PENALTY NOTICES NON-SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.
CAMBRIDGESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL LOCAL AUTHORITY CODE OF CONDUCT
Introduction
1. Under Section 23 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 local education authority officers, headteachers and the police have the discretionary power to issue Penalty Notices in cases of unauthorised absence from school.
2. The new power provides an alternative to prosecution of parents under Section 444 of the Education Act 1996 and enables parents to discharge potential liability for conviction for that offence by paying a penalty of £60 if paid within 21 days or £120 if paid within 28 days.
3. Should the Penalty Notice remain unpaid or have been paid only in part at the end of the 28 day period Cambridgeshire County Council must prosecute the parents for the offence to which the notice relates, or, in specified circumstances (see section 29 below), withdraw the notice.
4. Penalty Notices may only be issued in Cambridgeshire in accordance with the terms of this Code of Conduct. The purpose of the Code of Conduct is to ensure that the power is applied fairly and consistently across the County Council and that suitable arrangements are in place for the effective and efficient administration of
the scheme.
5. In implementing this Code of Conduct the County Council will liaise when appropriate with neighbouring education and police authorities.
6. This Code of Conduct has been drafted in accordance with the Education (Penalty Notices) (England) Regulations 2004: Statutory Instrument 2004 No 181 and guidance issued by the Department for Education and Skills.
7. In preparing this Code of Conduct the County Council has consulted with Cambridgeshire headteachers and the Chief Officer of Cambridgeshire Constabulary. This complies with The Education (Penalty Notices) (England) Regulations 2007.
Circumstances in which Penalty Notices may be issued
8. Penalty Notice may be considered as an alternative to prosecution for failure to ensure regular school attendance in any given period of unauthorised school attendance as below:
UNAUTHORISED ABSENCE: As the Government changed the PA (Persistent Absence) threshold to 90% (in effect from Sept. 2015), the Local Authority may issue a Penalty Notice in relation to a child whose attendance at school has been between 86% - 89% over a given period. Such a Fine is intended to offer a rapid intervention, which may be used to address non-school attendance before it becomes entrenched, following guidance in section 13.
UNAUTHORISED TERM TIME LEAVE(includes Holiday): Any parent who takes a child out of school for term time leave of more than 6 consecutive sessions over a 4 week period, not authorised by the school (under exceptional circumstances rule), may receive a Penalty Notice. Such cases will have to be supported by evidence of previous unauthorised term time leave (more than 6 consecutive sessions over a 4 week period) taken in the last 3 years and evidence of parents being warned about a potential Penalty Notice.
Procedural guidelines
9. The key consideration in deciding whether to issue a Penalty Notice should be whether it is considered likely to be effective in helping the child to whom it relates to return to regular attendance.
10. Before issuing a Penalty Notice for unauthorised absence (refer section 9), due consideration should be given to other strategies which may help return the child concerned to regular school attendance. Such strategies might include:
a) writing to the child’s parents to remind them of their legal responsibilities;
b) meeting with the child’s parents;
c) ensuring a first-day response to any absence;
d) setting targets for improvement;
e) referral to the Education Welfare Officer;
f) involvement of other services/agencies.
NB. Above strategies do not apply to term time leave / holiday.
11. The usual response to a first offence would be to warn the parent rather than to issue a Penalty Notice. This warning can be in the form of communication sent to parents via school Newsletters, School Web page as well as any direct mail sent to individual parents. Authorised officers do, however, have the discretion, in
exceptional circumstances, to issue a Penalty Notice for a first offence. Such exceptional circumstances could be where the unauthorised absence had been for an extended period of time and condoned by the parent (refer section 10).
12. Headteachers and police officers should only issue a Penalty Notice following consultation, discussion, reflection and joint decision with a County Council Education Welfare Officer.
13. The Education Welfare Officer will not agree to sanction the issuing of a Penalty Notice unless he/she considers that with regard to the offence to which it relates there is sufficient evidence to secure a conviction under Section 444 of the Education Act 1996. Evidence could be letters sent to parent, minutes of meetings
and record of telephone conversations.
