main content Penalty fines for school absence

Parents and carers can now be issued with a Fixed Penalty Fine for the non-attendance of their children from school.

Bromley Council has new powers in the fight against parentally condoned school absence, otherwise known as 'unauthorised absence'. Fixed Penalty Notices, with fines of £50, can now be served on parents and carers of children who persistently miss school or who are constantly late for registration.

Speaking on this subject, Graham Arthur, Bromley's Executive Councillor for Children and Young People, said: "While we should celebrate the fact that more children are receiving education on a daily basis than ever before, we must continue to tackle the problem of unauthorised absence from school. We know that the impact of poor attendance at school has an extremely damaging effect on children's academic achievement and life chances. We have a duty to promote and, in exceptional circumstances, enforce the attendance of children at school."

Bromley's education welfare service works with schools, parents and pupils to reduce unauthorised absence from school. However, where parents and carers fail to contribute to improving their child's attendance, Penalty Notices can be served on them following verbal and written warnings. The initial fine of £50 will be increased to £100 if not paid within prescribed time limits. Failure to pay will result in parent and carers being summoned. Details of the Penalty Notice Scheme will be provided for all Bromley parents and carers by their child's school. Jennie Clark, Bromley's Education Welfare Manager, said: "Truancy is not a game. We take unauthorised absence very seriously. Fixed Penalty Notices are just one of a range of measures available to us in the drive to reduce unauthorised absence from school."

Examples of specific circumstances in which Penalty Notices could be served include unjustified absence due to holidays during term time and children stopped in the course of 'truancy' patrols.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

• The Education Welfare Service (EWS), is the body that carries the statutory responsibility for ensuring parents carry out their duties with regard to children's attendance at school and nationally the service has been striving to implement the many new Government led initiatives aimed at promoting parents compliance with the law.
• Parenting orders and parenting contracts are also used for addressing challenging behaviour and exclusion from school.
• Penalty Notices supplement but do not replace existing sanctions currently available to tackle unjustified absence from school. The defences in law against an offence being committed replicate those already in place.
• Parental fines for failing to ensure regular attendance of their children can be up to £1000, or even £2500 and/or imprisonment in certain chronic cases.

For further information on this press release please contact Jennie Clarke, Education Welfare Manager, on 020 8313 4152.

For media enquiries, please contact Kevin Gerred, Planning and Communication Officer, on 020 8313 4024 email: kevin.gerred@bromley.gov.uk.