When a fine is issued — the national rules since August 2024
Since 19 August 2024, every school and council in England follows one national framework, set by the DfE’s statutory guidance Working together to improve school attendance and the Education (Penalty Notices) (England) Regulations 2024. The trigger is a single national threshold:
The 10-session thresholdA penalty notice must be considered once a child has 10 sessions of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10-school-week period. A session is half a school day, so 10 sessions = 5 school days. They don’t have to be in a row — a week’s term-time holiday meets it in one go, but so do scattered odd days across half a term.
How the amounts work, per parent, per child:
| Situation | What you pay |
|---|
| First penalty notice, paid within 21 days | £80 |
| First notice, paid after 21 days but within 28 days | £160 |
| Second notice for the same child within 3 years | £160 straight away — no £80 stage |
| Third time within 3 years | No more fines — the council must consider other routes, which can include prosecution |
“Per parent, per child” is the part that catches families out. A fine isn’t one bill for the household — each parent (or carer with day-to-day responsibility) can be fined for each child. Two parents taking two children out of school for an unauthorised week can receive four separate £80 notices — £320, or £640 if paid late or if it’s a second offence within 3 years.
“Unauthorised” is the key word. Illness the school accepts, medical appointments, religious observance agreed with the school and leave the headteacher has approved are authorised — they never count towards the threshold. Fines are about absence the school has not agreed to.
Term-time holidays — the “exceptional circumstances” rule
You can only take your child out of school in term time if the headteacher gives permission in advance — and since 2013 the law only lets them grant leave in exceptional circumstances. What counts is the head’s judgement, but it usually means things like a family funeral, a parent returning from military deployment, or a genuinely one-off family event — not a cheaper flight, work rotas or “it’s only two days”.
- Ask first, in writing, every time. If leave is granted, the absence is authorised and no fine can follow.
- If it’s refused and you go anyway, the days are recorded as unauthorised — and a week away is 10 sessions, which meets the fine threshold on its own.
- Both parents can be fined for each child, even if only one booked the trip.
The honest holiday mathsTerm-time holidays are usually cheaper — and some families quietly weigh the saving against the fines. Be honest with the numbers: for two parents and two children a first-time unauthorised week is typically £320 in fines (£640 if paid late), a second trip within 3 years is £640 with no discount, and a third time means no fine at all — the council considers prosecution instead, which risks a criminal record. The fines also do nothing to unwind the missed learning, and repeated unauthorised absence puts your family on the school’s radar in ways that are hard to undo. We’re not here to judge — just don’t make the decision thinking £80 is the ceiling. It isn’t.
The escalation ladder — what really happens if you don’t pay
A penalty notice is not a criminal conviction — it’s the alternative to one. Paying it on time closes the matter completely. The ladder looks like this:
- Days 1–21: pay £80 per parent per child and it’s over. Nothing goes on any record beyond the council’s own 3-year count.
- Days 22–28: the amount doubles to £160. Paying still ends it.
- After 28 days unpaid: the council can’t chase the fine like a debt — instead it can prosecute you in the magistrates’ court for the underlying absence offence under section 444 of the Education Act 1996.
If it reaches court: the basic offence (s.444(1) — your child failed to attend regularly) carries a fine of up to £1,000. The aggravated offence (s.444(1A) — you knew your child wasn’t attending and failed to make them go) carries a fine of up to £2,500 and, in the most serious cases, up to 3 months’ imprisonment. A conviction means a criminal record. Courts can also use parenting orders and education supervision orders.
Never just ignore itIgnoring a penalty notice doesn’t make it lapse — it converts a fixed £80–£160 bill into
prosecution risk, a bigger fine and a possible criminal record. If you can’t afford it, contact the issuing council team
before the deadline and ask about payment options. If you believe the notice is wrong, challenge it in writing straight away (see below) — but do it inside the 28 days, not after. And if the letter itself looks odd, penalty notices are only ever issued by your council or school’s authorised officers — run anything suspicious through
Scam Check before paying anyone.
A fine has arrived — what to do now
Two honest routes. Pick one and act inside the 21 days:
Route 1 — the facts are right: pay within 21 days
If the absence genuinely was unauthorised, paying at the £80 stage is almost always the calm, cheap ending. Pay via the details on the notice (usually the council’s online payment page), keep the confirmation, and diary the date — a second notice within 3 years starts at £160.
Route 2 — the notice is wrong: ask for it to be withdrawn
There is no formal appeal route against a penalty notice — the law doesn’t provide one, in England or Wales. But councils can and do withdraw notices that shouldn’t have been issued. Write to the team named on the notice (keep a copy) if:
- the absence was actually authorised — attach the school’s approval;
- your child was ill and the school was told — attach GP or pharmacy evidence if you have it;
- the dates, child or parent details are wrong, or you don’t have day-to-day responsibility for the child;
- the absence didn’t reach the 10-session threshold.
