Fixed penalty notices

When we may request a fixed penalty notice to be issued by the Local Authority in line with the Local Authority’s Penalty Notice Code of Conduct for unauthorised leave of absence or where all support interventions do not secure an improvement in attendance.

Leave of absence/single absence event

As a school we ask parents/carers not to take children out of school without the permission of the headteacher as per the Law and Legislation. Please remember that any savings you think you may make by taking a holiday in school time are offset by the cost to your child’s education.

Headteacher’s must comply with The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013. There is no automatic entitlement in law to time off in school time to go on holiday.

All applications for leave of absence must be made in advance and in writing, using our Leave of Absence Request Form (https://www.norwood-school.co.uk/page/?title=Policies&pid=123).  In deciding about whether to authorise the leave the Headteacher will consider the circumstances of each application individually taking into account the evidence submitted in support.  If the request is refused the Headteacher will inform all parties of their decision.  If the Headteacher grants the request it is for the Headteacher to determine the length of time the pupil can be away from school.

It is important that you understand that we may only authorise such absences in exceptional circumstances.  It is unlikely that a leave of absence will be granted for the purpose of a family holiday.

Any period of leave taken without the agreement of the school (with at least four weeks’ notice) and/or different from that agreed by the school will be classed as unauthorised and may attract sanctions such as a Penalty Notice per parent/carer per child.

Absence due to Non School Attendance (Irregular/Persistent Absenteeism)

Where the school has implemented attendance interventions and parent/carers have failed to support the school, the school may request a penalty notice under the Peterborough City Council, Penalty Notice Code of Conduct.

A penalty notice can be issued if one of the following criteria can be met

• Level of unauthorised absence leads to an unauthorised absence rate of 10% or more within a minimum period of any 8 school weeks (A maximum of 2 penalty notices for ongoing attendance concerns may be issued in any academic year)
• A single unauthorised absence event of at least 2 consecutive school days (4 consecutive sessions)
• Persistent late arrival at school after the register has closed contribute to a level of unauthorised absence at 10% or above (registers should be closed after a period of time agreed by the school but no more than 30 minutes after they have opened.  We recommend that this should be no more than 20 minutes)
• Lack of adherence to the dates agreed for any authorised leave of absence without reasonable justification
• Pupils identified in a public place whilst excluded from school (during the first five days of the exclusion period) without reasonable justification. 

For further information regarding Penalty Notices please refer to the Peterborough City Council Code of Conduct which is available on the Peterborough City Council Website.