About this Departmental advice

This is Departmental advice which explains the roles and responsibilities of parents, schools and the local authority in ensuring children’s regular school attendance, and the law relating to school attendance.

It also discusses the range of legal interventions available to the local authority and, in some circumstances, to the school to enforce school attendance.

Expiry/ review date

This guidance will be reviewed in Autumn 2012.

Who is this advice for?

  • headteachers;
  • local authorities;
  • schools;
  • parents; and
  • general public.

This guidance applies to maintained schools, academies, free schools, PRUs, city technology colleges, AP and independent schools (LA’s power to prosecute only).

Key points

This guidance explains;

  • the roles and responsibilities of parents, schools and the local authority in ensuring children’s regular school attendance;
  • the law relating to school attendance;
  • the range of legal interventions available to the authority and, in some circumstances, to the school to enforce school attendance;
  • the procedure for bringing a prosecution against a parent who has failed to ensure their child’s regular school attendance; and
  • what happens at the Court hearing and the sentencing options available to the Court in the event that the parent is found guilty of an offence.