London Borough of Sutton’s Penalty Notice Code of Conduct (October 2023)
National Framework for Penalty Notices – What you need to know.
The following changes will apply from 19th August 2024:
Penalty Notice Fines will be considered by schools when the threshold of 10 sessions (half days) of unauthorised absence (together or separate occasions) is met within 10 school week period – this means it can span weeks, school terms and academic years.
NB – If in an individual case the local authority (or other authorised officer) believes a penalty notice would be appropriate if a non-attendance trend is identified, they retain the discretion to issue one before the threshold is met.
The first penalty notice issued to a parent in respect of a particular pupil will be charged at £160 if paid within 28 days. This will be reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days.
A second penalty notice issued to the same parent in respect of the same pupil is charged at a flat rate of £160 if paid within 28 days.
A Third Penalty Notice cannot be issued to the same parent in respect of the same child within 3 years of the date of issue of the first. If the threshold is met for a third or subsequent times within 3 years, alternative legal intervention will be taken, this may include cases being presented straight to a Magistrates’ Court.
What is a Penalty Notice?
Penalty notices are fines of £60/£120 imposed on parents. They are an alternative to the prosecution of parents for failing to ensure that their child of compulsory school age regularly attends the school where they are registered or at a place where alternative provision is provided.
Penalty notices can be used where the pupil’s absence has not been authorised by the school.
A penalty notice may be issued to each parent of each child liable for the offence or offences
Compulsory school age
Your child must start full-time education once they reach compulsory school age, this is on 31 December, 31 March or 31 August following their fifth birthday – whichever comes first. If your child’s fifth birthday is on one of those dates then they reach compulsory school age on that date.
For example, if your child reaches compulsory school age on 31 March, they must start full-time education at the beginning of the next term (summer term that year).
Children must stay in full-time education until they reach school leaving age. They can leave school on the last Friday in June if they will be 16 by the end of the summer holidays – 31 August.
Who administers and oversees the issuing of Penalty Notice?
The local authority is responsible for administering the process. This means the London Borough of Sutton issues the notices, as requested by the head teacher, on behalf of the schools located in the borough boundary.
Payment of a Penalty Notice (for offences before August 19th 2024)
All payments must be made to London Borough of Sutton, not the pupil’s school.
Full details of how to pay are detailed on the Penalty Notice.
The penalty is £60 if paid within 21 calendar days of receipt, rising to £120 if paid after 21 calendar days but within 28 calendar days (being the original 21 days plus a further 7 days).
Payment of a Penalty Notice discharges the parent/carer liability for the period in question and they cannot subsequently be prosecuted under other enforcement powers for the period covered by the Penalty Notice.
It is not a defence for the parent to say that she/he was unaware of the absences or the pupil being out unsupervised during an exclusion from school. Parents are expected to know where their children are on a daily basis and there is no duty, in law, on the school or the Local Authority to advise them of their child’s absence.
There is no statutory right of appeal against the issuing of a Penalty Notice
For further information, please also see our current Penalty Notice leaflet we send to all parents who are issued a Fine or a Warning Letter from the Local Authority.
To read more on Penalty Notice’s please see the DfE’s Educational Hub blog post which also explains the upcoming changes in August 2024 with the National framework around Penalty Notice’s.