Contact: Jim McGilvery (Deputy Principal Education Welfare Officer) 02380 812113

e:mail: [email protected]

1 Summary

1.1 The County Council, as the Local Education Authority (LEA), is required by legislation to have adopted a Code of Conduct for the issuing of Penalty Notices in respect of unauthorised absence from school. Hampshire's current Code of Conduct has been in force since the beginning of January 2005. Prior to its introduction it was agreed that the operation and effectiveness of the Code of Conduct would be reviewed after 6 months. This review took place and a number of suggested amendments arising from this review have been included in the proposed revised Code of Conduct.

2 Hampshire County Council priorities

2.1 The paper supports the following Hampshire County Council priorities:

"Making Hampshire safer and more secure for all" - children and young people who are not attending school may become involved in offending or may be vulnerable to or at risk of becoming a victim of crime;

" Maximising well-being" - the overall development and well-being of children and young people as well as the opportunity to acquire more academic qualifications and training is likely to be enhanced if they attend school regularly;

" Enhancing our quality of place" - the enhancement of children and young people's development and an increase in their academic qualifications and training is likely to improve the contribution they make to society and the place in which they live.

3 The Aims of the Children Act

3.1 This paper also supports the Aims of the Children Act:

"Being healthy" - as indicated above, regular school attendance contributes positively to overall development of children and young people and therefore improves their health;

"Staying safe" - children and young people who are absent from school may be vulnerable and at risk of becoming involved in crime or anti-social behaviour or may themselves become the victims of crime;

"Enjoying and achieving" - regular attendance at school will not only enhance the opportunities for children and young people to enjoy the experience of learning but will also promote opportunities for them to further their academic achievements;

"Making a positive contribution" - through acquiring experiences and knowledge, children and young people who attend school regularly are more likely to make a positive contribution to and become an `inclusive' member of society;

"Achieving economic well-being" - children and young people who benefit from learning and training by attending school regularly are more likely to secure regular employment in the future and hence achieve economic well-being.

4 Background

4.1 Section 444A of the Education Act 1996 empowers authorised officers of the Local Education Authority, headteachers (and deputy and assistant headteachers if authorised by them) and the police (including persons accredited by them), hereinafter collectively referred to as "the Authorised Person", to issue Penalty Notices in cases of unauthorised absence from school.

4.2 The Education (Penalty Notices)(England) Regulations 2004 require the Local Education Authority, in consultation with all of the above, to develop a code of conduct when issuing Penalty Notices. Any person in Hampshire issuing a Penalty Notice must do so within the terms of Hampshire's Code of Conduct.

4.3 Prior to introducing the current Code of Conduct, Hampshire County Council issued a consultation document to all headteachers of maintained schools in Hampshire, their Governing Bodies, the Chief Constable of Hampshire Constabulary and other relevant parties. Responses to this consultation document were considered in the preparation of Hampshire's Code of Conduct. It was also agreed that a review of Hampshire's Code of Conduct, its implementation and the effectiveness of Penalty Notices would be undertaken after 6 months. This review has now taken place and a revised Code of Conduct which includes a number of amendments to the current Code of Conduct has now been prepared.

4.4 Formal consultation with the above persons in respect of the proposed amendments to the current Code of Conduct was undertaken between March and July 2006 which resulted in only one response being received.

5 Rationale for issuing Penalty Notices

5.1 Regular and punctual attendance at school is both a legal requirement and essential if children are to maximise their educational opportunities.

5.2 Parents/carers are committing an offence if they fail to ensure the regular and punctual attendance of their child at the school at which the child is registered, unless the absence has been authorised by the school.

5.3 Although current sanctions to enforce regular attendance exist under section 444 of the Education Act 1996 and section 36 of the Children Act 1989, the introduction of Penalty Notices by the government was aimed at offering a swift intervention which may be used to combat cases of unauthorised absence before the problem becomes too entrenched.

5.4 A Penalty Notice is a fine. It can only be issued to a parent in the circumstances set out in the Code of Conduct. The penalty is £50 if paid within 28 days of receipt of the notice, rising to £100 if paid after 28 days but within 42 days of receipt. Failure to pay the penalty in full by the end of the 42 day period will automatically result in a prosecution for the offence to which the notice applies, unless the Penalty Notice is withdrawn (which can only be done in limited circumstances relating to errors).

5.5 The purpose of the Code of Conduct is to ensure that these new powers are applied consistently and fairly across the area of Hampshire County Council and that suitable arrangements are in place for the administration of the scheme.

5.6 The County Council is required by the legislation to include in the Code of Conduct certain measures to ensure consistency in the issuing of Penalty Notices. The County Council must also have regard to the guidance on Penalty Notices issued by the DfES.

6 Current position

6.1 Between 1 January and 31 August 2006 inclusive, a total of 122 Penalty Notices have been issued, 4 of which were issued by one headteacher and the remaining 118 by the Education Welfare Service on behalf of the County Council. Of the 122 issued, 53 (including the 4 issued by the headteacher) were paid within 28 days. A further 3 were paid within 42 days. At the time of writing this report, of the remaining 66, 4 may still be paid within the 42 day period indicating that in 62 cases, parental prosecution has already been or is currently being taken against the parent following non-payment of the Penalty Notice.

