School attendance fines

[Peanutsear]

Hi folks,
Im looking for some advice on how to clarify some points made by our primary school headteacher who has sent a lettrr out to parents today. The best way I can describe it is, hes set out some scenarios to pre-empt whay is if Im honest likely to happen this summer.
The reason being is School have added and inset day on the last Friday of term before the 6 week summer holiday.

So in practice a parent could take their kids on holiday at the start of the week and miss 8 sessions. Or even the Friday before (after morning registration) would equal 9 sessions and still not reach the threshold of 10 Sessions of unauthorised absence, which would trigger a fine.

He has stated unauthorised absence leading up to an inset day would include the inset day and as such count towards the 10 sessions. Even though we can't physically send the kids in due to the inset day.

here is a copy/paste of the letter.

'Dear Parents and Carers,
We are writing to keep you informed of a recent update to the Penalty Notice Code of Conduct. Our aim in sharing this information is to ensure that all parents and carers are aware of the guidance and that no one is caught unaware of how attendance-related decisions are made.
Please find attached the updated Penalty Notice Code of Conduct. The most up-to-date version will also be available on our school website.
A penalty notice is a fine issued by the Local Authority to parents when a child has unauthorised absence from school, including unauthorised term-time leave.
Recent updates mean that Wakefield Council may issue a penalty notice earlier than before in certain circumstances, particularly where unauthorised absence has occurred previously. Examples include:


• When a pupil has four days of unauthorised absence and this leads up to or includes a fifth day that is an INSET day or a school closure.
• When a pupil has fewer than five days of unauthorised absence and this has happened before.
• When a pupil has fewer than five days of unauthorised absence and a penalty notice has already been issued previously.


These examples are not a full list and may be used on their own or together.
Where a pupil has previously had a long period of unauthorised absence (20 school days or more), further extended absence may result in legal action rather than another penalty notice. In such cases, the school may also seek advice from the Child Missing Education Team.
Please take time to read the updated Code of Conduct.'


I fully understand how the Policy is set out in regards to 10 sessions missed equal a fine. So if a parent did 9 Sessions. No fines. However if there was 1 more unauthorised absence in the next 10 school weeks. It would add up and trigger a fine.

If none of this applied hes saying we can fine you if you did a similar thing 'before'. Well before when? Last year?

Id like some advice on the best way to
A - Challenge the letter in writing in way that forces him to clarify the points hes made. Because they dont seem to mirror the Policy on the school website.
B - protect parents who may choose to take kids out of school a bit early.

Ive uploaded the policy incase it helps.
Many thanks. This community has been great in the past.

N

[PallasAthena]

If you want clarification ask headteacher. If an informal request doesn't get the answer then use the school's complaints policy.

Parents won't need protecting if they obey the law and don't take their children out of school without permission.

[islandgirl]

May have been dictated by the LEA who are the ones who issues fines - have a look at their website too

[Peanutsear]

Ill have a look ar LEA also.

Point B in my post is to be fair badly written. What I'm trying to get at I guess is,
Is there anyone who knows the detail of the legislation who can look at the 3 bullet points in the letter and tell me if they are correct scenarios or not.

It seems to me they have given the last day of term is an inset day, realised what is likely to happen and attempting to detail a scenario to fit the specifics.

This is a school wide topic for parents and I think im looking for some legal/knowledge based evidence on how to clarify the 3 bullet points supplied in the letter.

[PallasAthena]

The law does not go into this level of detail. Neither the law nor the DFE statutory guidance will help you get clarification. The Academy Trust's formal policy on attendance, including the issue of Penalty Notices, is the document you attached. The examples the head uses do not appear in the formal policy as far as I can see and it is reasonable for you to seek further expalnation from the head. So I advise again that you use the school/academy trust complaints procedure if you cannot resolve this informally.

Have you raised your questions with the head? Did the head explain where in the Trust's Attendance Policy this appeared?

The head's statement that "When a pupil has four days of unauthorised absence and this leads up to or includes a fifth day that is an INSET day or a school closure" in particular needs clarification. An INSET day is not a day that children are required to attend school or to undertake educational activities so they cannot be deemed to be absent if that is what the head is suggesting. Parents are fully entitled to go away with their children on an INSET day.

I can see nothing in Wakefield Council's Code of Conduct nor in the Academy Trust's Attendance Policy that supports the head's statement.