Penalty notice code of conduct

Regular and punctual attendance of students at school is both a legal requirement (Section 7 of the Education Act 1996) and essential for students to maximise the opportunities available to them to reach their full potential. It is parent(s) or carer's responsibility to ensure their child/ren receive(s) efficient full-time education that is suitable to their child's age, aptitude and to any special educational needs the child may have.

Education-related penalty notices were introduced by the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 which amended section 444 of the Education Act 1996 to allow parents to be issued with a penalty where they failed to ensure their child of compulsory school age (5-16) and school registered had irregular attendance.

Section 103 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 also requires parents of excluded pupils to ensure that their child is not found present in a public place during school hours in the first five days of their exclusion from school without a justifiable reason.

The Education (Penalty Notice) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 effective from 1 September 2012 increased the amount payable from a parent when a penalty notice has been issued. This applies to any parent who fails to ensure the regular attendance of their child who is of compulsory school age and who is a registered pupil at a school or who fails to ensure their child who is subject to an exclusion from school is not found in a public place during school hours without a justifiable reason.

The Education (Penalty Notices) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 effective from 1 September 2013 reduce the timescales for paying a penalty notice bringing attendance penalty notices in line with other types of penalty notices. Parents must, from 1 September 2013, pay £60 within 21 days or £120 within 28 days. Penalty notices are issued per parent per child.

If parents fail in their duties, they commit an offence either under section 444A of the Education Act 1996 or section 103 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 and can be served with a penalty notice by an authorised officer. Full payment of the penalty discharges the parent from liability for prosecution as the payment of the penalty notice is an alternative to prosecution in the magistrate court.

Penalty notices offer a means for swift intervention, which the Local Authority will use to improve attendance as an early measure to prevent non-attendance becoming entrenched.

Stockton-on-Tees Local Authority will ensure the smooth administration of the necessary process in order to fully comply with the legislation on Human Rights and ensure the consistent, fair and transparent application of penalty notices. This Code of Conduct will govern the issuing of penalty notices in Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council and will be reviewed annually.

This Code of Conduct was reviewed following the case of Isle of Wight Council (Appellant) v Platt (Respondent) [2017] UKSC 28 which was heard in the Supreme Court in 2017. That case clarified the definition of "regular attendance" and found that "regular" means in accordance with school rules. If the school requires that a child attends i.e. the school have not authorised a request for leave of absence during term time, then the parent/carer commits an offence if he/she takes the child out of school.