6.2 A detailed analysis of the `long term' effectiveness of the issuing of a Penalty Notice on the level of pupil attendance has been carried out in 41 cases. This analysis shows that in 25 of those 41 cases there was an improvement in the pupil's attendance at 50 sessions after the Penalty Notice was issued compared with the level of attendance for 100 sessions prior to the issuing of the Penalty Notice. This number (25) reduced to 13, however, when the level of attendance was measured at 100 sessions after the Penalty Notice was issued. It should also be noted that the level of actual improvement in attendance after the issuing of a Penalty Notice varied considerably from case to case, ranging from a 3% increase to a 93% increase.

7. Significant issues arising from the review

7.1 Headteachers' right to issue Penalty Notices.

A number of headteachers have still indicated their wish to retain the right to issue Penalty Notices themselves and as such, the proposed revised Code of Conduct still provides for this.

7.2. The maximum number of Penalty Notices

7.2.1 The Education (Penalty Notices)(England) Regulations 2004 (as amended) require the Code of Conduct to include a maximum number of Penalty Notice(s) that can be issued to a parent within a twelve month period. The DfES guidance also states that "careful consideration" should be given to multiple issue (of Penalty Notices) in families where more than one child is not attending school regularly. The proposed revised Code of Conduct therefore states that the maximum number of Penalty Notices which can be issued to any one parent during a 12 month period is two, irrespective of the number of children not attending school regularly.

7.2.2 Also, the proposed revised Code of Conduct indicates that the Authorised Person has discretion when deciding whether to issue one or more parents of a child with a Penalty Notice. This is to enable account to be taken of the specific circumstances in individual cases.

7.3 What constitutes an offence in relation to non attendance?

7.3.1 The law does not define what is meant by regular attendance at school. Hampshire's current Code of Conduct states that a pupil must have had at least 20 half day sessions ie the equivalent of 10 school days, of unauthorised absence during any 10 week school period before a Penalty Notice can be issued. Some headteachers are of the opinion that this `threshold' should not apply and should be lower in cases where the unauthorised absence arises out of family holidays being taken during term time. Throughout the county, however, schools have different policies and approaches about authorising absence in respect of pupils taking family holidays during term time, so that the same request may lead to authorisation of absence in one school but not in another.

7.3.2 Furthermore, if a parent fails to pay a Penalty Notice s/he must be prosecuted for the original offence (of non-attendance). If the `threshold' were lowered in such cases, a situation could arise where a parent is issued with a Penalty Notice when the child has had regular attendance, apart from the period of unauthorised absence for the term-time holiday of less than 20 unauthorised half-day sessions. This would therefore be below the level of unauthorised absences at which the County Council would normally prosecute. The courts themselves could also take the view that the period of absence for the holiday eg 5 days (10 sessions), is not sufficient to convict parents of the offence of failing to ensure the regular school attendance of their child.

7.3.3 In order to overcome these potential difficulties and to help bring about some degree of consistency between schools, the proposed revised Code of Conduct therefore indicates that:

a) the level of absence that is necessary before a Penalty Notice can be issued in any circumstance is 20 or more half day sessions ie 10 school days, of unauthorised absence during any 10 school week period; and that

b) the County Council will normally only issue a Penalty Notice in circumstances of more than 20 half-day sessions of unauthorised absence for a family holiday, during any 10 week school period, where the child is otherwise attending regularly, with the restriction that only one period of such unauthorised absence in an academic year should be exempt.

7.4 Children and young people in care

The issue of the school attendance of children and young people in care and the County Council's role as a corporate parent has been raised during the review and will be considered in the context of the `Care Matters: Transforming the lives of Children and Young People in Care' Green Paper.

8. Consultation

8.1 Although headteachers (and designated persons on their behalf), police constables (including persons accredited by them) and other interested parties have been given the opportunity to comment as part of the original review ie between January and July 2005, formal consultation with all of the aforementioned on the proposed revised Code of Conduct was also undertaken between March and July 2006.

9. Legal Implications

9.1 Local Education Authorities are required under section 23 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 to have in place a Code of Conduct for the issuing of Penalty Notices in respect of unauthorised absence. In preparing the Code of Conduct, Local Education Authorities are statutorily required to consult specified persons. When revising the Code of Conduct, it would seem appropriate for the County Council again to consult those persons and provision for this is made in the Code of Conduct.

10. Financial Implications

10.1 As anticipated, the issuing of Penalty Notices has produced additional work both due to the administration of the process and the number of parental prosecutions which have taken place following non-payment of the Penalty Notice. A part-time (0.5FTE) Scale 4 administrative support officer covers the administrative work arising out of the issuing of Penalty Notices as well as the administrative work relating to prosecutions including those which arise from non payment of Penalty Notices. There are therefore no new financial implications.

11. Personnel Implications

None

12. Impact assessment

12.1 In developing and revising the Code of Conduct, regard was paid to equalities and it does conform to national and local policies and legislation.

13. Crime Prevention Issues

13.1 Penalty Notices were introduced nationally as an effective means of reducing unauthorised absence. They were therefore envisaged as a means of reducing truancy and hence a reduction in juvenile crime. Children who are absent from school may also be more susceptible to becoming the victims of crime.

14. Views of local county councillors

Not applicable.

Recommendation

1 That the Executive Member for Education approve the attached revised Code of Conduct for Issuing Penalty Notices in respect of Unauthorised Absence from Schools.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB: the list excludes

1. Published works

2. Documents which enclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

None