Your parental responsibilities

As a parent, it is your responsibility to make sure that your child gets a suitable education. This responsibility is set out in the Education Act 1996. In most cases, this means that you must make sure your child is registered at a school and that they attend school regularly.

When your child must attend school

Compulsory school age is basically between five years old and 16 years old.

Your child is considered to be of compulsory school age and must have started school from 1 September, 1 January or 1 April following their fifth birthday. Some parents want their children to start earlier or later than others.

Your child will continue to be of compulsory school age until the last Friday in June of the school year in which they are 16 years old. A school year is counted from 1 September until the start of the new term in the following September. For example, if your child's sixteenth birthday was on 10 May, they would still have to attend school until the last Friday in June. Just because a child has turned 16, it does not mean that they can leave school immediately.

Find out more about how to get your child into a school

Making sure your child attends school

Part of making sure that your child is getting a good education is making sure that they attend school regularly. Once your child is registered at a school, the law says that you as the parent are responsible for making sure they attend.

Sometimes parents can have problems encouraging their child to attend school. If this happens to you, you can contact us for help. A Kent Education Welfare Officer will work with you to help improve your child's school attendance.

Find out about truancy in Kent

Find out about absences from school

What happens if you don't educate your child

Most parents choose to register their child at a school to make sure they get a suitable education. Some parents make alternative arrangements such as educating their child at home. If your child isn't being suitably educated, you are breaking the law and you could be prosecuted.

Prosecution is a serious step and we would only do this after discussion with you, your child's school and a senior Kent County Council officer.

You can read more about the legal proceedings that you may go through if your child does not attend school at the DirectGov website: School attendance and the law.