# When can parents be fined for their child's absence from school?

Source page: https://pupilprotect.co.uk/glossary/penalty-notice  
Last updated: 2026-10-20  
Publisher: Pupil Protect (Glacier Labs Ltd)

> 5 school days (10 sessions) of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10 school weeks is the national threshold at which a school or local authority must consider a penalty notice, often called a fine. It can be any mix of unauthorised absence, including term-time holiday and arriving after the register closes, and reaching it doesn't mean a fine is automatic. A first notice is £80 if paid within 21 days or £160 within 28 days, a second within 3 years is £160, and no parent can get more than two for the same child in 3 years, after which prosecution is possible.

## The national threshold

Since August 2024 there has been one national framework for attendance penalty notices in England. It is set out in the DfE's statutory guidance, *Working together to improve school attendance* (July 2026 edition), with the legal rules in the Education (Penalty Notices) (England) Regulations 2007, as amended in 2024. The July 2026 edition made technical clarifications to the guidance. The fines rules themselves are unchanged.

All state-funded schools must **consider** whether a penalty notice is appropriate whenever a pupil reaches the national threshold (paragraph 184):

> 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a rolling period of 10 school weeks.

- **A session is half a day.** Registers are taken morning and afternoon, so 10 sessions is 5 school days.
- **A school week** is any week with at least one school session.
- **Any mix of unauthorised absence counts.** For example, 4 sessions of term-time holiday plus 6 sessions of arriving after the register closed.
- **The sessions don't have to be in a row.** 10 sessions of holiday in one week counts, and so does 6 in one week and 1 a week for the next 4.
- **The 10 weeks can cross terms and school years.** For example, 2 sessions in the summer term and 8 in the autumn term.

Unauthorised absence means sessions recorded with an unauthorised code: G (holiday not granted), N (reason not yet established), O (other unauthorised absence) and U (arrived after registration closed). Independent schools can't use penalty notices (paragraph 179).

Schools should not have a blanket policy of always or never issuing notices. They judge each case (paragraph 184).

## The questions before issuing

When a pupil meets the threshold, the school or local authority works through these questions (paragraph 185):

1. **Is support appropriate?** If yes, continue the support, or send a Notice to Improve if support isn't working or isn't being taken up. A penalty notice can follow if either fails. If no, as is usual for a term-time holiday, a penalty notice should be issued, subject to the remaining questions.
2. **Is a penalty notice the best tool** to change this family's behaviour, or would more support or another legal step work better?
3. **Is it appropriate under the Equality Act 2010**, for example where the pupil is disabled?
4. **For local authorities only: is it in the public interest**, given they would have to prosecute if it isn't paid?

"Support" means anything intended to improve the pupil's attendance, other than a penalty notice or prosecution. The local authority's decision on whether enough support was given is final (paragraph 186).

A local authority can issue a notice before the threshold is reached, for example where parents take several short holidays to stay just under it. It must say so in its local code of conduct (paragraph 188).

## Notice to Improve

A Notice to Improve is a final chance for parents to engage with support before a penalty notice. It should usually be sent where support is appropriate but hasn't worked or hasn't been taken up (paragraph 189). It should set an improvement period of **3 to 6 weeks** and say what sufficient improvement looks like (paragraph 191). If it's clear improvement isn't happening, a notice can be issued before the period ends, as long as the parent is told first (paragraph 193).

A Notice to Improve isn't needed where support isn't appropriate, such as a term-time holiday.

## How much the fines are

Paragraph 194 sets the amounts and the limit, **per parent, per child**, over a rolling 3 years:

| Notice | Amount |
|---|---|
| First | £80 if paid within 21 days, £160 if paid within 28 days |
| Second within 3 years | £160, paid within 28 days |
| Third within 3 years | Can't be issued. Other action follows, often prosecution |

A notice can be issued to each parent liable for the offence. It should usually go only to the parent or parents who allowed the absence (paragraph 179).

Notices that weren't paid count towards the limit, but withdrawn ones don't (paragraph 196). When a pupil has moved school or area in the last 3 years, the school or local authority should check whether earlier notices were issued (paragraph 197).

A separate notice applies if an excluded pupil is in a public place during school hours in the first 5 days of an exclusion. That one is £120, or £60 if paid within 21 days, and is not part of the national framework (paragraph 183).

## Who issues them, and paying

Only a headteacher, or a deputy or assistant head they authorise, a local authority officer or the police can issue a penalty notice (paragraph 181). Anyone other than the local authority should check with the local authority first and send it a copy. Every local authority must have a local code of conduct that all issuers follow (paragraph 199).

Payment always goes to the local authority (paragraph 201). If the notice isn't paid within 28 days, the local authority must either prosecute for the original offence or withdraw the notice (paragraph 202). **There is no right of appeal** (paragraph 203). Penalty notices are not meant to raise money, and local authorities should not have income targets (paragraph 204).

## Term-time holidays

Headteachers can only grant leave of absence in limited circumstances set out in regulation 11 of the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024, or for exceptional circumstances at their discretion. The DfE does not generally consider a holiday to be an exceptional circumstance (paragraphs 36 and 37). An unauthorised holiday is recorded with code G, and it counts towards the threshold like any other unauthorised absence.

## If the threshold isn't reached

The threshold is a trigger for considering a notice, not a free allowance below it. Some examples:

- **A 4-day term-time holiday** is 8 sessions. On its own that is below the threshold, but any other unauthorised absence in the same rolling 10 school weeks, such as 2 late marks after the register closed, would take it to 10.
- **Repeated short holidays** that stay just under the threshold can still lead to a notice if the local authority's code of conduct allows it (paragraph 188).
- **Persistent absence** is a separate measure. A pupil who misses 10% or more of sessions is persistently absent, which the guidance says is equivalent to 1 day or more a fortnight across a full school year (paragraph 134). Schools and local authorities are expected to put extra support in place.