14. A maximum of three Penalty Notices may be served on any one parent over a 12- month period.
15. There is no statutory right of appeal against the issuing of a Penalty Notice. A parent should therefore, if possible, be given warning of the possibility of a notice being issued (refer section 13) in order to allow him/her to make representations should he/she wish to do so. If a head teacher refuses to authorise any absence or requests for holidays during term time and parents are not happy with the decision, they should make representations to the Governing Body of the school. They should not wait and make a representation to the County Council once a Penalty Notice has been issued.
Authority to Issue a Penalty Notice
16. An Education Welfare Officer / CCC Legal Panel may issue a Penalty Notice to the parent of a child who is a registered pupil at a school in Cambridgeshire or who is a registered pupil at a school in an authority, which has an agreement to that effect with Cambridgeshire County Council.
17. A headteacher or an authorised deputy or assistant headteacher may issue a Penalty Notice to the parent of a child who is registered at his/her school, in consultation with a CCC Legal Panel.
18. A police officer, including a community support officer or other accredited person, may issue a Penalty Notice.
19. Headteachers and Police Officers should comply with the terms of this Code of Conduct when issuing a Penalty Notice and should provide a copy of any notice issued to the relevant Education Welfare Officer.
Form and Content of Penalty Notices
20. A Penalty Notice should give the following particulars alleged to constitute the offence to which the notice relates and should contain:
a) the name and address of the person to whom the notice is issued;
b) the name and address of the child who is failing to attend school regularly
and the name of the school at which he/she is a registered pupil;
c) the name, title and official details of the authorised person issuing the notice;
d) the date of the offence and of the issue of the notice;
e) the amount of the penalty which is to be paid and details of the timescales and any variation involved;
f) the address of the County Council office at which the penalty is to be paid and to which any correspondence relating to the notice may be sent;
g) the method/methods by which payment may be made;
h) the specified period within which the penalty should be paid;
i) a statement that full payment within the specified period will discharge any liability for the offence;
j) an explanation of the consequences should the penalty not be paid in full before the expiry of the specified period;
k) an explanation of the grounds on which the notice may be withdrawn.
21. Should there be more than one person liable for the offence a separate notice should be issued to each person, per each child.
22. Should the offence involve more than one child a separate notice should be issued for each child, per each parent.
Service of Penalty Notices
23. A Penalty Notice may be served by:
a) giving it to the recipient; or
b) leaving it at the recipient’s usual or last-known address; or
c) sending it to the recipient at that address by first-class post.
24. Service by post is deemed to have been effected, unless the contrary is proved, on the second working day after posting the notice by first-class post.
Methods of Payment
25. The preferred method of payment of a Penalty Notice would be on-line payment via the Cambridgeshire County Council website. However, alternatives methods are available on request.
Failure to Pay a Penalty Notice
26. Should the recipient of a Penalty Notice fail to pay the full amount before the expiry of the period for paying it the County Council will either begin proceedings against the parent under Section 444 of the Education Act 1996 or withdraw the notice in accordance with specified conditions (see section 29 below).
27. An electronic record will be retained to monitor that the recipient of a Penalty Notice has or has not paid the amount due on or before the date specified and presented as evidence in any subsequent Section 444 Education Act 1996 proceedings.
Withdrawal of a Penalty Notice
28. A Penalty Notice may be withdrawn by the County Council, regardless of whom within the authority issued it, if it is deemed that:
a) the notice ought not to have been issued (i.e. where it has issued outside of the terms of this Code of Conduct or where no offence has been committed); or
b) the notice ought not to have been issued to the person named as the recipient.
29. Should a Penalty Notice be withdrawn:
a) notice of the withdrawal should be given to the recipient;
b) any amount already paid by the recipient should be reimbursed;
c) any proceedings under Section 444 of the Education Act 1996 instituted against the recipient should be discontinued.
Retention of Receipts and Revenue Collection
30. The County Council will retain all revenue from the issuing of Penalty Notices in order to cover the costs of issuing and enforcing notices and the cost of prosecuting those recipients of the notices who fail to pay.
31. The County Council will produce an annual audit statement as part of its usual audit procedures in order to show that income received from Penalty Notices does not exceed enforcement costs as defined above. Any surplus acquired will be surrendered to a consolidated fund.
