Frequently Asked Questions about Penalty Notices for Schools

 

What can we issue Penalty Notices for?

Penalty Notices are seen as an effective way to bring about change where a child has relatively low level of unauthorised absence, i.e. for casually condoned absences and not entrenched cases. They are an alternative to prosecution and can be requested for the following reasons.

• Where there is a minimum of 10 unauthorised sessions (5 school days) over the school year (these do not need to be consecutive); where attendance is above 60% with the exception of year 11 pupils, there is no threshold % for year 11. Cases below  60% need to be referred to EWS using the 5 step approach, although the threshold  for EWS Intervention is 75%.  
• Pupils persistently arriving after the close of the registration period and marked with a U i.e. more than 10 sessions in the current term; (Recommended that registers be kept open for thirty minutes);
• A period of 10 unauthorised sessions (5 school days) from school due to a holiday that was not authorised by school where attendance was below 92% the previous calendar year. The majority of absence in the previous school year needs to be unauthorised.

What is the cost of a Fixed Penalty Notice?

An FPN is £60 if paid within 28 days of receipt of the notice, rising to £120 if paid after 28 days but within 42 days of receipt of the FPN. The whole amount must be paid by the due date.

What happens if I do not pay a Fixed Penalty Notice?

Parents will be given up to 42 days from receipt to pay the Fixed Penalty Notice in full. If you fail to do so, the Local Authority will start proceedings in the Magistrates’ Court for the original offence of poor school attendance and/or punctuality.

If convicted of this offence under the Education Act 1996, there are a number of possible sentences including a fine of up to £1000 (in the case of a prosecution under section 444(1)) or a fine of up to £2500 and/or a period of up to 3 months’ imprisonment (in the case of a prosecution under section 444(1A)).

Can a school issue their own Penalty Notices?

No. The Fixed Penalty Notice scheme is administered by the Local Authority. You will need to send the request to the EWS to issue one.

 

After the EWS has sent a warning letter, when does the 15 school day monitoring period start?

The EWS allow 2 working days from the date of the letter for delivery before starting to monitor for further unauthorised absences. The Headteacher will receive an email to advise that the warning letter has been sent and will be advised the dates for monitoring.

 

A pupil for whom we sent a warning letter has been recorded with an N-code (no reason yet given) during the 15 school days monitoring period, what happens next?

You must establish the reason for absence. If, once a reason is provided for the absence, the absence is changed to G, O or U, we will then obtain the registration certificate from you to determine whether the case will proceed to a fixed penalty notice. We cannot proceed with the next course of action if N’s remain on the register.

 

We have a pupil in Reception who is persistently late after the register closes, can we request a warning letter?

Yes, if the pupil has reached compulsory school age. For pupils whose 5^th birthday falls between September and December, school is not compulsory until the spring term. For any pupil whose birthday falls in the Spring term, school is not compulsory until the summer term. For any pupil whose birthday falls in the summer term, it is not compulsory until the September of year 1.

 

Can I request a fixed penalty notice for a child of non-statutory school age?

No, their absences should be unauthorised in line with all other pupils, but they cannot progress to an FPN as we cannot prosecute families of pupils below statutory school age.

 

Does the 15 day warning period apply to fixed penalty notices that are being issued for holidays in term time?

No, unlike the other reasons for issuing a penalty notice, the 15 day warning period will not apply to holiday in term time absences.  Upon receipt of such a request, the EWS will proceed straight to issuing a penalty notice providing attendance was below 92% the previous calendar year and majority of absences unauthorised within that calendar year.

 

Will the amount of unauthorised absences be collated throughout the year, that is, is it a rolling total number of unauthorised absence sessions?

Yes

 

Are heritage visits considered unauthorised holidays?

Cardiff Council does not have a heritage visits policy and any request for extended leave should be treated in the same way as any other holiday.

 

How does a school request a fixed penalty notice be issued?

