School attendance

The following guidance is for parents and carers of children who live in Peterborough. On this page, you will find information on school attendance and absence, including who to contact if you have questions.

For all children to gain the greatest benefit from their education, it is vital they attend school on time every day that it is open. This is unless the reason for absence is unavoidable. Any absence affects the pattern of a child's schooling. Regular absence will seriously affect their learning. You can check your school's attendance policy on their own website.

Our responsibility

Although schools are best placed to provide education for children and young people, sometimes there are situations where a child may need additional support above that available from the school. In these situations, as the local authority, we have a duty under Section 19 of the Education Act 1996.

We work together with schools following guidance from the Department for Education. This guide is designed to help you find the right team who can support you if you feel we have a duty under this legislation.

Your responsibility

Parents are legally responsible for making sure their child receives a suitable full-time education, usually from the age of 5 to 16. Most children and young people receive their education in school. You can find information on how to apply for a school place on our school admissions pages.

For more information on parental responsibilities and the alternative ways in which children may be educated, please refer to:

• The Department for Education's guidance for parents on getting your child to school (opens PDF)
• School attendance and absence guidance for parents on the GOV.UK website

There may be reasons why a child doesn't want to go to school. Good school attendance starts with close and productive relationships between schools, parents and pupils, so it is important schools and families work together. 

If you have concerns about your child's attendance, you should contact the school early to seek their advice and support. 

For more information on who to contact, please refer to your school's attendance policy. This should be available on the school's website, or you can ask the school for a copy.

What you should do if your child can't attend school

Each school will outline their specific expectations on reporting absence in their attendance policy. It is important that parents read this.

For any absences known in advance, such as medical appointments, schools and the local authority encourage parents to make appointments outside of school hours. Where this is not possible, parents should get the school's agreement in advance. The pupil should only be out of school for the minimum amount of time necessary for the appointment.

For leave of absence (e.g. term-time holidays), parents must request and complete a leave of absence application form in advance. These are available directly from the school. Requests may or may not be authorised.

Note that schools, local authorities and all relevant partners are required to follow the working together to improve school attendance August 2024 statutory guidance (opens PDF).

The Department for Education also has a guide for parents on school attendance (opens PDF) which clearly outlines a parent's responsibilities. This includes circumstances surrounding illness absence and medical evidence.

Penalty notices

Your child must start full-time education once they reach compulsory school age. This is on 31 December, 31 March or 31 August following their fifth birthday, whichever comes first. If your child's fifth birthday is on one of those dates, then they reach compulsory school age on that date.

You could be issued with a penalty notice if your child misses school without permission. 

Read more in our Code of Conduct.

Reasons for penalty notices include:

• Truancy
• Unauthorised absence
• Your child was identified during a school attendance and exclusion sweep
• Excluded pupils found in a public place during the first five days of exclusion
• Holidays in term time without permission

Note: Legal action may be taken if a family goes on holiday during term time without the school's permission. Instead of a penalty notice, the case could directly to the Magistrates for their consideration in court. If found guilty by the Magistrates, parents could each face a fine of up to £2,500 and / or three months imprisonment.

Who to contact about a penalty notice

Penalty notice requests are made by schools to the local authority in which their school is based. For example, if your child lives in Peterborough, but attends a school outside of Peterborough, you may receive a penalty notice from the local authority in which your child's school is based.

When contacting the local authority about any penalty notice fines that you have received due to school absence, please make sure you contact the correct local authority.

How much a penalty notice costs

The Department for Education has introduced a new Statutory National Framework that all schools and local authorities in England must follow from 19 August 2024.

There is now a single consistent national threshold for when a penalty notice must be considered by all schools in England of 10 sessions (usually equivalent to 5 school days) of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10 school week period. These sessions do not have to be consecutive and can be made up of a combination of any type of unauthorised absence, including lateness.

• If a penalty notice is issued for an offence of unauthorised absence, the first will attract a fine of up to £160 per pupil, per parent (reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days)
• A second offence in three years will attract a flat rate fine of £160 per pupil, per parent

Schools and local authorities cannot issue a third penalty notice in three years and must consider other sanctions, which may include prosecution.

Penalty notices are sent by post.

Please speak to the school if you need more information about the new rules.

Fines are payable to Peterborough City Council. All penalty notice fine payments are retained by Peterborough City Council and are used for the purposes of administering the local penalty notice scheme.

For absences recorded by Peterborough schools prior to 19 August 2024, penalty fines cost £60 per child, per parent, if you pay within 21 days or £120 per child, per parent if you pay within 28 days. You could be prosecuted if you don’t pay the fine after 28 days.

How to pay your penalty notice fine

Click one of the links below to pay your fine online.

• Pay school attendance fine (under 21 days)
• Pay school attendance fine (over 21 and up to 28 days)

What happens if you don't pay the fine within 28 days

If you are issued with a penalty notice fine and do not pay by the 28th day deadline, the Attendance Compliance Team will consider taking prosecution action under Section 444 Education Act 1996. Should you wish to share any additional information with the local authority, to support their decision-making in your case, please contact the Attendance Team at PNInbox@peterborough.gov.uk.

Withdrawal of a penalty notice

A penalty notice can only be withdrawn if it:

• Contains errors
• Is shown that it should not have been issued
• Did not follow the Code of Conduct (see above)

Appeal a penalty notice

There is no right of appeal against a penalty notice. Contact your child's school if you think a penalty notice should not have been issued.