As a guide to the numbers, 2 days off over a full year of 190 school days is 188 out of 190, or 98.9% attendance. Our [attendance calculator](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/tools/attendance-calculator) works it out for any pupil.

## Prosecution

Once a parent has had two penalty notices for the same child within 3 years, a third can't be issued, and the local authority considers other action, which can include prosecution. Prosecution is a last resort, and only the local authority can prosecute (paragraphs 163 and 164). Under section 444 of the Education Act 1996 there are two offences:

| Offence | Maximum penalty |
|---|---|
| Section 444(1): a child fails to attend school regularly | A fine of up to level 3 on the standard scale, currently £1,000 |
| Section 444(1A): the parent knows the child isn't attending regularly and fails to make them | A fine of up to level 4, currently £2,500, and/or up to 3 months' imprisonment |

The guidance adds that a community order is also possible for the section 444(1A) offence (paragraph 165). So the "up to £2,500" figure often quoted online is the maximum for the more serious offence, after prosecution, not a penalty notice.

## What schools should have in place

- An attendance policy that explains the national framework and when Notices to Improve and penalty notices will be used.
- Accurate, timely coding, because the threshold depends on unauthorised codes.
- A record of the support offered and taken up, for when the local authority asks whether support was sufficient.
- Knowledge of your local authority's code of conduct, including how to refer a case or issue a notice.

Absence can also be a safeguarding warning sign. Before any legal step, the DSL should know if a pupil's absence is rising, and see it next to anything else known about the child.

## Questions

**How many days off school before a fine?**  
The national threshold is 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a rolling period of 10 school weeks. A school day has two sessions, so that is 5 days, or any mix of half days. Reaching it means the school or local authority must consider a penalty notice. It does not mean one is issued automatically.

**Can I be fined for taking my child on holiday for 4 days?**  
4 school days is 8 sessions, which on its own is below the national threshold of 10. But any other unauthorised absence in the same rolling 10 school weeks, such as late arrival after the register closes, counts towards it. A local authority can also issue a notice below the threshold, for example for repeated short holidays, if its local code of conduct says so.

**What's the most days you can miss school?**  
There is no allowance. Pupils of compulsory school age are expected to attend every day the school is open, and only the school can authorise an absence. A pupil who misses 10% or more of sessions is persistently absent, equivalent to about 1 day a fortnight across a school year, and 50% or more is severe absence.

**How to avoid school holiday fines?**  
A leave of absence for exceptional circumstances is at the headteacher's discretion, and must be requested in advance by a parent the pupil lives with at maintained schools. The DfE does not generally consider a holiday to be an exceptional circumstance. If leave isn't granted and the pupil is absent, the absence is unauthorised and counts towards the threshold. For an unauthorised term-time holiday, the guidance says support is usually not appropriate, so a penalty notice should be issued once the threshold is met, subject to the other checks.

**How much attendance is 2 days off?**  
It depends on how many days the school has been open. Over a full year of 190 school days, 2 days off is 188 out of 190, or 98.9% attendance.

**Do both parents get fined?**  
They can. A penalty notice can be issued to each parent liable for the offence, but the guidance says it should usually only go to the parent or parents who allowed the absence, whichever parent asked for the leave.

**Can you appeal a school attendance fine?**  
No. There is no right of appeal against a penalty notice. If it isn't paid within 28 days, the local authority must either prosecute for the original offence or withdraw the notice.

## Sources

- [Working together to improve school attendance (DfE statutory guidance, July 2026): National Framework for penalty notices, paragraphs 179 to 205, paragraphs 36 and 37 on leave of absence, 134 on persistent absence, and 163 to 165 on prosecution](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a4f9ec6a6586e258d371bd0/Working_together_to_improve_school_attendance_2026.pdf), checked 2026-10-20
- [Working together to improve school attendance, guidance page (GOV.UK, updated 9 July 2026)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance), checked 2026-10-20
- [The Education (Penalty Notices) (England) Regulations 2007 (legislation.gov.uk)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2007/1867/contents/made), checked 2026-10-20
- [The Education (Penalty Notices) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (legislation.gov.uk)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2024/210/contents/made), checked 2026-10-20
- [The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 (legislation.gov.uk)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2024/208/contents), checked 2026-10-20
- [Education Act 1996, section 444: offence of failing to secure regular attendance (legislation.gov.uk)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/56/section/444), checked 2026-10-20
- [Sentencing Act 2020, section 122: the standard scale of fines (legislation.gov.uk)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2020/17/section/122), checked 2026-10-20

## Related

- [Attendance fines checker](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/tools/attendance-fines-checker): Check whether a pupil's unauthorised absence has reached the national threshold, and what a notice would cost.
- [Attendance calculator](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/tools/attendance-calculator): Work out a pupil's attendance and whether it counts as persistent or severe absence.
- [Persistent and severe absence](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/glossary/persistent-absence)
- [Part-time timetables](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/glossary/part-time-timetable)
- [Attendance jobs](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/jobs/role/attendance)

## In Pupil Protect

Pupil Protect Safeguard keeps attendance from your MIS on each child's chronology, and logs the calls, letters, meetings and home visits you make about it, so the support offered before any penalty notice is on record. [See attendance in Safeguard](https://pupilprotect.co.uk/safeguard#attendance)