Appendix 2 The Three letter system
ATTENDANCE MONITORING PRIOR TO FORMAL REQUEST FOR EDUCATION WELFARE OFFICER INVOLVEMENT.
Introduction
The three-letter system is intended to enable schools and colleges continuously and consistently to monitor and address poor school attendance. The system offers schools the opportunity to target non-attendance methodically and progressively up to and including the point at which a referral to an Education Welfare Officer may be necessary. The system is based on three model letters which schools can send to parents when there are concerns about any emerging patterns of absenteeism.
It is intended to apply essentially to absence which is unauthorised, but with some modification (and appropriate rewording of the letters) it might in certain circumstances be used to target patterns of absence which are authorised but which are beginning to cause concern. Schools should, however, decline to continue to authorise such absences once doubts arise as to their legitimacy.
2. Key Features and Potential Benefits of the Three-Letter System
3. Procedure for Schools Prior to Formal Request for Education Welfare Officer Involvement
Stage One
1.The school produces a record of attendance regularly for all pupils whose attendance has fallen beneath a certain percentage figure, such as 90% in preparation for the meeting with the Education Welfare Officer (EWO).
2.The headteacher is provided with a copy of this report. They note those factors which may help to explain or contextualise the attendance levels of particular children.
3.The headteacher then completes a record of letters sent (Appendix 1) report for those pupils whose attendance remains a cause of concern.
4.The original record of attendance is retained by the head of year, attendance officer, pastoral support assistant or headteacher and a copy is given to the school’s Education Welfare Officer.
Stage Two
5.A completed request for pupil non-attendance letter (Appendix 2) for each pupil identified on the record of letters sent report, suggesting which of the three standard absence letters should be generated and forwarded to the administrator for processing.
6.For each identified pupil, the head of year attendance officer, pastoral support assistant or headteacher indicates any necessary additional information for inclusion in whichever of the standard absence letters is to be sent.
Stage Three - Letter 1
7.For those pupils who have been identified for the first time, a copy of Letter 1 is sent to the parents and copied to the Education Welfare Officer, accompanied by the Education Welfare ‘School Attendance’ Leaflet.
8.Should the pupil’s attendance improve but the improvement fail to be sustained, a further copy of Letter 1 may be sent at a later date.
9.This is recorded on the record of letters sent report.
Stage Four – Letter 2
10. Following the sending of Letter 1, should the pupil’s attendance fail to improve or should it fall to a lower level, a copy of Letter 2 together with the ‘School Attendance’ leaflet is sent to the parent (and copied to the Education Welfare Officer).
11.This is recorded on the record of letters sent report.
Stage Five – Letter 3
12.Should the pupil’s attendance still fail to improve or should it fall to a lower level, then a copy of Letter 3 is sent to the parents (and copied to the Education Welfare Officer).
13.The case is formally referred to the Education Welfare Officer on a SIF which has a copy of an up to date Attendance Certificate attached to it.
(As Education Welfare intervention is a Statutory Duty, referrers are not required to obtain a parents signature but it is good practice, should this be possible.)
Should the pupil have been absent for two continuous weeks without a satisfactory explanation having been received, or should there be child protection or other immediate welfare concerns then the school may of course make an earlier referral to the Education Welfare Officer. Should the child be subject of a Child Protection Plan, the child’s social worker should be notified immediately.
RECORD OF LETTERS SENT
YEAR 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 (circle the appropriate year)
|
PUPIL’S NAME |
DOB |
DATE LETTERS SENT |
NOTES |
||
|
FIRST |
SECOND |
THIRD |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
REQUEST FOR A
PUPIL NON-ATTENDANCE LETTER
To be submitted by the Headteacher or other relevant Pastoral Personnel to the school administrator for processing.
Pupil’s Name: ……………………………………………………….
Date of Birth: ………………………………………….
Tutor/Class Group: ………………………………………………………
Letter to be sent (please tick): 1 2 3
The following text should be added to the standard letter. (This additional information will include reference to any contact the Head of Year/Headteacher/school has had with the parent).
…………………………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………….
Signed: ……………………………………. Name: …………………………….
Date: ………./…/………..
LETTER ONE
Name and address of parent
School ref
Date
Re: Name of pupil dob
Dear Parent
I am very concerned that your son/daughter’s attendance has fallen to …%. A copy of the attendance record is enclosed.