Disputes about how an absence was coded (authorised vs unauthorised) go to the school first — ask for the attendance record and, if needed, use the school’s complaints procedure. Our Letter Machine has a ready-made withdrawal-request draft for penalty notices, and Decode can read the letter for you. If the council refuses and you still believe the notice is unlawful, you can decline to pay and argue the case if it prosecutes — but that is a serious step: get free advice from Citizens Advice first.
Support first — use itThe 2024 statutory guidance puts a
support-first duty on schools and councils: where absence is driven by illness, anxiety, SEND, caring duties or family difficulty — not a deliberate choice — they’re expected to offer help (attendance support meetings, agreed part-time timetables while a child recovers, early help referrals, attendance contracts)
before reaching for fines. If your child is struggling to attend,
email the school and ask for an attendance support meeting — in writing, so there’s a record. A family that engages with support is in a completely different position from one that goes quiet. If SEND is part of the picture, see
SEND & EHCP help.
Do this now
Find the date on the notice and diary day 21 today. Then choose: facts right → pay at £80 and close it; facts wrong → write to the council with evidence this week asking for withdrawal. If attendance itself is the struggle, email the school for a support meeting — today, not after the next letter.
Not sure what the letter even is? Put it through Decode. Need the challenge letter written? Use the Letter Machine. This is general information, not legal advice — for advice on your own case, contact Citizens Advice (free).
Wales, Scotland & Northern Ireland
The £80/£160 framework above is England only:
- Wales runs its own fixed-penalty system with lower amounts — £60 rising to £120 if paid late (councils publish their own codes of conduct; check gov.wales and your council for current figures).
- Scotland has no school-absence fine system — attendance concerns are handled through the school and, in serious cases, other legal routes.
- Northern Ireland has no fixed-penalty notices either — the Education Welfare Service works with families, and only persistent cases can go to court, where a magistrates’ fine of up to £1,000 per child is possible (see nidirect).
Related guides — school & family
Source verification
Primary sources: DfE statutory guidance
Working together to improve school attendance (in force 19 August 2024) and GOV.UK — School attendance and absence (
gov.uk), the Education (Penalty Notices) (England) Regulations 2024, and s.444 Education Act 1996 (legislation.gov.uk). Last verified 3 July 2026 — the £80 (within 21 days) / £160 (within 28 days) per-parent-per-child amounts; the national threshold of 10 sessions (5 school days) of unauthorised absence in a rolling 10-school-week period; the second-notice-within-3-years flat £160 rule; the no-third-notice rule with escalation to other routes including prosecution; non-payment after 28 days leading to possible prosecution under s.444 (up to £1,000 basic / up to £2,500 and up to 3 months for the aggravated s.444(1A) offence); the exceptional-circumstances rule for term-time leave (2013 regulations); and the support-first principle were all web-checked against GOV.UK, the published DfE guidance and council penalty-notice codes. Confidence: High on the England amounts, threshold and escalation (statutory framework); the no-formal-appeal position is stated in council codes of conduct and legislation (challenge = withdrawal request / court defence). Wales amounts (£60/£120) stated qualitatively from gov.wales guidance and council codes — check your council’s current code; Scotland (no fine regime) and Northern Ireland (no penalty notices; court route via the Education Welfare Service, nidirect) stated qualitatively. Scope: England framework; devolved differences flagged. Not legal advice.
School fines — common questions
How much is a school absence fine?
£80 per parent, per child, if paid within 21 days — £160 if paid within 28 days. Since 19 August 2024 these are national amounts across England. A second notice for the same child within 3 years is £160 straight away, with no discount stage.
When can a fine be issued?
Once a child has 10 sessions (5 school days) of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10-school-week period — one block or scattered days. Authorised absence (agreed illness, approved leave, medical appointments) never counts.
Can I take my child on holiday in term time?
Only with the headteacher’s advance permission, which the law restricts to exceptional circumstances — a cheaper holiday doesn’t qualify. Go without permission and a week away meets the fine threshold on its own, for each parent, for each child.
What happens if I don’t pay?
After 28 days unpaid, the council can prosecute the underlying absence offence under s.444 Education Act 1996 — up to £1,000, or up to £2,500 and in the most serious cases up to 3 months’ imprisonment for the aggravated offence, plus a criminal record. Paying on time closes the matter completely.
Can I appeal the fine?
There’s no formal appeal route. If the notice is wrong — authorised absence, illness, wrong dates or wrong parent — write to the issuing council with evidence and ask for withdrawal; incorrect notices do get withdrawn. Coding disputes go to the school first. Get free advice from Citizens Advice before refusing to pay.