Overview

Education Penalty Notices are fixed penalty fines which can be issued to parents and carers in relation to unauthorised absence of their children from school.

They're most commonly issued to parents/carers without warning in response to one-off occasions when they've taken their child out of school without permission from the school, such as for a holiday or family visit.

However, they can also be issued where a child develops a pattern of poor attendance made up of unauthorised absences, including late arrival at school after the close of registration. In those cases, an Education Penalty Notice will normally only be issued if further unauthorised absences have occurred after the parent/carer has been served with a formal Notice to Improve.

When Education Penalty Notices can be issued

Education Penalty Notices can be issued if there are at least 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a 10 school week period. This is the equivalent of 5 school days missed, as there are 2 registration sessions every day.

How Education Penalty Notices are issued

In accordance with the Education Penalty Notices Code of Conduct, we send all school attendance notices to improve and Education Penalty Notices by first class post to each parent/carer at their usual or last known address.

When Education Penalty Notices can be withdrawn

Education Penalty Notices can be withdrawn if:

  • the Education Penalty Notice should not have been issued (for example, where it has been issued outside the terms of the Code of Conduct, or if no offence has been committed)
  • it should not have been issued to the person named as the recipient
  • the notice contains material errors (false or misleading information)

To request a withdrawal, you must should clearly state why the notice should be withdrawn in accordance with one of the grounds above. You can send your request via: