St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swindon

The school is responsible by law for reporting poor attendance to the LA (Local Authority). As a parent, you are committing an offence if you fail to make sure that your child attends school regularly, even if they are missing school without your knowledge. You run the risk of being issued with a penalty notice or being taken to court. The LA may decide to prosecute a parent. If this happens, parents can be fined up to £2,500 or imprisoned for failing to ensure that their child attends school regularly; Magistrates can also impose a Parenting Order, which means that the parent has to attend a counselling and guidance programme, usually a parenting class. This may result in a criminal record and affect job opportunities.

School attendance and absence: Legal action to enforce school attendance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)