Posted: Mon 18th Sep 2017

265 Fixed Penalty Notices issued for unauthorised school absences

Wrexham.com for people living in or visiting the Wrexham area
This article is old - Published: Monday, Sep 18th, 2017

More than 250 fines in three years have been issued to parents and guardians in Wrexham over their child’s unauthorised school absences, with 74 court actions as a result.

The figures have been released as part of a report due before Wrexham Council’s Lifelong Learning Scrutiny Committee on Thursday afternoon.

In total 265 fixed penalty notices have been issued by headteachers to parents and guardians across Wrexham since 2014. In the first two years of the stats issued in the report there was 17 court actions each year, however last year that grew 135% to 40 actions.

Such fines have been in place locally since 2015, however the Fixed Penalty Notice Code of Conduct was given Executive Board approval in November 2014.

As Wrexham.com reported three years ago the policy allows for fixed penalty notices to be issued to parents / guardians / carers of children who have poor attendance and several unauthorised absences at school.

At the time councillors were told that “a fixed penalty notice will not be issued as soon as a problem arises” and that the local authority will support families and children into going back to school.

The £60 notices can be issued for a student who had 10 unauthorised absences as a result of a holiday during term time and persistent lateness (more than 10 occasions in one term).

Morning and afternoons count as separate absences – so missing lessons on the same day would classify as two absences.

If paid within 28 days, the fine will remain as £60. However if the fine is paid after 28 days but before 42 days, the penalty will increase to £120.

If after three Fixed Penalty Notices are issued to an individual family and there is no improvement in the child’s attendance, further action can be taken through the courts.

The report due before the committee this week requests that councillors continue supporting the policy and for legal proceedings to be implemented where appropriate.

A breakdown of figures in the report can be found below – however it is noted that the figures for 2016/17 have not yet been finalised but will be released in November.

The report explains: “For the school year 2015/16 (first full year) the number of Fixed Penalty Notices increased as schools became more familiar with the Fixed Penalty Notice Application Process. This pattern has continued into 2016/17 but the final outcomes are not yet available as court processes remain outstanding at the time of this report.”

Councillors are advised by the reporting Officers: “The FPN process has provided Wrexham Head teachers with an additional means to address unauthorised absences. The FPN process has also provided the Local Authority with an opportunity to develop a sustainable process to address persistent absences from school that would not always meet the legal threshold.”

“It may be necessary to make some minor revisions to the Wrexham Code of Conduct to take account of some occasions where advice from WCBC Legal Services Department is that prosecution may not be in the public interest. This will be considered when evidence suggests that this is required.”

The report will be debated by members of the Lifelong, Learning, Scrutiny Committee on Thursday afternoon.



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