By law, all children of school age (5-15) must receive suitable full-time education. Parents have a legal responsibility to make sure this happens. They must register their child in a school or make other arrangements to ensure they are receiving a suitable full-time education. Once a child is registered with a school, it is up to the parents to see that they attend regularly.

The only reasons that children can legally miss school are if they are too ill to attend or if the school has been notified beforehand.

The local authority may decide to prosecute the parents of children who are not in school. Successful prosecutions could result in a fine of up to £2,500, a community order or, in extreme cases, a jail sentence of up to three months. The court could also decide to issue a parenting order, which means the parents have to attend parenting or support classes.