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Information on all Legal Proceedings

The legal process can lead to a criminal conviction for parents. GCC follows the 'Support First' guidance from the Department for Education, and we ask you to ensure that legal action is the last avenue for attendance.

Introduction
Schools and the Local Authority (LA) work together to ensure students attend school regularly. When attendance issues arise, various legal interventions can be used to support and enforce attendance.

Support First Approach
Before considering legal action, schools should provide support to families to improve attendance. Legal action is a last resort after all other avenues have been explored.

Gloucestershire County Council’s Code of Conduct for Issuing Penalty Notices
The Code of Conduct can be found here.

Legal Powers
The LA can prosecute parents who fail to ensure their child's regular attendance at school. Schools can request the LA to issue Notices to Improve (NTIs) and Penalty Notices (PNs) when attendance does not improve.

Steps for Legal Intervention

  1. Attendance Intervention Meetings (AIM)
  • Inform parents/carers in writing about the intention to start intervention meetings.
  • Include details such as the child's name, date of birth, current attendance, and previous attendance records.
  • Outline the support provided and reasons for considering legal intervention.
  1. Notice to Improve (NTI)
  • Request an NTI from the LA if a child has 10 unauthorised absences within 10 school weeks.
  • School Attendance Codes may be found here.
  • Absences can unexplained absences (Code N), and other unauthorised absences (Codes O and U), and a combination of these absences with holidays/leisure-related absences (Code G) N.B. for 10 sessions of G-coded absences, an NTI is not required before requesting a penalty notice.
  • Submit the request via the JADU form with required information.
  1. Penalty Notice (PN)
  • Schools are obliged to consider requesting a penalty notice for a pupil who has 10 sessions of unauthorised absences within the preceding 10 school weeks of the request date via the Capita Module.  This is not done automatically after a Notice to Improve has been issued.
  • When an NTI has been issued, after three weeks of no improvement in attendance, schools may request a PN via the Capita Module.  Schools must contact the parent(s)/carer(s) of the pupil if they are requesting a penalty notice within the improvement period, including the reasons for the early request.
  • When requesting the penalty notice, add in the dates of the absences within the past 10 weeks. There must be at least 10 unauthorised sessions within the last ten weeks; these may not necessarily be the dates that were requested as part of the NTI.  However, if there has been no improvement in attendance, and you are requesting the penalty notice early, some of the same absence dates referenced in the NTI may make up the 10 unauthorised sessions in the last 10 school weeks. Please do not add in any sessions when the pupil is present or has an authorised absence i.e. this may be a block of dates but if there are sessions when the pupil has been present, then these dates should not be included e.g. 07/04/2025 - 09/04/2025 + 11/04/2025 
  • Penalty notices can lead to fines and, if unpaid, further legal action.
  • Here is the video on the Capita module. 
  • From 31.10.25 Please note that MRI (Capita) have updated the FPN portal link (FpnApp); login details remain the same, but please update any saved bookmarks.
  • When adopting policies and/or other materials from other professional agencies, please be mindful that they comply with Gloucestershire County Council's EIS Attendance Code of Conduct.  Using materials available on our Attendance Schoolsnet page will support attendance plans and limit issues.

If you do have any queries, please call us on our General Line on 01452 427274.

  • Evidence required unauthorised holiday or leisure-related purposes (G code)
    • Where possible, please upload documents in one PDF file
    • 2024-2025 School Attendance Policy
    • Attendance certificate showing the leave, and return to school, clearly identifying the name and DOB of the pupil, signed and dated by the headteacher
    • Request for leave of absence completed by the parent(s)
    • Response to the leave of absence request, including a cover letter showing names of parent, address and date sent, and reasons for declining the absence. 
    • When no request was made, the letter sent to each parent, asking them for the reasons for the absence; a week’s notice for a reply can be included
    • Any further information you you feel we should know N.B. This may include reasons for requesting a PN for both parents when they are separated; normally, GCC will only issue to the parent(s) removing the child from school.
  • Evidence required for combination, late or other unauthorised absences (O/U/N/G)
    • Has a notice to improve already been requested and issued? N.B. a Penalty Notice for Other Unauthorised Absences or Combination of Unauthorised Absences may only be requested following the issue of a Notice to Improve. 
    • 2024-2025 School Attendance Policy
    • Attendance certificate showing the absences of the pupil, clearly identifying the name and DOB of the pupil, signed and dated by the headteacher
    • Copy of the Notice to Improve issued to the parents/carers by the Education Inclusion Team, GCC
    • Copy of the school’s central log (e.g., CPOMS/Sims/Bromcom etc) with records pertaining to attendance issues; acronyms explained and accessible for reading
    • Copies of correspondence from the school to the parents/carers; parents’ names, the date and address clearly showing; reference to legal intervention; stating absences will only be considered illness with medical proof
    • Copies of correspondence from the parents/carers to the school showing date received
    • Any other supportive material that corresponds with the NTI request submitted to the local authority

If a penalty notice is not paid within 28 days, an automatic letter is sent to the parent/carer to inform them that we will be seeking documentation from the school to proceed the case to court. They are encouraged to make a late payment within one week of the letter being sent. The EIS team will alter the status to 'Proceed to Prosecution' on the Capita Module. Typically, an email will be sent to the school via the Capita Module to inform them of the change in status. Schools are encouraged to log onto the Capita Module regularly to check the status of their cases.

