Improving school attendance

The Barking and Dagenham School Improvement Partnership (BDSIP) School Attendance Service works with schools, families and other agencies to improve school attendance. Schools that buy into this service have an attendance officer allocated to them.

Schools that do not buy into this service make their own arrangements for addressing attendance issues. 

BDSIP attendance officers can assist schools by:

• reviewing the school’s attendance policy and procedures and analysing data
• creating effective lines communication between families and the school
• undertaking assessments of the causes of poor school attendance
• identifying strategies and action plans to improve school attendance, including legal action

When a child has irregular school attendance, the attendance officers will try to make improvements by:

• visiting the family at the home
• arranging meetings
• working with other agencies
• making referrals to services
• using legal measures

Irregular school attendance and legal proceedings

Schools are responsible for managing attendance and taking appropriate action in relation to absences.  In Barking and Dagenham, schools either employ a company to manage attendance (e.g. BDSIP) or employ their own staff to do so.

The Local Authority’s Education Statutory Services Team is responsible for facilitating all legal work relating to irregular school attendance and will institute legal proceedings, or issue penalty notices, on behalf of all schools.

When a child does not attend school regularly and all (or the majority) of the absences are unauthorised, legal action can be instituted against the parents or carers. This can be in the form of a penalty notice or summons to court. 

Penalty notices can be issued if there have been 10 or more unauthorised absence sessions in the preceding 10 school weeks.

A first penalty notice issued to a parent/carer within a 3 year rolling period is £80 if paid within 21 days rising to £160 if paid between days 22 to 28. 

If a second Penalty Notice is issued to the same parent/carer, regarding the same child, within the same 3 year rolling period it will be £160 with 28 days in which to pay.

Failure to pay a penalty notice will result in the parents or carers being prosecuted in court.

If there is a third requirement to take legal action for irregular school attendance in relation to the same parent/carer, for the same child,  within the same 3 year rolling period then it is likely that the parent/carer will be summoned to court.

There is no right of appeal to a penalty notice issued for irregular school attendance.  If a parent/carer is concerned about why they have received a penalty notice then they must raise their concern with their child’s school.

Barking and Dagenham’s Penalty Notice Code of Conduct (DOCX, 90.63 KB)

Parents can also be directly summoned to attend court. If a parent pleads, or is found to be, guilty of the offence of failing to ensure regular school attendance, the court has a range of sanctions depending on the circumstances.

Parents may receive a:

• fine of up to £2,500 and/or a prison sentence of up to three months
• curfew with electronic tag fitted
• Community Order
• conditional discharge
• bill for court costs

The court may also impose a Parenting Order. These orders usually last for six months. The parents are required to attend parenting classes. Failure to adhere to a parenting order will result in further legal proceedings.

Further information

Department for Education - Working together to improve school attendance (PDF, 606 KB).  Statutory guidance for maintained schools, academies, independent schools and local authorities.