School attendance and absences information for parents and carers

You can find out when it is acceptable for your child to miss school on the government's school attendance and absence pages.

If your child needs to have time off school because of illness or medical appointments, you should always contact the school and follow their procedures. Only your child's school can authorise an absence from school. You will find information on how to report your child's absence in the school's attendance policy.

Holidays during term time

You are strongly advised to avoid taking your child out of school for family holidays during term time. Taking a holiday during term time will mean your child misses out on a portion of their educational entitlement and their right to the learning opportunities offered to them.

Children who have missed school, even for a short period of time, often find it difficult to catch up.

Head teachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. In line with current guidance, it's highly unlikely a head teacher would be able to consider a family holiday as exceptional.

If you have considered the effects of lost learning and still decide to take a holiday during term time, you must make a written request to your school, in advance of the planned holiday, and in line with the school's attendance policy.

The head teacher will determine if there are exceptional circumstances relating to your application and tell you whether your request for leave of absence has been granted.

Where written holiday requests have not been made by parents, and schools have been unable to successfully locate children missing from school as safe and well, safeguarding investigations will be carried out.

Penalties for taking children out of school

If your child doesn't attend school regularly, you could face one or more of these penalties:

• A fine (known as a penalty notice)
• A Parenting Order (an order from a court telling you to improve your child's school attendance)
• An Education Supervision Order, where a supervisor is appointed to help get your child back into education
• A School Attendance Order, where you're given 15 days to provide evidence that you've registered your child with a school, or to prove that you're educating them at home
• Prosecution under Section 444(1) or 444(1)(a) Education Act 1996

If your child is absent from school and the absence is not agreed by the head teacher, this will be recorded as unauthorised absence. If the national threshold of 10 unauthorised absences in a 10 week period is met , the school will notify us and you may face a penalty notice and/or other legal action.

A penalty notice is issued to each parent for each child.

A first penalty notice issued to a parent for a particular child will be charged at £80 if paid within 21 days, or £160 if paid within 28 days.

If a parent receives a second penalty notice for the same child within a rolling three-year period, they will not be given the opportunity to pay the lower amount and will be required to pay £160 within 28 days.

A third penalty notice cannot be issued to the same parent for the same child within three years of the date the first penalty notice was issued. If the national threshold is met for a third time, (or subsequent times), within the three year period, other action such as prosecution under Section 444(1) or 444(1) (a) Education Act 1996 will be considered.

There is no appeal against a penalty notice.

If you do not pay a penalty notice this may lead to legal proceedings under Section 444(1) Education Act 1996. If found guilty, parents/carers can be fined up to £1,000, ordered to pay local authority costs, a victim surcharge and would receive a criminal record.

You can pay a penalty notice online. Select 'Education Penalty Notice' when on the payments page.

A 'parent' is defined in Section 576 of the Education Act 1996, as including all natural parents, including those who are not married; any person who has parental responsibility and any person who has care of a child.

View the penalty notice code of conduct

If you have a query about a payment of a penalty notice, email Herefordshire Council Enforcement Team at locality@herefordshire.gov.uk