School Attendance Orders and Compulsory Registration FAQ

DECEMBER 2022: THE SCHOOLS BILL HAS BEEN DROPPED. THERE IS CURRENTLY NO MECHANISM IN LAW TO INTRODUCE ANY OF THE PROPOSALS OUTLINED BELOW. READ MORE HERE

The government is proposing to introduce – via the Schools Bill – a requirement on parents to notify the local authority if their school-age children are not on the roll of a registered school. Some of these children will be home educated or may be attending somewhere the parents consider to be a school but is not a registered school.

Q1 What does having to register my child actually involve?
The registration clauses of the Schools Bill were made less bad via government amendments passed at Report stage, as described here. We now know that parents will be asked about (a) to (c) in 436C(1) as shown below

We also know from 436D that parents will have 15 days to respond to requests for information

Q2 What will happen if I don’t register?
Parents will NOT be fined for not registering, instead, the Schools Attendance Order process will be used.

Q3 Does that mean if I don’t register they can just make my child go to school?
No. Firstly, as I explain here, it is somewhat of a misnomer to call it an “Attendance Order” since it is actually a registration order “requiring him [the parent] to cause the child to become a registered pupil at a school named in the order.” And secondly, there is a process to be followed before the Attendance Order is actually issued, and it starts with what is sometimes called “a notice to satisfy” for which the Schools Bill is proposing a new official name – “Preliminary notice for school attendance order“

Q4 Preliminary notice? Is that where I get a legal looking letter saying I have 15 days to satisfy the local authority that my child is receiving suitable education otherwise they will issue a School Attendance Order?
Yes, but in future the government is saying it will be 10 days rather than 15.

Q5 So have I got this right, if I don’t register my child, I will get this Preliminary Notice thing and then I will have 10 days not just to register, but also to satisfy the local authority that my child is receiving suitable education, and if the LA says it’s not satisfied at the end of that time, then I will get the School Attendance Order itself?
Yes, that is mostly what the government is saying, except that the LA can’t just go straight from saying it’s not satisfied to issuing the actual Attendance Order because it has to find a school that agrees to be named and it has to consult with a school that it proposes to name and the school can object on the grounds that it is full already or that it would prejudice the education of existing pupils. So the LA has to find a school, consult with the school, and then give you a heads up about the school that it intends to name, which the Schools Bill says will be called “A School Nomination Notice”.

Q6 So I’ve had the Preliminary Notice and the School Nomination Notice and then if I have still failed to satisfy the authority re my education provision, I get the actual Attendance Order which should really be called a Registration Order?
Yes. That’s the theory. I gather that local authorities have told the government that this all takes too long at present, hence the proposed reduction from 15 days to 10 and also various other interim timescales being introduced eg 3 days from one step being finished to the next step being started.

Q7 What if I just ignore the Attendance Order?
If you mean not complying with the order ie not registering your child at school, then you would be breaching the Order which is a potential criminal offence and the local authority could opt to prosecute you, which would mean you got a summons from the magistrates court.

Q7 Do you mean if I ignore the Order I will end up with a criminal record???
No. That would only be the case IF there were a prosecution AND if you were found guilty. Firstly the local authority has to make the decision to prosecute you which is by no means the default option, and secondly you have the option of attending court, entering a not guilty plea, and then providing evidence to the court at a later date that your child is in fact receiving suitable education otherwise than at school, which is a legitimate defence in this type of prosecution.

Q8 But what if the LA has already made its mind up about my home education?
It is up to the court to decide, not the LA, and the requirement is for the education to be suitable to age ability aptitude and any special educational needs the child may have, so the possible types of acceptable education can be very varied, as no child has exactly the same needs as another child.

Q9 Court sounds really scary, what if I just don’t turn up?
If you don’t respond to a summons then you will be found guilty in your absence, but as above, you also have the option of attending court and entering a not guilty plea on the grounds that you are providing suitable education otherwise than at school and the case will be adjourned with a later date set for producing your evidence.

Q10 What if the court finds me guilty?
If you are convicted then there is a range of penalties. The government is proposing to double the potential maximum fine and is also mentioning imprisonment although I am assuming that this latter would not arise for a first offence.

Q10 If I am convicted does this mean the court can make my child go to school?
No. A conviction does not change the fact that in all normal circumstances it is only the parent who can register a child at school (unless the parent has lost their autonomy eg there is a supervision order or care order in place which is a whole other legal process) However, if you ARE convicted, then the Attendance Order will remain in force and you will continue to be in breach so the government is proposing that the local authority should be able to bring a new prosecution without starting again from scratch.

Q11 Going back a bit, what if I got the Attendance Order and couldn’t face all the court stuff, can’t I just register my child at a school and then after a bit take them out again?
No. The Pupil Registration Regulations 2006 as amended say “8.—(1) The following are prescribed as the grounds on which the name of a pupil of compulsory school age shall be deleted from the admission register— (a)where the pupil is registered at the school in accordance with the requirements of a school attendance order, that … the order is revoked by the local education authority on the ground that arrangements have been made for the child to receive efficient full-time education suitable to his age, ability and aptitude otherwise than at school.” This means that the school is not allowed to deregister your child unless the LA has revoked the SAO and if you just stop sending them in and say you are home educating, you are in fact guilty of an offence under a different bit of the law to do with truancy.

Q12 I don’t really understand what you just said. It sounds like I can never get rid of the Attendance Order and my child has to attend school for ever?
No. That is not the case. You can currently apply for the order to be revoked (ie cancelled) and then you would be in the same position as any other parent wishing to deregister their child for home education where consent is only required if the pupil is on roll at a special school. You will still be able to do this under the new legislation. There are no proposals to change this in the Schools Bill.

Q12 I don’t really understand what you just said. It sounds like I can never get rid of the Attendance Order and my child has to attend school for ever?
No. This is not the case. You can currently apply for the order to be revoked (ie cancelled) and then you would be in the same position as any other parent wishing to deregister their child for home education where consent is only required if the pupil is on roll at a special school. You will still be able to do this under the new legislation. There are no proposals to change this in the Schools Bill.

Q13 This seems like a crippling mass of detail already and my head is spinning but have you left anything important out?
Yes. Literally nobody has ever asked me this but I wanted to find a way to signal that there should really be a second blog post.

MY WEBSITE LINK https://edyourself.org/articles/registration.php

Advertisement