School attendance

Children must get an education between the school term after their fifth birthday and the last Friday of June in year 11.

Please note: pupils cannot leave school when they turn 16 years old, all pupils now finish school at the same time.

The government state that a child who attends school 90 per cent or below is a persistent absentee. However, appropriate levels of attendance depend on the child’s individual circumstances. Good attendance however is 97 per cent or above and children should not have unauthorised absence as this means the absence is illegal.

• Good school attendance starts with good home routines, ensure your child gets to bed at the right time and is not in front of an electronic screen an hour before they should be going to sleep.
• Always contact school staff for help at the earliest opportunity.
• Never cover for your child’s absence this only empowers a child to do what they want to do and prevents you from controlling the situation, tell the school exactly why the child is not coming into school.
• Accept help offered and respond to the advice given.
• Accept referrals to explore different strategies
• If you don’t understand anything or are not happy with what is happening you need to tell school staff or Education Welfare staff so that we can try to answer your questions or concerns.
• Be positive about the school to your child even if you have concerns. Concerns need to be raised and addressed with school staff but never run a school down in front of your child.
• Listen to your child, spend time with them to give them space to talk about what is concerning them and reassure them that there is no problem too big or too small that they can’t talk about, we have to work harder at this with teenagers than younger children and it is often best to engage a teenager in an activity to create the space for them to open up.
• If you feel your child is anxious contact your GP to discuss this.
• Take a parenting class, parenting is the hardest job in the world and the most rewarding
• Attend all the appointments given where possible or if you can’t attend, contact the Attendance Support Officer (ASO) or professional to rearrange.

The day must be exclusively set apart for religious observance by the religious body to which the parents belong. It is one day per religious observance so for example Eid absence would be one day per Eid. Parents must apply for religious observance absence directly to the school.

Please either contact your child’s school for their telephone number or call Attendance Support Team Education Welfare on 01582 548174.

Attendance generally has a direct link to attainment. Absence can also affect a child socially and impact on the way they see themselves as a learner. The government’s most recent research into the impact of absence on school showed that as absence increased, pupils attainment at year 6 SATS and year 11 GCSEs decreased even for those having a few days off of school.

Parents are responsible for ensuring that a child receives an education. One way you can do this is by registering them at a school and ensuring they attend school regularly. If a child is on a school roll, other adults who have day to day care of a child are also responsible for ensuring a child attends school.

The best way of fulfilling your legal duty for regular school attendance is by escorting the child to school and handing them over to the appropriate member of school staff.

This means that your child has unauthorised (illegal) absence and the local authority is making you aware that they are collecting evidence for a possible prosecution case if this continues. You will not be prosecuted without being made aware of this by an ASO either by letter or verbally.

At court you will be prosecuted for failing to send your child to school regularly (this means your case will be heard in court and if you are found guilty of breaking the law you can receive a criminal record plus a fine/community service/custodial sentence and court costs).

You will be asked to give your plea of guilty or not guilty. If you plead not guilty the case will be adjourned for a trial and recommended to seek legal advice, if you plead guilty the prosecutor will outline the facts for the court and you will then be given an opportunity to give your side of things before the court makes a judgement.

If you are prosecuted and found guilty of the offence of failing to send your child to school regularly you will receive a criminal record. If you have initially been given the option of paying a penalty notice, you will not receive a criminal record if the fine is paid.

Yes, if your child attends school after the register is closed they will receive an unauthorised late mark which is an unauthorised absence.

Your child must start full-time education once they reach compulsory school age. This is on 31 December, 31 March or 31 August following their 5th birthday, whichever comes first. If your child’s 5th birthday is on one of those dates, then they reach compulsory school age on that date.

You could be issued with a penalty notice if your child misses school without permission.

Read more in our Luton Penalty Notices Code of Conduct.

