reception. Under 5's are such a small percentage of the school and most letters are generated by computers, therefore it will be one of those annoying automatically sent memos. Just wait till you get parentmail and parentpay e-mails...3 messages to remind me that I haven't paid for something not due for another 2 weeks. Bloomin computers!

Saracen · 13/10/2011 07:48

"They tried to make dd sign it before summer, they didn't read it to her and she couldn't write"

Excellent training in consumer education: sign whatever is put in front of you.

soandsosmummy · 13/10/2011 11:51

Well unless your child was ill or you had another very good reason for taking her out I think YABU. A place is being provided for your child that another family may have desperately wanted, you're in the fortunate position of getting no settling in period (perhaps you're SAHM so don't really care about the massive inconvenience) and you decide you can only be bothered to send your child to school 4 days in 5.

Whether the law says she should be there or no they should fine you for taking advantage of the system in this way. Its a school not a drop in centre.

soandsosmummy · 13/10/2011 11:57

Sorry maybe a bit harsh for this board (thought I was on Am I being unreasonable?)

Seriously though I don't know where all this stuff about settling in periods comes from. DD went full time from the start and was fine and I think most children would be.

AnxiousElephant · 13/10/2011 12:29

I think more importantly it is how it will affect her socially. When a particular child is constantly off/ missing work that other children have covered then they start to become a bit ostracised in that the common ground with their peers shrinks. It makes them stand out as being different which is really not a good thing at that age as all they want is to fit in.

It is completely normal for reception aged children to be really tired after school, so there is no need for lengthy settling in, especially as now children attend pre-school before school on the whole. I was 4.4 when I started and we went straight in on full days, I hadn't been to pre-school and still had an afternoon nap of 2 hours just before going to school - I coped!

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