Confused about school fines

[EternalAutumn]

We have a Monday - Friday holiday booked in June, intending to take DS (10) out of school in term time for the 5 days.

Will we receive the fine for this? The way I’ve understood it would be £160 total, £80 each for me and DH?
My local council website is worded in a way I can’t understand it.

I will inform the school we are taking him out and that it’s for a holiday, I’m not intending to lie.

If I send him to school on the Monday morning, so he is registered for that morning session and pick him up at lunchtime would that avoid the fine?

We have previously taken him out in term time for the last 2 years, but both times on weeks where the Monday was a bank holiday, so only 4 days off. I’ve informed the school in advance and no fines for those times. (So no previous offences)
Other than the above he has 98-100% attendance every term as thankfully he is very rarely unwell so I’m not concerned about his overall absence and adding to it by taking him out for a holiday.

Any knowledge or experiences appreciated!

Have you had any other unauthorised absences recently? Otherwise, if you send your child into register Monday morning and then collect them later you won't be fined. Your child will be missing 9 sessions that way and not 10 - the threshold for fining.

However this is provided you haven't had any other unauthorised absences recently (rules changed at the start of the academic year).

Whilst the rules changed, it is not necessarily true that you won't be fined for absence of less than 10 sessions. The new regulations require a school to consider a fine for absences of 10 or more sessions in a period of 10 school weeks. They do not prevent a school issuing a fine for a lower level of absence provided the LA's code of conduct allows it. Most LAs already required a minimum of 10 sessions absence before a fine was issued, but those that allowed fines on lower levels of absence can continue to do so if they wish.

Came to say what the 1st poster said - no fine for 9 sessions so long as no unauthorised absences within 10 weeks.

To repeat, this is not necessarily true. The school must consider a fine for an absence of 10 sessions within 10 school weeks. There is nothing in the relevant regulations that prevents them fining for lower levels of absence. Whether they can depends on their LA's code of conduct.

Our LA used to issue penalty notices for 4 days. Now it is 10 with the new strategy. If you send them in for the Monday morning session, you won’t get a fine. What time would you collect them? If you have any other absences in the 10 weeks before or after, they will fine you.

The fact that some LAs have changed their practice does not guarantee that all have. The regulations do not set a minimum level of absence below which you cannot be fined, nor do they dictate that you must be fined for 10 sessions absence in 10 school weeks. They set a marker that this should be the level of absence that attracts a fine, but they do not compel all schools and LAs to conform. We don't know which LA or school is involved in OP's case, so those posters saying she definitely won't get a fine if she sends them in on Monday morning are guessing.

Thanks for the replies. He’s had no other absences at all this academic year and no plans for any before this June holiday, presumably sickness wouldn’t be unauthorised as obviously I can’t plan for that!
I need to find out what time they do lunch and afternoon registration to determine when I’d collect him. Although as long as he’s signed in for the morning session (which would make 9 absent sessions across the week) it doesn’t matter does it?

In all the training sessions l have attended on this, I have never been told l can issue a fine for less than 10 unauthorised absences.

You could collect him at 9.05am (or as soon as the register is done) and he would still get a present mark. Might raise an eyebrow but technically you can do that.

We would still be processing registers and not mark as present if it was that soon after drop off!

It’s a national threshold now, not LA or school specific.

I wouldn’t collect him that soon anyway, it’d be at lunchtime or even after the PM registration depending what time that is!

That's why l said as soon as the registers are done

It is up to your LA. If they set a code of conduct saying you need a minimum of 10 sessions absence (which most LAs did even before the regulations changed), you cannot issue a fine for less and therefore any training will not raise the possibility. However, if your LA sets a lower minimum, you can fine for less than 10 sessions absence.

I had a child turn up at 8.40 when the doors opened and was collected at 9 after the register. She was off to centre parcs. No fine

There is a national threshold, but it is not compulsory for schools to impose a fine when the national threshold is breached. Also, the way the national threshold is set requires schools to consider fining a parent when that threshold is breached, but it does not prevent a parent being fined even if absence is below the threshold, provided the LA's code of conduct allows this. The Education (Penalty Notices) (England) 2007 as amended by the Education (Penalty Notices) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 and the Education (Penalty Notices) (England) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2024 set out the legal position. That is the law and is what matters to the courts, not the guidance you quote. But even the wording of the guidance does not say that schools cannot impose a fine for a lower number of absences, just that they must consider a fine when the national threshold is reached.

It may be that all LAs and schools will decide to impose a fine after 10 sessions absence in a 10 week period, but there is nothing forcing them to do so. The regulations clearly encourage them to fine for this amount of absence but, as I say, they do not force schools to fine at this level, nor do they prevent schools from fining at a lower level.

Personally I'd happily pay the fine but the new law that means the LA can skip the fine and send you straight to court, regardless of number of sessions, is a whole other kettle of fish. I guess if you don't work it doesn't matter but I know lots of people who can't risk a criminal record for fear of losing their job.

I really struggle to see how this draconian approach is meant to protect the most vulnerable children.

There is nothing new about that. The LA has always had that option. Fines were introduced as an alternative, but the law has never required LAs to use fines, nor has it set any minimum level before taking a parent to court. This is not some new draconian approach. This is essentially the same approach we've had for the last 14 years.

Ridiculous that it could cause someone to have a criminal conviction.

This has been the case for decades. It is not something that has been introduced recently. Prosecutions are rare and only happen in the most serious cases, where parents are not co-operating with the Education Welfare Service and there are no mitigating circumstances.