For all children attending schools in the Brighton and Hove area, FPNs are issued by Brighton & Hove City Council upon receipt of a referral from the school.
The legal basis for issuing FPNs
It is a legal requirement under section 7 of the Education Act 1996 that parents ensure that children of compulsory school age receive full-time education that is suitable to their age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs.
An Unauthorised Absence FPN may be issued to a parent as an alternative to prosecution for irregular school attendance under section 444 of the Education Act 1996. They can only be issued in relation to children of compulsory school age.
The Education (Penalty Notices) (England) Regulations 2007 (and subsequent amendments) set out how Penalty Notices for school absence must be used. The national framework for such Penalty Notices is contained in the statutory guidance ‘Working together to improve school attendance’.
The legislation that relates to FPNs for child present in a public place during an Exclusion is section 105 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006.
How we define the term “parent”
The term “parent” does not have to refer to a biological parent. It includes any person who has parental responsibility for the child or who has care of the child, as set out in section 576 of the Education Act 1996.
FPNs will usually be issued to the parent(s) as defined above with day-to-day responsibility for the child’s attendance (regardless of which parent has applied for a leave of absence).
The national threshold for an Unauthorised Absence FPN
An Unauthorised Absence FPN is triggered once the national threshold has been met. This is when a child has been recorded as having had unauthorised absence for 10 or more sessions (5 or more school days) in a period of 10 school weeks. One or a combination of the following codes count as unauthorised absence:
- G-codes (unauthorised term-time holiday)
- N-codes (no reason yet provided for absence)
- O-codes (unauthorised poor attendance)
- U-codes (unauthorised lateness after the close of registration)
It should be noted that, although the threshold for an Unauthorised FPN absence is usually 10 sessions in a rolling period of 10 school weeks, statutory guidance and this Code of Conduct allow an FPN to be issued before this threshold is met.
This might apply, for instance, where parents are avoiding the national threshold by taking several term time holidays that are each just below threshold, or for repeated absence for birthdays or other family events.
How we define a “school week”
A school week means any period of seven days, beginning with a Monday, in which the school meets for at least one session. The threshold can be met with any combination of unauthorised absence (for example, 4 sessions of holiday taken in term time plus 6 sessions of arriving late after the register closes, all within 10 school weeks).
These sessions can be consecutive or not.
The period of 10 school weeks can also span different terms or school years (for example, 2 sessions of unauthorised absence in the Summer Term and a further 8 within the Autumn Term).
Warning of the risk of an FPN before issuing one
In the case of an Unauthorised Absence FPN:
- If half or more of the 10 absent sessions (2.5 days or more) were G-coded (classified as an unauthorised holiday), no warning is required. Parents must secure the school’s written permission before any absence. National legislation requires that parents request permission for the holiday before any absence begins.
- If less than half of the 10 absent sessions (less than 2.5 days) were G-coded, the school would usually be expected to have given written warning of the risk of an FPN.
In the case of an Exclusion FPN, the school must have warned parents of the days the child must not be present in a public place.
In the case of a Truancy Sweep FPN, no warning is needed.
Notices to Improve
A Notice to Improve is a final opportunity for a parent to engage in support and improve attendance before a Penalty Notice is issued. It is issued by the school.
If the 10 session threshold for issuing an FPN has been met and support is appropriate, but not engaged with by the parent or has not worked, a Notice to Improve should usually be sent to give parents a final chance to engage in support.
It should include an improvement period of between 3 and 6 weeks and contain a clear warning that any unauthorised absence in that period can trigger an FPN or prosecution without further warning (if attendance improvement is not secured within the improvement period).
Schools can choose not to use a Notice to Improve in cases:
- where support would be appropriate but a Notice to Improve is not expected to have any impact on a parent’s behaviour (for example, because the parent has already received one for a similar offence)
- where support is not appropriate (for example a term-time holiday)