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

All state funded schools must consider whether a penalty notice is appropriate in each individual case where one of their pupils reaches the national threshold for considering a penalty notice. Schools should not have a blanket position of issuing or not issuing penalty notices and should make judgements on each individual case to ensure fairness and consistency across the country.

To ensure consistent delivery of penalty notices the following criteria will apply:

• there have been at least 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a rolling period of 10 school weeks. A school week means any week in which there is at least one school session. This can be met with any combination of unauthorised absence (e.g. 4 sessions of holiday taken in term time plus 6 sessions of arriving late after the register closes all within 10 school weeks).
• if a headteacher does not authorise a request from a parent/carer for term time leave and the parent takes the leave. (School must advise parents of this and how the action conforms to the school’s attendance policy).
• persistently late after the close of the register (coded U).
• in certain circumstances, including where ten sessions of absence comprise of unauthorised leave of absence in term time, a penalty notice can be issued without a formal warning having been issued previously.
• where a child who has been excluded is present in a public place during the first five days a penalty notice will be issued on the first occasion if appropriate.
• a penalty notice may also be issued without a formal warning if a formal warning has already been issued to the parent/carer previously.

Following the landmark case of Isle of Wight Council v Platt, parents who take their children out of school, even if their child has regular attendance, can be prosecuted if they do not have permission from the headteacher.