School attendance orders are made under sections 437 to 443 of the Education Act 1996. If it appears to a local authority that a child of compulsory school age is not receiving suitable education, at school or otherwise, it must serve a notice asking the parent to show that they are. The notice must give the parent at least 15 days. If the parent doesn't satisfy the authority, and it thinks the child should attend school, it serves an order naming a school.
The child's home local authority is responsible for serving the notice and order, including where home education appears unsuitable (attendance guidance, paragraph 125). Not complying is an offence under section 443, with a fine of up to level 3, £1,000 (paragraph 165). Only the local authority can prosecute.
For a school, an SAO affects the register. A school named in an SAO must not delete the pupil's name just because they have registered somewhere else, unless the local authority has amended the order to name the other school (paragraphs 232 and 233). A parent's home education notice under Ground F also doesn't apply while an SAO naming the school is in force (paragraph 245).
Section 39 of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 will replace this process with new sections 436H to 436P of the 1996 Act. When we checked legislation.gov.uk on 20 October 2026, it was in force only for limited purposes, so the current sections still apply.