Penalty notices for unauthorised absence/holiday

The DfE have announced that as from 19 August 2024 they will be publishing details of the new National Framework for Penalty Notices for absence and laying regulations to improve consistency of attendance enforcement across the country.

Further information will be published on this page in due course.

Fixed penalty notices are served on parents/carers as an alternative to prosecution where they have failed to ensure that their child of compulsory school age regularly attends the school where they are registered or at a place where alternative provision is provided.

Fixed penalty notices can be used by all schools (with the exception of independent schools) where the pupil’s absence has not been authorised by the school and the absence constitutes an offence.

Fixed penalty notices can be issued to each parent/carer liable for the attendance offence or offences, which should usually be the parent or parents/carers with day-to-day responsibility for the pupil’s attendance. 

Please note it is the school’s decision on whether to apply for a fine for one or both parents’. School’s must ensure they read the section on absent parents in the Code of Conduct when taking decisions.

Full guidance is available below, please ensure this guidance is followed to ensure compliance.

Education penalty notices code of conduct

We have produced a separate Code of Conduct document, without the guidance for schools and academies section, which is available to the public on the Hertfordshire County Council website.

A copy of this document is below. If a parent asks you for the Code of Conduct, please send them the document without the school and academy guidance section.

Penalty Notice Checklist

A checklist has been developed to assist schools in ensuring that any Fixed Penalty Notice application complies with DfE Expectations.

Issuing a Fixed Penalty Notice

Please note the LA (school) penalty notices information sheet must be sent to parents together with your warning letter.

For full information on how to complete a fixed penalty notice application using sims.net can be found on the Herts for Learning Data Management services portal.  Subscribing schools will need to login to their school account to access the link. 

Data Management Services portal: attendance

When completing a request for a Fixed Penalty Notice Application to be issued, please ensure that all sections are completed and in detail.