Code of conduct for issuing penalty notices for unauthorised absence from school

A Notice to Improve is a final opportunity for a parent to engage in support and improve attendance before a penalty notice is issued. If the national threshold has been met and support is appropriate but offers of support have not been engaged with by the parent or have not worked, a Notice to Improve may be sent to give parents a final chance to engage in support. A Notice to Improve does not need to be issued in cases where support is not appropriate and an authorised officer can choose not to use one in any case, including cases where support is appropriate, but they do not expect a Notice to Improve would have any behavioural impact (e.g. because the parent has already received one for a similar offence).

The Local Authority will issue the notice to improve after support (where appropriate) has been implemented and prior to a penalty notice being issued (where appropriate). The Notice to Improve should be issued with an identified improvement period of 6 weeks (60 sessions) in order to achieve sustained change. However, if unauthorised absence continues, the Local Authority will consider issuing a penalty notice after 3 weeks (30 sessions).