Two and a half years on from the introduction of the National Framework for Penalty Notices (August 2024), schools and local authorities are increasingly encountering families reaching the two-notice cap within the rolling three-year window.
With national data from 2024/25 showing nearly half a million Penalty Notices issued—and a staggering 93.2% of those issued for unauthorised term-time leave—practitioners face two distinct challenges:
Repeat Unauthorised Leave & Non-Payment (The 93%): How to deter a third holiday after Notice 2, and how LA legal teams manage the sheer volume of prosecutions for both unpaid Penalty Notices (reaching nearly 29,000 cases nationally) and third-offence holidays under Section 444(1) / Single Justice Procedure without overwhelming their capacity.
Entrenched Irregular Attendance (The 7%): How schools and LAs embed a genuine Support First ethos, make effective use of the Notice to Improve, and deploy appropriate statutory interventions (Parenting Contracts, Education Supervision Orders, or Section 444(1A) prosecutions) where complex barriers exist.
This half-day conference brings together the Department for Education, NAfSA, Local Authority Practitioners, and Specialist Legal/Investigation Trainers to share national data, policy expectations, and defensible, high-efficiency frontline practice.
Programme Running Order09:15 – 09:30 | Virtual Doors Open & Delegate Check-InLead: NAfSA Host
Session Brief: Delegate arrival, regional networking via chat, and a brief visual introduction to the NAfSA platform (Support First, Compliance, and Benchmarking hubs).
Speaker: John Leese (Founding Director, NAfSA)
Session Brief (10 mins):
Welcome to delegates and speakers, outlining NAfSA’s role in connecting schools, trusts, and local authorities through shared statutory practice.
Framing the morning’s core focus: balancing Support First expectations with robust, proportionate, and highly efficient enforcement as more families reach the two-notice cap.
Speakers: Helena Crow (Head of School Attendance Regulations & Enforcement, DfE) & Amy White (School Attendance Division, DfE)
Session Brief (35 mins):
Policy Vision & Objectives: Reflections on the National Framework for Penalty Notices since its implementation in August 2024, including the rationale behind the two-notice cap and the three-year rolling window.
What is Working Well: Insights from the Department for Education on national consistency, parental behavioural shifts following first and second notices, and early help integration.
Key Considerations for Schools & LAs: What the sector should keep in mind regarding proportionality, embedding a Support First approach where barriers exist, and why consistent, appropriate action on third offences is vital to the integrity of the framework.
Speaker: John Leese (Founding Director, NAfSA)
Session Brief (35 mins):
The Data Reality (2018/19 vs. 2024/25): Presenting the latest national figures against pre-pandemic baselines. Exploring the 93.2% term-time leave dominance and sharing NAfSA member evidence on regional variations.
The Volume vs. Rate Paradox: Examining how stable (and even improving) parental payment rates are masking a massive administrative crisis, with unresolved cases nearly doubling to 49,000 and non-payment prosecutions approaching 29,000 annually.
Addressing Operational Bottlenecks: Practitioner feedback on tracking notices across LA boundaries, families moving mid-way through the three-year window, and capacity pressures on legal teams.
15-minute screen break. Delegates will be invited to submit questions via the Q&A function for the closing panel.
Speakers: Local Authority & School Partnership Spotlight (Guest LA Lead & School/Trust Representative — TBC)
Session Brief (35 mins):
Pathway 1 — Managing the 93% (Repeat Term-Time Leave):
Deterrence After Notice 2: Practical communication strategies between schools and LAs so parents clearly understand that a third holiday triggers prosecution rather than another fine.
Handling Third-Offence Holiday Escalations: How proactive LA teams manage Single Justice Procedure (SJP) triage and navigate the Public Interest Test when a pupil’s overall attendance remains high.
Pathway 2 — Managing the 7% (Wider Irregular Attendance):
Support First in Action: Using the Notice to Improve period, EBSA screening, and co-produced Attendance Support Plans (ASPs) to resolve barriers early.
Making Full Use of Statutory Tools: When and how to transition complex cases into Parenting Contracts, Education Supervision Orders (ESOs), or Section 444(1A) prosecutions rather than relying on Penalty Notices.
Speaker: Mike Neumann (ITS Training UK Ltd / National Investigation Officers’ Group)
Session Brief (40 mins):
From Administrative Notice to Criminal Court: Understanding the shift in evidential standards once a Penalty Notice goes unpaid, or the two-notice cap is reached, and a case moves to the Magistrates' Court.
Managing High-Volume / Low-Level Offending (Section 444(1) & SJP): Processing the increasing volume of prosecutions for unpaid Penalty Notices alongside the surge in third-offence term-time leave cases without overwhelming LA capacity. Applying Isle of Wight v Platt principles and framing the specific charge period so high annual attendance does not undermine the prosecution.
Proportionate PACE Compliance (VPS vs. IUC): Moving away from resource-heavy Interviews Under Caution for high-volume, low-level offences. How to effectively use Voluntary Personal Statements (and written PACE-compliant requests) to capture the suspect’s account defensibly, reserving formal IUCs for complex or aggravated Section 444(1A) cases.
Disclosure & The School-to-LA Handover: Ensuring school chronologies, Support First documentation, and Section 9 witness statements comply with the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act (CPIA) and pass legal review the first time.
Chair: John Leese (NAfSA)
Panellists: Helena Crow & Amy White (DfE), Mike Neumann (ITS Training UK / NIOG), & LA Spotlight Speaker(s)
Session Brief (25 mins):
Moderated Q&A addressing pre-submitted and live delegate questions on the National Framework, third-offence decision-making, high-volume SJP prosecutions, and cross-border tracking.
Closing summary from NAfSA on accessing post-event resources, compliance templates, and CPD attendance certificates.
