Can I be fined for non-attendance if my child has SEND?

The rule, in plain terms

Yes in principle, but rarely in practice: a SEND diagnosis is no automatic exemption, yet fines apply only to unauthorised absence. Disability- or illness-related absence should be authorised and supported, not fined. The legal duty to secure your child's regular attendance sits with you as a parent whether or not your child has special educational needs or a disability (SEND). What changes everything is how the school records the absence. A penalty notice and the offence under section 444 of the Education Act 1996 both bite on unauthorised absence. If your child genuinely cannot attend because of illness, a medical condition or a mental-health barrier such as emotionally based school avoidance, that absence should be recorded as authorised in the first place.

When a fine becomes possible

Under the national framework that took effect on 19 August 2024, a school can ask the council to consider a penalty notice once a pupil has 10 or more sessions (5 days) of unauthorised absence in any rolling 10-school-week period. The fine is £80, rising to £160 if you do not pay within 21 days; a second fine for the same child within three years is a flat £160. Each parent can be fined a maximum of twice for the same child in any three-year period; a third offence, or non-payment, can route to prosecution under section 444, where the court can impose a fine of up to £2,500.

The same statutory guidance, Working together to improve school attendance, requires a support-first approach. Where support would help a child attend, the school should provide it before any penalty, and for pupils with SEND that includes making sure any provision in an EHCP (education, health and care plan) is actually being delivered. The guidance is also clear that schools should not routinely demand medical evidence to authorise illness or mental-health absence.

The protections that matter

Eligibility to be fined is not the same as a fine being lawful or likely to stand. Four things protect a child with SEND who cannot attend. First, the authorised-absence distinction above: get the absence authorised and the penalty threshold is never reached. Second, the support-first duty in the August 2024 guidance. Third, the section 444 defence that a child is not treated as failing to attend where they were prevented by sickness or any unavoidable cause, which can cover a disability-driven inability to attend. Fourth, the Equality Act 2010: treating a disabled child unfavourably because of something arising from their disability, or failing to make reasonable adjustments, can be unlawful discrimination. Alongside these, the council has a duty under section 19 of the Education Act 1996 to arrange suitable education where a child cannot attend school by reason of illness or otherwise.

None of this guarantees a fine will be withdrawn, and none of it removes the underlying attendance duty. But a penalty issued against a child with SEND who genuinely cannot attend, where support was not offered first, is hard to sustain.

This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.