Attendance - What Does the Law Say?
Parents
The Law says that parents of children aged between 5-16, who are
on a school roll, must make sure that their child goes to school
both regularly and punctually. This means that
children are in school when they should be and that they
arrive at school in time for both morning and afternoon
sessions.
If a child who is registered at a school fails to attend
regularly and there are no legitimate reasons, then parents are
guilty of an offence under section 444 of the Education Act 1996.
If convicted parents will be liable to a fine of up to
£2500/and or a prison sentence of up to 3 months. Magistrates may
also impose a Parenting Order.
Schools
Schools are responsible for the keeping and marking of
attendance registers. Schools will want to know why
pupils are absent and they must decide whether the absence is
for an authorised or unauthorised reason.
Schools must report poor attendance to the Children Missing
Education Service (CMES), who will then work with those involved to
assess the reasons for poor attendance and help find a solution to
the difficulties.
The Local Authority (LA)
The LEA is responsible for making sure that parents fulfil their
responsibilities. In Bath and North East Somerset, the CMES
fulfils this role and will consider legal action where other
strategies to improve attendance have failed.
In addition to prosecuting parents, the CMES may apply to
the Family Proceedings Court for an Education Supervision Order
(ESO). An ESO makes the LA responsible for certain aspects of the
child's education
