Legal Interventions

School attendance orders (SAO): Section 437, Education Act 1996 (opens new window)

"If it appears to a Local Education Authority that a child of compulsory school age in their area is not receiving suitable education, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise, they shall serve a notice in writing on the parent requiring him to satisfy them within the period specified in the notice that the child is receiving such education."

Section 437(2) of the Act provides that the period shall not be less than 15 days beginning with the day on which the notice is served. Local Authorities have the power to prosecute parents who fail to comply with a School Attendance Order under Section 443 of the Education Act 1996.

The current Norfolk process to enforce enrolment at school is:

1. An Attendance and Entitlement Officer (AEO) will aim to contact parent/carers via telephone within 5-7 working days of receiving the referral. This will usually be followed up with a home visit to support admission to school, unless not required. In some cases, it may be appropriate to make an unannounced visit instead.
2. Following the home visit, the AEO will write to parent giving them 7 working days to enrol their child into a school or provide evidence to Services to Home Educators that the child is receiving a suitable education. Checks are then made with Admissions and Services to Home Educators.
3. If the above is not followed, a School Attendance Notice 1 is sent warning of legal action if pupil is not registered at a school within 7 days.
4. The AEO will liaise with the Admissions service, who will identify a local school to be named. Where Admissions/Fair Access have already offered a school place and the parent has declined that offer, the offered school will be the named school.
5. In cases where the referral has come via the Admissions Service and a school place has already been offered, the AEO will approach the already offered school for formal consultation. In cases where the referral has come from the Fair Access Team, the AEO will not be required to hold a formal consultation with the school offered as this will have been encompassed by the Fair Access Panel as per the NCC Fair Access protocol.
6. The AEO will hold a formal consultation with the Headteacher/Principal and Chair of Governors/member of the Trust responsible for admissions of the identified School. With maintained schools, if the school does not agree to be the named school for the child, the AEO will inform the Headteacher and Chair of Governors that they have 15 days to lodge an appeal with the Secretary of State. With academies, if the school does not agree to be the named school for the child, the AEO will inform the Headteacher and trust representative that they have 7 days from the date of the consultation to outline in writing their reasons for not being named in the order and email this to the LEA.
7. A School Attendance Notice 2 is sent, warning of legal action if the pupil is not registered at the named school within 15 days.
8. A School Attendance Order is issued to the parent - they have a further 15 days to enrol their child at the named school. Failure to do so will result in them being in breach of the order.
9. The Parent is prosecuted in Magistrates court for failing to provide their child with a suitable education. The maximum sentence is a fine of £1000 and /or a Conditional Discharge.

School Attendance Order Procedure (PDF) [173KB].