As I am sure you are aware, it is important that < pupil’s name > maintains regular school attendance, as any absence may interrupt his/her academic progress and may have an effect on maintaining friendships. You should also be aware that regular attendance is a legal requirement.
It may be that there is an acceptable explanation for this of which I am unaware. I would be grateful if you could contact the school as soon as possible should this be the case.
< Pupil’s name >’s attendance will continue to be monitored and I look forward to seeing a significant improvement.
Yours sincerely
Head of Year / Headteacher or other relevant Pastoral Personnel
cc Education Welfare Officer
Enc Record of attendance
School Attendance Leaflet
LETTER TWO
Name and address of parent
School ref
Date
Re: Name of pupil dob
Dear Parent
On <date> I wrote to you advising that your son/daughter’s attendance had fallen to …%. Unfortunately, there has been no significant improvement in his/her attendance and this is continuing to cause concern. A copy of the attendance record is enclosed.
I must remind you that regular attendance is a legal requirement and it is important that any issues that may be the cause of this poor attendance are addressed as soon as possible. Please contact me in the next few days so that we can arrange a time to discuss <pupil’s name> attendance.
I enclose for your information a copy of a leaflet entitled ‘Is your child in school today?’
Yours sincerely
Head of Year / Headteacher or other relevant Pastoral Personnel
cc Education Welfare Officer
Encs Record of Attendance
School Attendance Leaflet
LETTER THREE
Name and address of parent
School ref
Date
Re: Name of pupil dob
Dear Parent
I note that there has been no significant improvement in <pupil’s name> attendance since <date>. <Pupil’s name> attendance for this academic year has fallen to…%. Furthermore I have not received any satisfactory explanation for <pupil’s name> absences.
Your child is now at risk at becoming a persistent absentee student. This means attendance is now at 85% or below.
As such, a referral to an Education Welfare Officer will be considered and a Penalty Notice or legal proceedings may be incurred by parents or/and carers.
Should you have anything you wish to discuss concerning this matter, I will continue to be available. Please contact me on the above number should you require an appointment.
Yours sincerely
Head of Year / Headteacher or other relevant Pastoral Personnel
cc Education Welfare Officer
|
||
|
This form should be used when a child or young person has a clearly identified need for a statutory service and consent cannot be obtained for a full assessment using the Common Assessment Framework |
||
|
IF YOU THINK THAT A CHILD OR YOUNG PERSON IS AT RISK OF SERIOUS HARM CALL THE CONTACT CENTRE IMMEDIATELY ON 0345 045 5203 – (8am to 8pm Mon – Fri). Out of hours emergencies 01733 234724 ALL TELEPHONE REFERRALS SHOULD BE FOLLOWED UP IN WRITING WITHIN 48 HOURS USING THIS FORM |
||
|
PLEASE USE BLACK INK ONLY WHEN COMPLETING THIS FORM |
|
Personal Details: |
|||||||||||||||||
|
Name of baby, child or young person: |
|||||||||||||||||
|
Forename(s): |
|
Date of birth / EDD: |
|
||||||||||||||
|
Surname: |
|
Gender: |
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
Names of Parent(s) or Carer(s): |
|
Home Tel & Mobile Tel |
|
||||||||||||||
|
Home Address: |
|
Other household members and siblings: (date of birth where known) |
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
Child’s first language: |
|
Immigration status: |
|
||||||||||||||
|
Parent’s first language: |
|
Translator/signer required? |
YES / NO |
||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
White British |
|
Caribbean |
|
Indian |
|
White & Black Caribbean |
|
Chinese |
|
||||||||
|
White Irish |
|
African |
|
Pakistani |
|
White & Black African |
|
Any other ethnic group |
|
||||||||
|
Any other White background |
|
Any other Black background |
|
Bangladeshi |
|
White & Asian |
|
Not given |
|
||||||||
|
Gypsy/Roma |
|
Traveller of Irish Heritage |
|
Any other Asian background |
|
Any other mixed background |
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
Religion: |
|
Asylum Seeker: |
YES / NO |
||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
Reference No.: (please explain, e.g. NHS No., UPN etc): |
|
||||||||||||||||
|
Name of School/Early Years Setting & Contact person: |
|
||||||||||||||||
|
Name and contact details of GP: |
|
||||||||||||||||
|
Does the child/young person and or parent(s) carer(s) have a disability? If so, please detail: |
YES / NO
|
||||||||||||||||
|
Does the child/young person have any allergies? Is so, please detail: |
YES / NO
|
||||||||||||||||
|
Does the baby, child or young person appear to be: |
|
|
Healthy? |
|
|
Evidence/Comment:
|
|
|
Safe from harm? |
|
|
Evidence/Comment:
|
|
|
Learning and developing? |
|
|
Evidence/Comment: (please include details of the child or young person’s attendance record including the % of authorized and unauthorized absences for the full academic year and for the 6 weeks prior to this referral.) |
|
|
Having a positive impact on others? |
|
|
Evidence/Comment:
|
|
|
Free from economic difficulties (within the family)? |
|
|
Evidence/Comment:
|
|
|
Reason for Statutory Referral without Consent |
|
|
Have you spoken to the child or young person or their family/carers about participating in an assessment using the Common Assessment Framework?
