Legal interventions
Legal interventions for non attendance
This page provides guidance to schools on suggested practice. Information included on this page should not be taken to represent school policy or statutory guidance. Parents seeking clarification should consult the relevant school attendance policy.
To access the main school attendance legal team website click here. This provides the most up to date information. You will need to log in to the Lancashire Portal to view these pages.
News:
Penalty Notices for Unauthorised Leave in Term Time – High Court Judgement 13/05/16 - Update
On 13th May Jon Platt successfully defended himself against the Isle of Wight's appeal to the High Court with regards to an unpaid penalty notice for unauthorised leave in term time where a magistrates had ruled there was no case to answer due to overall good attendance.
The transcript of the hearing has now been published and Nick Gibb, the Minister for Schools has issued a letter to all Local Authorities and Headteachers (attached) which outlines the government position on the matter.
In this letter he points out that the Isle of Wight case does not set a precedent and that each case will have to be considered in terms of the individual facts. As an example, he references the fact that the school involved in the Isle of Wight case had an attendance policy which stated that 90% is 'satisfactory'. We would therefore recommend that all schools who have implemented the use of penalty notices to tackle school non-attendance now review their attendance policies and any other literature produced by the school to ensure that they are not in contradiction with the Local Authority code of conduct for issuing penalty notices.
As we have previously advised, it is also clear that the government intend to strengthen the law around this issue – this could happen quickly, so in the light of this and the above, no decision to change practice or the code of conduct has been made.
Schools should continue to request warning letters and penalty notices in respect of unauthorised leave and unauthorised absences as normal and the Local Authority will continue to issue them. Decisions regarding prosecutions for unpaid penalty notices will be made on an individual level but it is anticipated that any unpaid fines will be prosecuted as per normal procedures.
Click here to see the letter to schools from Nick Gibb.
The main legal interventions used for non attendance relate to Penalty Notices and Section 444 prosecutions (what could be described as the more traditional court route). In Lancashire Penalty Notices are used for cases between approximately 65- 85% attendance whilst section 444 prosecutions are used for cases below 65%. THIS IS A GUIDE ONLY AS PENALTY NOTICES FOR UNAUTHORISED LEAVE MAY NOT FALL INTO THIS DESCRIPTION OR IN FACT THOSE ISSUED AT THE START OF AN ACADEMIC YEAR.
Penalty Notices:
A penalty notice can be served for all parents with responsibility for a pupil. The fine is currently £120 per parent unless it is paid within the first 21 days. In this instance the penalty is reduced to £60. A penalty notice can be served for cases of truancy, unauthorised lateness or unauthorised leave. Failure to pay after 28 days will result in a prosecution for non attendance at school.
The guidance document attached explains the process in detail.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A TRAINING DOCUMENT NOT STATUTORY GUIDANCE OR INDICATIVE OF REQUIRED PRACTICE.
Click here for a copy of the Education Penalty Notice Code.
Schools wishing to use a penalty notice should discuss the case with their Court Officer. Contact details below.
Click here for the PN1 forms North, South or East which are used to request a notice for unauthorised lateness and truancy.
Click here for the PN2 forms North, South or East which are used for an unauthorised holiday.
Section 444 prosecution
This is appropriate for cases of more chronic non attendance- less than 65%. Absences should be largely unauthorised. School should ensure that they are able to provide evidence of their work to engage parents and improve pupil attendance.
Click here for a copy of the prosecution determination report North, South, East. This is used to refer a case for consideration to the court officer.
Click here to be directed to the school portal legal interventions page for additional information
Court Officer contact details |
Area Officer Email
North Callum O'Donnell Callum.o'donnell@lancashire.gov.uk
South Helen Lister helen.lister@lancashire.gov.uk
East Riz Yousf Riz.Yousf@lancashire.gov.uk
Evidence for non attendance prosecutions |Evidence for non attendance prosecutions : Adobe Acrobat file (7.4k)
More detailed information can be found in the guidance document above and also on the attendance area of moodle- click here to be redirected.
PLEAS NOTE THIS IS TRAINING DOCUMENT NOT A POLICY DOCUMENT
When collecting evidence remember:
address letters to each parent separately
the evidentiary period for a Penalty Notice goes back 3 months from the date of the request to the court officer, for a section 444 prosecution go back 4 months from the date of the request
obtain the parents date of birth when possible- consider using the attached 'family information sheet'
evidence should be collected to show how the school has worked with the parents to ensure that they are aware of the issues of non attendance. School should evidence support offered alongside copies of letters, texts, phone calls and home visits
evidence should not be simply a chronology- consider the action points agreed as an outcome of meetings and if these have been actioned by the parents. Click here for an example of the style of logging that may be used by a school
SIMS can be used to log information in a format that is easy to access- for example, the comments tab, communication or behaviour management log
Click here for a guide to the writing of a witness statement.
Click here for an example of a completed witness statement
Click here for an example of a completed evidence request form for PN1
Click here for an example of a completed evidence request form for PN2
Penalty Notice information for parents |Penalty Notice information for parents : Adobe Acrobat file (212.6k)
Translated leaflets (Hungarian, Romanian, Lithuanian, Polish, Latvian, Pakistani Punjabi and Urdu) are available at:
https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/children-education-families/schools/pay-an-education-penalty-notice/