Early Help & Family Engagement: Fixed Penalty Notice Code of Conduct - School attendance

4. Procedures for issuing Fixed Penalty Notices

  1. Fixed Penalty Notices are issued by the Local Authority to avoid duplicate notices. This ensures consistent and equitable application of policy, protects school-home relationships and allows alignment with other enforcement sanctions and statutory interventions. Fixed Penalty Notices will only be issued for offences where the Local Authority is willing and able to prosecute and that are agreed at either the Local Authority School Attendance Panel or the FPN panel.
  2. The Local Authority will ensure that the issuing of Fixed Penalty Notices will be closely monitored to ensure that recipients pay the relevant fine. In instances where the penalty is not paid within the appropriate period, the Local Authority will prosecute
  3. A Fixed Penalty Notice can only be issued in cases of unauthorised absence
  4. The Local Authority will receive requests to issue Fixed Penalty Notices from schools and requests will be screened to ensure adequate evidence of support and intervention, as required by the pathway, is submitted
  5. The Local Authority will consider requests to issue Fixed Penalty Notices in respect of any of the circumstances arising under Section 3 of this Code, in either the Local Authority School Attendance Panel or the FPN panel
  6. Schools must consider welfare aspects of a child’s circumstances before considering whether a request to the Local Authority would be appropriate. The SAMP is underpinned March 2024 8.2 KW by the Early Help Assessment to enable schools to understand need and develop appropriate plans to support good attendance in partnership with the child and family
  7. Where a child has special educational needs and/or disabilities, the school should consider whether a request via SAMP would be appropriate having considered all the circumstances relevant to that child. In particular, the school will need to have specific regard to the individual needs of the child, pertinent EHCP process and the overall attendance of the child, which may or may not be in line with the combined National primary and secondary average
  8. The Local Authority will require supporting documentation and relevant information outlined in the SAMP Guidance including all correspondence with the parent, in order to establish whether a Fixed Penalty Notice is appropriate
  9. Requests for unauthorised leave of absence during term time will be considered provided that:
    • The circumstances of the child’s absence meet all the requirements of this Code.
    • The Local Authority must receive the referral within five working days of the last date of the leave of absence.
    • The issue of a Fixed Penalty Notice does not conflict with or undermine other intervention strategies in place or other enforcement sanctions already underway.
  10. Requests for a Fixed Penalty Notice for persistent absence via SAMP will be considered provided that:
    • The circumstances of the child’s absence meet all the requirements of this Code.
    • The Local Authority must receive the referral within five working days of warning letter 3 being sent to parents for requests via SAMP.
    • The issue of a Fixed Penalty Notice does not conflict with or undermine other intervention strategies in place or other enforcement sanctions already underway.
  11. The Local Authority will respond with the outcome to all requests within two weeks of the request being heard by either the Local Authority School Attendance Panel or the FPN panel, notifying the school of any intended action.
  12. Provided the request has met all the criteria the Local Authority will issue a Fixed Penalty Notice by post.