Reasons for penalty notices include:

• truancy
• unauthorised absence
• your child was identified during a school attendance and exclusion sweep
• excluded pupils found in a public place during the first 5 days of exclusion
• holidays in term time without permission

Note: Legal action may be taken if a family goes on holiday during term time without the school's permission. Instead of a penalty notice, the case could go directly to the Magistrates for their consideration in court. If found guilty by the Magistrates, parents could each face a fine of up to £2,500 and/or 3 months imprisonment.

Who should I contact about a penalty notice?

Penalty notice requests are made by schools to the local authority in which their school is based. For example, a pupil who lives in Central Bedfordshire but attends a Luton school will receive a penalty notice from Luton Borough Council. If your child lives in Luton but attends a school outside of Luton, you may receive a penalty notice from the local authority in which your child's school is based. 

When contacting the local authority about any penalty notice fines that you have received due to school absence, please ensure that you contact the correct local authority.

How much does a penalty notice cost?

The Department for Education has introduced a new Statutory National Framework, that all schools and local authorities in England must follow from 19 August 2024.

There is now a single consistent national threshold for when a penalty notice must be considered by all schools in England of 10 sessions (usually equivalent to 5 school days) of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10 school week period. These sessions do not have to be consecutive and can be made up of a combination of any type of unauthorised absence, including lateness.

• if a penalty notice is issued for an offence of unauthorised absence, the first will attract a fine of up to £160 per pupil, per parent (reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days)
• a second offence in three years will attract a flat rate fine of £160 per pupil, per parent

Schools and local authorities cannot issue a third penalty notice in 3 years, and must consider other sanctions, which may include prosecution.

Penalty notices are sent by post.

Please speak to the school if you need more information about the new rules.

Fines are payable to Luton Borough Council. All penalty notice fine payments are retained by Luton Borough Council and are used for the purposes of administering the local penalty notice scheme.

For absences recorded by Luton schools prior to 19 August 2024, penalty fines cost £60 per child, per parent, if you pay within 21 days or £120 per child, per parent if you pay within 28 days. You could be prosecuted if you don’t pay the fine after 28 days.

How to pay

Please follow the payment instructions on the reverse of the penalty notice invoice.

What happens if I don't pay my fine within 28 days?

If you are issued with a penalty notice fine and do not pay by the 28th day deadline you will receive a Notice of Intended Prosecution. If the penalty notice still remains unpaid the Attendance Support Team will consider taking prosecution action under section 444 Education Act 1996.

Withdrawal of a penalty notice

A penalty notice can only be withdrawn if it:

• contains errors
• is shown that it should not have been issued
• did not follow the Luton Penalty Notice Code of Conduct.

Appeal a penalty notice

There is no right of appeal against a penalty notice. Contact your child's school if you think a penalty notice should not have been issued.

Contact the Attendance Support Team
For questions about a Penalty Notice or a Notice of Intended Prosecution letter.

T: 01582 548 174
E: [email protected]
Monday to Thursday 9am to 5pm 
Friday 9am to 4pm

Children can attend school under normal circumstances with minor symptoms. Parents have to make a judgement on when a child is really too unwell to leave the house and needs to stay at home and rest.

However, if a child has frequent absences schools have a responsibility to verify if the level of absence is necessary. If you are unsure whether to send a child into school or not you can send them in and let the school know your concerns so they can monitor the situation and send the child home as appropriate.

If you are unable to get a medical appointment outside of school time you should send your child into school wherever possible either side of this.

If the authenticity of illness is in doubt, schools can request parents provide medical evidence to support illness. The right evidence will vary depending on the situation but it needs to prove that the child was unable to attend on that session. Medical evidence can take the form of prescriptions, appointment cards, hospital letters, discharge notes etc rather than doctors’ notes.

No, it is schools discretion whether to authorise the absence or not. Absence should only be for unavoidable reasons. Schools generally will accept the reason given to them by parents but if they have cause for concern they do not have to authorise the absence and they may request evidence to support the reason given.