Issue - meetings

Report of the Strategic Director of Children and Young People’s Services

Cabinet Member:     Councillor Watson

Commissioner:         Bradwell (in advisory role)

Recommendations:-

1.    That the revised Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) Code of Conduct be approved.

2.    That the following proposed changes be approved:-

·         Use a single aspirational attendance target for both primary and secondary age pupils (the current proposed is 95.3%, which is combined National primary and secondary school average) to avoid confusion with parents and carers who may have children at both primary and secondary schools.

·         Amend the time period considered in calculating the average attendance of a child to include the previous 12 months and the holiday period.

·         Allow a penalty notice to be issued when no parental permission has been sought for a leave of absence and attendance has dropped below the National average target.

3.    That the Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) Code of Conduct be implemented at the start of the new academic school year in September 2018.

Consideration was given to a report submitted by the Acting Strategic Director of Children and Young People’s Services which proposed revisions to the Local Authority Fixed Penalty Notices Code of Conduct in respect of school attendance.

It was reported that the current Code of Conduct was published in 2013 and had been reviewed on a regular basis. Feedback from school and academy leaders in 2017, and an examination of regional practice, had promoted a review of the Code of Conduct. The key changes proposed included:-

·         The use of a single aspirational attendance target for both primary and secondary age pupils to avoid confusion with parents and carers who may have children at both primary and secondary schools

·         The time period considered in calculating the average attendance of a child should be amended to include the previous 12 months attendance including the holiday period

·         The issuing of a penalty notice when no permission had been sought for a leave of absence where attendance had dropped below the national average target.

It was further reported that the service had sought views and engaged with key stakeholders in a period of consultation that ran from January to April 2018 and had included school and academy leaders, school and academy governing bodies and South Yorkshire Police.

Resolved:-

1.    That the revised Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) Code of Conduct be approved.

2.    That the following changes be approved:-

·         Use of single aspirational attendance target for both primary and secondary age pupils (the current proposed is 95.3%, which is combined national primary and secondary school average) to avoid confusion with parents and carers who may have children at both primary and secondary schools.

·         Amend the time period considered in calculating the average attendance of a child to include the previous 12 months and the holiday period

·         Allow a penalty notice to be issued when no parental permission has been sought for a leave of absence and attendance has dropped below the national average target.

3.    That the Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) Code of Conduct be implemented at the start of the new academic school year in September 2018.