Unauthorised absence and lateness

Referrals for unauthorised leave of absence.

Penalty notices can be issued to parents who, for a limited time, choose not to send their child/ren to school and have absences recorded as a result.

The reason for the absences may have been due to:

  • a family holiday during term time
  • being reported necessary for some other reason, which is not considered 'exceptional'

These absences will be recorded as an unauthorised leave of absence. This includes absences marked using either a G or O code.

Leave requests from parents

If an application for leave is during term time, schools should respond promptly so that parents may reconsider their plans. If you intend to “unauthorise" the absence, apply your discretion to request penalty notice fines.

If the leave request is to take place within four weeks of the application, respond to the request within 3 school days.

If the leave request is due to take place beyond four weeks, respond to the requests within 5 school days.

Penalty notice request

Before submitting a request for an unauthorised leave of absence penalty notice, make sure the parents have received the warning letter. This includes O codes being used for the pupil in question.

All requests for penalty notices about unauthorised leave during term time must be submitted to the local authority within 10 school days of the pupil's return to school.

Refer to the Essex Code of Conduct for further information about issuing penalty notices.

Request for a penalty notice for an unauthorised leave of absence

Only children of compulsory school age fall within the scope of the penalty notice Code of Conduct.

All children 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 a child's fifth birthday is on one of these dates, they reach compulsory school age on that date.

Issuing penalty notices

The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 (Section 23) provides the power to local authorities to issue penalty notices to parents of truants. The DfE expects all authorities to use these powers as a tool to improve school attendance.

A Steering Group regularly reviews the Essex Code of Conduct for Penalty Notices. The group consists of representatives from:

  • Essex Headteachers' Associations
  • Governors' Association
  • the Police
  • Essex Legal Services
  • the Attendance Compliance Team

Unauthorised lateness

Punctuality is a valuable lifelong skill. Late arrival affects not only the pupil who is late but disrupts the whole class.

Schools should:

  • actively discourage late arrival
  • be alert to patterns of late arrival
  • seek an explanation from the parent

Where a pupil arrives after the registers close, with no justifiable reason, a U code should be entered into the register.

To use the U code, it is essential that the time the registers close is published within school literature and regularly communicated in newsletters. This ensures parents and carers are clear about the point at which their child will receive this mark in their attendance register.

The school is required to keep a record of arrival times. The policy must be applied consistently across the whole school and not restricted to particular pupils or year groups.

The U code amounts to an unauthorised absence for the whole session. A penalty notice may be issued where there have been at least ten sessions of unauthorised absence during the previous ten school weeks.

Evidential requirements are the same as for referrals for irregular school attendance.