Where a child does not attend school regularly, their parents/carers can be prosecuted unless they can show that one of the statutory defences applies. These are:
the parents/carers prove the pupil was prevented from attending by their ill health or any unavoidable cause, including exclusion
the pupil has been granted leave of absence by the school or, in the case of alternative provision, by a person authorised to do so
the absence was on a day set aside for religious observance by the religious body to which the pupil’s parents/carers belong
the parents/carers prove the council were under a duty to provide transport to the school and have failed to do so
if the school is an independent school, the parents/carers prove that the school is not in walking distance of the pupil’s home and the council have not made suitable arrangements for the child to either board at the school or be admitted to a state funded school closer to home
if the absence was from certain types of alternative provision, the parents/carers prove the child is receiving education through a means different to regular school attendance
if the absence was from alternative provision, the parents/carers had not been notified about the provision in writing before the absence
if the child has no fixed abode and the parents/carers can prove that their trade/business requires them to travel, and the child has attended school as regularly as the nature of the trade or business permits, and (if the child is 6 years old or over) the child has attended school for at least 200 sessions during the preceding 12 months up to and including the date on which the proceedings were instituted