School attendance - what you need to know

Why school attendance matters

By law, children aged 5 to 16 must be in full-time education. This can be at school or through home education. If your child goes to school, you must:

register them at a school
make sure they attend every day
make sure they arrive on time

Regular attendance helps children:

make friends and build confidence
learn routines that prepare them for adult life
achieve better results and improve future opportunities

Missing school can lead to:

falling behind in lessons
emotional or physical harm
risk of exploitation or involvement in crime

Why 90% attendance isn’t good enough

If your child attends school 90% of the time, they miss:

half a day of school every week
four weeks of school every year
over a school career, this adds up to a full year of missed education

Even small absences can have a big impact on your child’s learning and future.

What schools do

Schools take a register twice a day. If your child misses school without a valid reason, it’s marked as unauthorised absence.

You must tell the school if your child is ill. If you don’t, or if you don’t provide medical evidence when asked, the absence may be marked as unauthorised.

Arriving late can also be recorded as unauthorised if your child misses the register.

Authorised absences

These include:

genuine illness
medical or dental appointments
death of a close relative
religious observance

Unauthorised absences

These include:

shopping trips
birthday treats
oversleeping
looking after siblings
parent or carer being unwell
letting tradespeople into the house
holidays during term time

Holidays in term time

You must not take your child out of school during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. The headteacher decides whether to approve the request based on:

the reason for the leave
the impact on your child’s education
the number of days requested
your child’s attendance record

If you take your child out without permission, you may receive a penalty notice.

You can read more on our family holidays during term time page

Penalty notices and fines

From August 2024:

£80 per parent, per child if paid within 21 days
£160 if paid between 22 and 28 days
if unpaid, you may be taken to court

If you receive two penalty notices for the same child within three years, you will not be offered a third notice. Instead, you may be prosecuted.

Penalty notices are sent by post and must be paid in full online. You cannot pay in instalments or appeal the notice.

For more information you can read our Code of Conduct (PDF, 148 Kb), which we must follow each time we issue a penalty notice.

You can find out more about penalty notices on the notices to improve and penalty notices page.

Legal action

You may be taken to court if:

your child’s attendance falls below 80%
you don’t pay a penalty notice

If convicted:

you could be fined up to £1,000 for a first offence
up to £2,500 or 3 months in prison for repeated offences
a criminal record may be added to the Police National Computer and shared in DBS checks

Before taking legal action, the council will:

invite you to a meeting or send a written questionnaire
explain your legal rights
ask you to be honest and open about the situation

Support is available

If you're struggling, talk to your child’s school. They can:

meet with you at school or at home
help you understand what’s affecting attendance
connect you with other services
complete an Early Help Assessment if needed

The council’s attendance team can also help.
📧 [email protected]
📞 01274 435743