The request form is available on the SIMS system, which must be fully completed and return to the EWS using the updated 2022 request form with ALL supporting documentation, including the registration certificate and any other information the school feels is relevant to the case. Please send individual requests separately not as multiple PDF’s for recording purposes.

 It will be checked by the relevant EWS officer on receipt and if full evidence is not provided it will be rejected.

 

What happens if the child goes on holiday with a parent or relative that they don’t normally live with?

Schools should take steps to establish the name and address of the person that took the child on holiday and ensure this name and address is named on the form. Please do not request an FPN for the parent that the child normally lives with if they did not take the child on holiday, only for the parent who took the child.

 

What happens if parents have shared care and both parents take the child on holiday?

If the child’s attendance is below 92%, an FPN can be requested for both parents, whomever took the child on holiday.  

 

Can I request an FPN for a Year 11 child?

Yes, we’d request that all FPN requests are submitted before the Easter holidays in order to ensure any evidence we may have to produce in court is kept within the timeframes. We will consider special circumstances if schools do wish to request after this time.

 

What happens if the parent says the child is ill but we suspect there has been a holiday?

If the child has told school staff that they were on holiday, we’d advise that you ask parents to provide medical evidence for the absence. You can also check with the EWS to see if there are siblings to check their attendance on the suspected date of the holiday. If you continue to suspect there was a holiday, please record the absence as a G and the EWS will issue an FPN.  The onus will then be placed on the parent to ‘prove’ the child was unwell.

 

Can a parent/carer appeal against a penalty notice?

There is no statutory right of appeal, the scheme does not allow for mitigation to be presented. Please don’t ask that parents phone EWS if you’ve requested EWS to issue the penalty. Only schools can request for FPN’s to be withdrawn (unless there are errors contained with the FPN.) A FPN is actually a “conditional offer” for the offence of non-school attendance. In all cases the proposal is £60 fine if paid within 28 days and £120 thereafter but before 42 days. There is no flexibility, and this means mitigation is not relevant.  If parents wish to argue about the FPN, they reject this offer and attend court to present their case.

 

What happens if the penalty notice is not paid?

The local authority will institute legal proceedings for irregular school attendance (not for the non-payment of the fine) unless there is a good reason not to. If the parent pleads not guilty, the Headteacher may be called to give evidence in court.

 

What happens if the parents take the child out of school for a further holiday?

You can request further FPN’s if further holidays are taken. A total of 3 FPN’s can be issued in an academic year.

 

What happens if an FPN is issued for irregular attendance and the attendance continues to be poor?

We would not issue a further FPN in a 12-month rolling period if attendance does not improve following the FPN. The EWS request that this child move through the 5 step approach from SAO to eventual EWS referral. FPN’s should not be used to address entrenched attendance problems. Further FPN’s can be issued for holidays.

 

How soon should a request be sent for an unauthorised holiday?

Please send all requests within 2 weeks after the end of the holiday, in order to ensure any evidence we may have to produce in court is kept within the timeframes. The child must return to school before the FPN is requested to show the exact length of the holiday.

 

What will the revenue generated by the fines be used for?

Regulation 21 of The Education (Penalty Notices) (Wales) Regulations 2013 provides that the entire revenue raised by the implementation and administration of the scheme has to be applied solely for the purpose of issuing and enforcing Penalty Notices and prosecuting those who do not pay as required. Any income generated above and beyond this must be returned to WG.

 

Can the school withdraw the penalty notice?

Yes, if further information or evidence comes to light eg further medical evidence or further information about family circumstances. EWS cannot make decisions.

 

Can the council withdraw the penalty notice?

The only grounds by which a penalty notice can be withdrawn are:

• It ought not to have been issued i.e. where it has been issued outside of the terms of the Code of Conduct or where no offence has been committed
• It has been issued to the wrong person
• It contains material errors
• The fixed penalty notice remains unpaid and the County Council opts not to proceed with a prosecution under Education Act 1996 Section 444 (1)