Schools should complete a witness statement, prepare the supportive exhibits and email them to attendance@gloucestershire.gov.uk. The templates, support presentations, models and checklist on how to prepare the documents are available under Useful Documents on this page. Further support can be found here: Training and Support.

Pupils Seen in Public Within Five Days of Being Excluded
Contact your Inclusion Officer to discuss requesting a penalty notice for a pupil being seen in a public place during the first 5 days of a suspension or exclusion during school hours.  These penalty notices will not be requested through the Capita One Module Portal and the fines are set at £60 for the first 21 days after issue, rising to £120 after 21 days to 28 days after issue.

Information on Withdrawing Penalty Notices
Once a penalty notice is issued, parents/carers will receive a letter about their child's absence. If there are errors in the notice or new information shows it shouldn't have been issued, the school can request to withdraw it.

Reasons for withdrawing a penalty notice:

  • Issued to the wrong person
  • Contains incorrect information
  • Should not have been issued
  • No further action will be taken by the Local Authority (LA)
  • Not paid

Normally, the notice is issued to the parent(s) who removed the child from school.  Additional support is available for issuing notices to separated parents.

If a penalty notice is withdrawn, a new request cannot be made for the same absence. Parents/carers will be informed that no further action will be taken for that absence.

The LA decides whether a penalty notice will be issued or withdrawn. They will contact the school if there are reasons to withdraw the notice.

  1. Prosecution
  • If attendance does not improve after two penalty notices within a rolling three-year period, the LA may prosecute parents.
  • Legal outcomes can include fines up to £2,500, imprisonment, community orders, or parenting orders.

Statutory Defences include:

  • Agreed leave of absence
  • Child too ill to attend school
  • Unavoidable absence due to exceptional circumstances
  • Absence for religious observance
  • School not within walking distance and no suitable alternative provided
  • No fixed abode and travelling for work

Burden of Proof
It is for the parents to prove that one or more of these defences apply. It is not a defence to say that you did not know that your child was absent from school or that there were other reasons for them not attending school e.g., that they were being bullied at the time.

Prosecution Information
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 confirms the following time periods before a sentence is classed as spent:

  • A custodial sentence of 1 year or less - the end of the period of 12 months beginning with the day on which the sentence (including any licence period) is completed
  • A relevant order (e.g. community order) - the last day on which the order is to have effect
  • A fine - the end of the period of 12 months beginning with the date of the conviction

After the period ends, the conviction is still on the person's record and could come up on an Enhanced Records Check, but the defendant would be classed as a "protected person". They are essentially treated as if they have not been convicted of the offence.  Before the rehabilitation period ends, the defendant must disclose the conviction when asked.

Important Considerations for Schools

  • Always communicate with parents individually and include them in all meetings.
  • Ensure all correspondence is clear and detailed.  Support for schools’ paperwork is available under ‘Paperwork Checklist for All Legal Disposals’.
  • Monitor attendance during improvement periods and follow up as needed.

Important Considerations for the LA

  • Previous Notices to Improve and Penalty Notices issued for the same child and same offence within a rolling-three year period.
  • Requirements in the Attorney-General’s Guidelines for Crown Prosecutors
  • Appropriate use of PACE cautioning
  • Consideration of an Education Supervision Order
  • Age of the pupil

Contact Information For further support, contact your Inclusion Officer or email attendance@gloucestershire.gov.uk.

Useful Definitions

Parent
Generally, parents include:

  • all natural parents, whether they are married or not;
  • all those who have parental responsibility for a child or young person;
  • Those who have day to day responsibility for the child (i.e. lives with and looks after the child).

School
School is used in this document to include all educational providers used by Gloucestershire County Council to educate pupils of statutory school age including academies, free schools, colleges, and alternative provision schools.

Compulsory School Age 

  • A child begins to be of statutory school age on the prescribed day which either falls on or follows their fifth birthday
  • The prescribed days are currently 31 August, 31 December and 31 March. This is the term following their 5th birthday
  • A child ceases to be of statutory school age on the school leaving date in the academic year in which they turn 16
  • The school leaving date is the last Friday in June
  • Raising the participation age does not affect the statutory school age
  • An academic year commences on 1 September and ends on 31 August