|
YES/NO (Please evidence the attempts made to seek consent for a CAF assessment)
|
|
If No, would seeking consent for a CAF assessment have put the child or young person at risk of harm? |
YES/NO (if Yes, please describe why)
|
|
Please specify clearly why you think it is necessary to make a referral for a statutory service without the consent of the child or young person, their family/carers.
|
|
|
What action (if any) has already been undertaken to address the problem? |
|
|
What are the Desired Outcomes for the child/young person/family: (Include expectation of service)
|
|
|
Details of Person making referral: |
|
|
Statutory Service Request made by: (your full name and agency/service) |
|
|
Contact details: (in full)
|
|
|
Date: |
|
SENDING THIS FORM
Requests for a statutory service from Children’s Social Care should be sent to Contact Centre:
Telephone: 0345 045 5203
Fax 01480 376748
Email: referralcentre.children@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
Requests for a statutory service from Education Welfare should be sent to the Education Welfare Officer of your School/Locality.
The team to which the request is being made should be specified clearly on page 1 in the top right hand corner of the form.
|
Confidentiality This form contains personal family information. Please ensure secure document storage and safe Information Sharing (See CAF Guidance) |
Request for Leave of Absence for Holidays
The following notes are based on the Education Act (1966) and the Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations (1995).
Holidays
Please complete the first part of the form overleaf and return it to school at least two weeks before the requested absence.
Alderman Payne Primary School - request for leave of absence form
Name/s of child/ren ______________________________________________
Proposed dates of children’s absence from school: _______________________
Reason why holiday is taking place during school time: _________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Signature of Parent(s) making the request : __________________ ___________________
Date of request: ___________________________________
For Office use only…………………………
Request refused ……………………………………… (Headteacher) ………………….. (Date)
Request approved …………………………………… (Headteacher) ………………….. (Date)
Reason for approval/refusal:
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
A COPY OF THIS FORM WILL BE COMPLETED AND RETURNED TO THE PARENT MAKING THE REQUEST.
E-mail: office@aldermanpayne.cambs.sch.uk Web: www.aldermanpayne.co.uk
Unfortunately not the ones with chocolate chips.
Our cookies ensure you get the best experience on our website.
Please make your choice!
Some cookies are necessary in order to make this website function correctly. These are set by default and whilst you can block or delete them by changing your browser settings, some functionality such as being able to log in to the website will not work if you do this. The necessary cookies set on this website are as follows:
A 'sessionid' token is required for logging in to the website and a 'crfstoken' token is
used to prevent cross site request forgery.
An 'alertDismissed' token is used to prevent certain alerts from re-appearing if they have
been dismissed.
An 'awsUploads' object is used to facilitate file uploads.
We use Matomo cookies to improve the website performance by capturing information such as browser and device types. The data from this cookie is anonymised.
Cookies are used to help distinguish between humans and bots on contact forms on this website.
A cookie is used to store your cookie preferences for this website.
Cookies that are not necessary to make the website work, but which enable additional functionality, can also be set. By default these cookies are disabled, but you can choose to enable them below: