What does the law say?
All children of compulsory school age – between 5-16 – must receive a suitable full-time education. As a parent/carer, you are responsible for ensuring that this happens, either by registering your child at a school or by making appropriate alternative arrangements.
Once you have registered your child at a school, you are also legally responsible for ensuring that your child attends school regularly. If you fail to do this – even if your child misses school without you knowing – legal action can be taken against you by the Local Authority. It is a legal offence to fail to ensure your child attends school regularly.
Legal action can involve an education penalty notice (please see further details of Education Penalty Notices in the EPN tab on the previous page) or being taken to court.
Parents also face the risk of imprisonment and parenting orders. Parenting orders involve attending a counselling and guidance programme, usually a parenting class.