Fixed Penalty Notices
An educational Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN), is an alternative to prosecution for irregular school attendance.
Fixed Penalty Notices are issued to parents of compulsory school-age pupils in:
- maintained schools
- academy schools
- Pupil Referral Units (PRU)
- Alternative Provision
- other educational establishments.
Where there is broken attendance, your child’s school or the local authority Education Welfare Officer will try to support your child’s attendance.
This could be either by school-based support or signposting you to services within Early Help.
Generally, parents include:
- all natural parents, whether they are married or not
- all those who have parental responsibility for a child or young person
- those who have day-to-day responsibility for the child (i.e. lives with and looks after the child).
Cost of a Fixed Penalty Notice
Fines are issued by the council on behalf of schools.
For the 2024-2025 academic year fines are:
- £80 per parent, per child, if payment is made within 21 days
- £160 per parent, per child, if paid after 21 days but within 28 days.
If you have already received a Fixed Penalty Notice, a second FPN will result in an automatic £160 fine.
If you have received 2 fines within a 3-year rolling period, your child’s school will have to consider a referral to the local authority for legal escalation, which could be a referral to the Magistrates Court under section 444 of the Education Act 1996, which could lead to a fine of up to £2,500 and a possible 3-months custodial sentence.
Pay online
When Fixed Penalty Notices can be issued
Unauthorised term time leave
- A fine can be issued without warning.
- The school have not authorised for your child to be taken out of school.
- When a parent has failed to obtain permission from the school.
- When a pupil is absent for 5 consecutive days.
Unauthorised absence
- Parent failing to notify the school of absence.
- Attend school after the close of the register.
If attendance does not improve or there has been no engagement with any support plan, the school will issue you with a notice to improve your child’s attendance.
You will be given a fixed period to improve your child’s attendance.
If attendance does not improve and there is an overall absence of 10 sessions (5 school days) over 10 school weeks, a fine can be issued.
Unauthorised absent marks
| Attendance Code | Definition |
| G | The pupil is absent without leave for the purpose of a holiday |
| N | The circumstances of the pupil’s absence have not yet been established |
| O | Unauthorised absence |
| U | The pupil attended late after the register ended but before the end of the session |
Contact us
If you have a question or are having problems paying your penalty notice online, contact the Education Welfare Team at educationcourtsteam@lambeth.onmicrosoft.com.