Attendance and truancy

Parents are responsible for making sure that their children of compulsory school age receive a suitable full-time education.

This can be by regular attendance at a registered education setting or otherwise, for example, the parent can choose to educate their child at home.

School attendance - going in, not missing out

Coming to school every day helps children to have fun, to learn, to make new friends and to experience new things. It prepares them for adult life and provides opportunities to gain qualifications and skills.

The evidence shows that missing even a few mornings or afternoons each week or month can make it much harder for your child to keep up with their learning and to be a full part of their school.

In the longer term, we know that children who regularly miss school are less likely to get the good qualifications and skills which can help them to get a job.

Consequences of poor attendance

We have the right to issue parents with a fine ('fixed penalty notice') or prosecute them if their child does not attend school regularly.

Under the new statutory guidelines, all schools are required to consider a fine when a child has missed 10 or more sessions (5 days) for unauthorised reasons.

From August 2024, the fine for school absences across the country will be £80 if paid within 21 days, or £160 if paid within 28 days. This cost is per child, and so will be charged for each child involved in an unauthorised absence. If a parent receives a second fine for the same child within any three-year period, this will be charged at the higher rate of £160.

Fines per parent will be capped to two fines within any three-year period. Once this limit has been reached, other action like a parenting order or prosecution will be considered.

If you are prosecuted and attend court because your child has not been attending school, you could be fined up to £2,500.

Money raised via fines is only used by the local authority to cover the costs of administering the system, and to fund attendance support. Any extra money is returned to the government.

See more information about fines for parents from taking children out of school from the Department for Education.

Responsibility of the School

Schools must keep a record of pupils' attendance. The government provide more information and guidance about school attendance.

Schools have to decide whether absences are authorised or unauthorised.

Unauthorised absences include:

being absent for a holiday in term time, unless agreed with the school
minding the house
looking after siblings or parents
going shopping
celebrating a birthday
oversleeping
arriving late for school

Authorised absence may include:

illness
medical appointments
days of religious observance
leave granted in exceptional circumstances

Only the headteacher can authorise a child's absence from school.

If you know that your child will need to be off school for some time you must contact the school in good time, requesting a leave of absence, ideally at least 14 days before any planned absence is taken. Unexpected absences should be communicated to schools on the same day.

The school may agree, or may reply saying the absence is not authorised.

Schools will follow up all absences, so you may receive a telephone call, email or text message to check where your child is.

The school will have a strong universal offer for attendance. Where issues arise, schools will use the City of York Council Graduated Response to engage with early help strategies and multi agency partners, as well as offering enhanced support in school:

if your school is worried that your child is not coming to school regularly, you may receive a warning letter
the school will get in touch with you and will offer to talk to you about what you and they can do to help your child to school every day
the school will review attendance 4 weeks later to see if your child has been at school regularly
if they are still not going to school regularly, your school will work with you through an Attendance Panel to set a target for when your child's attendance needs to improve
if they don’t meet this target, then the school can request that the local authority consider issuing a fixed penalty notice
the local authority may then issue a fixed penalty notice following a request by the school

Helping your child have good attendance at school

Parents can help their child have good attendance at school by making sure they arrive on time, take holidays when schools are closed, making sure that medical appointments are made, where possible, outside school hours.

If a parent is concerned about their child’s education then they should talk to the school as soon as possible.