Parents have a legal duty to ensure that their child receives an education suitable to his/her age, ability and aptitude and any special needs. Most parents fulfil this obligation by registering their child in a school.
If your child is registered at a school he/she must by law attend that school regularly and punctually. Your child should only miss school if he/she is ill or unable to attend for some other unavoidable reason.
If your child is absent and school either does not receive an explanation from you, or considers the explanation unsatisfactory, it will record your child’s absence as ‘unauthorised’, that is, as truancy.
Key information
A child becomes of compulsory school age when they reach the age of five and, where a parent has elected to register their child at school, they must start school in the term following their fifth birthday at the latest (although parents of many children choose to send them earlier). A child continues to be of compulsory school age until the last Friday in June in the school year that they reach the age of 16.
Most absences for acceptable reasons will be authorised by your child’s school:
- sickness
- unavoidable medical or dental appointments (if possible, arrange these for after school or during school holidays)
- days of religious observance
- exceptional family circumstances, such as bereavement
an interview with a prospective employer or college
Your child’s school will not authorise absence for the following reasons:
- shopping during school hours
- day trips
- holidays which have not been agreed
- birthdays
- looking after brothers or sisters or ill relatives
Education Welfare Officers
If your child’s attendance is unsatisfactory and not improving despite support from the school, the school will make a referral to their Education Welfare Officer (EWO).
The EWO may write to you or ask to meet with you and your child at home or at school to discuss these difficulties. The Education Welfare Officer will then agree with you a plan of action to improve your child’s attendance. This may involve further support in school or from other agencies such as Health or Social Care.
Your rights and responsibilities
- You have a legal duty to ensure that your child receives an appropriate education.
- If your child is registered at a school you must ensure they attend.
What you can do
Make sure your child arrives at school on time. This encourages habits of good timekeeping and lessens any possible classroom disruption. If your child arrives after the register has closed without a good reason, this will be recorded as an ‘unauthorised’ absence for that session.
If your child has to miss school it is vital that you let the school know why, preferably on the first morning of the absence. (Your child’s school will have an attendance policy explaining how this should be done).
If you know or think that your child is having difficulties attending school you should contact the school. It is better to do this sooner rather than later, as most problems can be dealt with very quickly.
How we can help
You can contact an education welfare officer through your child’s school if you need support. You can also contact education welfare officers direct through locality centres.