Online safety, vulnerability and safeguarding for ALN & chronically unwell teens

 

Online Safety for ALN & Neurodivergent Young People | Learn Without Limits CIC

This article forms part of Learn Without Limits CIC’s participation in Safer Internet Day 2026, supporting families of disabled, chronically ill, neurodivergent, and home-educated children. Generic online safety advice does not adequately protect disabled, neurodivergent, or chronically unwell children because it does not reflect how they actually access the internet, education, or social spaces, we attempt to address the most common gaps below.




Why this matters

Chronically unwell, neurodivergent and disabled teens often rely on online spaces more than their peers. For many ALN home learners, the internet is where:

  • education takes place

  • friendships are maintained

  • independence is explored

  • isolation caused by illness, fatigue or exclusion is reduced

At the same time, these young people are more likely to depend on assistive technology such as screen readers, AAC, voice dictation, captions, smart assistants and AI tools.

These tools are essential. They are also rarely considered properly in mainstream safeguarding guidance.

Most online safety systems were designed for children who are:

  • neurotypical

  • sighted

  • typing rather than speaking

  • attending school daily

  • supervised through formal institutions

That is not the reality for many ALN and home educated children.

Understanding vulnerability without underestimating your child

Being vulnerable online does not mean being careless, immature or incapable.

Chronically unwell and ND teens may:

  • spend long periods online due to pain, fatigue or limited mobility

  • be awake and online at night when symptoms flare

  • rely on voice, text to speech or AAC rather than typing

  • struggle with social nuance, persuasion or hidden intent

  • interpret language very literally, including AI generated responses

  • seek connection during isolation or low mood

Safeguarding must be built around how a child actually lives and communicates, not how guidance assumes they do.

A critical reality check for elective home education families

In elective home education spaces, both online and offline, there is no formal regulation.

This includes:

  • home education groups

  • social meet ups

  • learning pods

  • clubs and activities

  • online group chats and forums

There is no requirement for:

  • DBS checks

  • safeguarding training

  • vetting of adults running groups

  • identity verification in online spaces

Parents often assume that because a group is described as educational, supportive or community based, it is inherently safe. That assumption can be dangerous.

It is important for parents to understand a well documented safeguarding pattern:

Many predators gain access to children by first gaining the trust of adult carers.

This may look like:

  • appearing helpful, knowledgeable or generous

  • offering support to overwhelmed parents

  • positioning themselves as experienced in SEN, trauma or behaviour

  • volunteering to run activities, clubs or online spaces

  • slowly normalising private communication with children

This is not about suspicion or panic. It is about recognising that trust must be built carefully and reviewed regularly, especially in unregulated spaces.

Assistive technology and safeguarding gaps

Screen readers and text to speech

The risk
Screen readers and text to speech tools read everything aloud once content loads. This means:

  • sexual, violent or extremist content may be spoken before a parent can intervene

  • preview text, comments and adverts may be read aloud even if links are blocked

  • abusive or explicit messages can be broadcast unintentionally

For some ND teens, auditory exposure can be more intense and harder to disengage from than visual exposure.

Why filters often fail
Most parental controls filter web pages, not spoken output. Accessibility narration operates outside standard filtering systems.

What helps

  • child specific device profiles

  • disabling auto read or auto play where possible

  • practising pause and stop speech commands together

  • sitting with your child when introducing new platforms

AAC and communication apps

The risk
AAC tools may:

  • store message history in the cloud

  • sync across devices linked to adult accounts

  • expose deeply personal thoughts if accessed by others

  • make a child’s communication style visible, increasing targeting risk

AAC users are also sometimes perceived as cognitively younger, which can increase vulnerability.

What helps

  • check where data is stored and who controls the account

  • avoid linking AAC tools to social media or shared emails

  • use device level locks even within trusted apps

  • role play what to do if someone asks for private information

Speech to text and dictation

The risk

  • background conversations may be captured unintentionally

  • sensitive medical or family information may be transcribed

  • drafts may auto save to cloud services

  • mis transcription can result in messages being sent accidentally

Chronically unwell teens often dictate when fatigued, which increases the likelihood of errors.

What helps

  • turn off auto send and auto save

  • review before sending as a fixed habit

  • dictate in quiet, supervised spaces

  • disable microphones when not actively in use

Voice assistants and smart speakers

The risk
Most generic parental controls, including Google SafeSearch and ISP level filters, do not reliably apply to voice activated searches.

Voice assistants:

  • bypass visual safeguards

  • provide summarised spoken answers without context

  • leave no visible search trail

  • allow private exploration of risky topics

For ND teens who prefer voice access, this can become an unsupervised route online.

What helps

  • restrict assistants to music, timers and weather

  • disable web search, messaging and purchasing

  • keep smart speakers out of bedrooms

  • review voice histories together calmly

Captions and auto translation

The risk
Auto captions and translations can:

  • distort tone and intent

  • remove safeguarding cues

  • normalise harmful language

  • misrepresent discussions of abuse or self harm

ND learners who rely on captions may miss warning signs that others hear.

What helps

  • watch new content together initially

  • discuss tone and subtext

  • favour moderated platforms for younger teens

AI tools and emotional risk

AI tools can support learning, organisation and communication. They can also:

  • reflect harmful ideas without challenge

  • feel emotionally validating in ways that replace human support

  • blur boundaries between tool and relationship

  • give unsafe health or mental health advice

When AI output is read aloud using assistive technology, emotional impact can increase.

Safeguarding approach

  • frame AI clearly as a tool, not a friend

  • keep use task based and time limited

  • no AI chats overnight or in bedrooms

  • regularly ask what the AI helped with today

Gaming safety insert for ALN children and teens

Online games are not just games. They are social spaces, chat platforms and communities with minimal identity verification.

A recurring safeguarding risk reported by parents and taken seriously by police is adults pretending to be children in online games and groups. This has occurred on platforms including Roblox, as well as in supposedly moderated group chats.

In some cases, the adult:

  • builds trust over time

  • encourages secrecy

  • moves conversations into private chat

  • introduces sexualised or coercive behaviour

  • attempts to arrange an in person meeting

Why this works

This risk does not rely on children being reckless. It relies on:

  • children trusting child labelled spaces

  • avatars, role play and private chat

  • moderation that is reactive rather than preventative

  • isolation or loneliness

  • parents assuming moderation equals vetting

Gaming rules that genuinely protect children

No private chat with unknown people
Children should not private message or voice chat with anyone unless parents know the other child’s parents.

Shared space gaming
Gaming should take place in living areas, not bedrooms. Adult presence disrupts grooming behaviour.

Voice chat boundaries
No voice chat late at night. No voice chat with unknown players. Headsets only when adults are nearby.

Closed groups are safest
The lowest risk setup is closed groups where:

  • every child is known

  • parents have each other’s contact details

  • at least one adult actively moderates

Delaying smartphones is protective
Many families choose basic phones for emergencies and delay smartphones until mid to late teens. This is a safeguarding decision, not a social failure.

What children should be taught clearly

  • Some adults pretend to be kids online

  • Anyone asking for secrets is a warning sign

  • If someone suggests meeting up, tell an adult immediately

  • You will never be in trouble for telling

Red flags parents should take seriously

  • pressure to keep secrets

  • requests to move chats to other platforms

  • sudden emotional attachment to an online friend

  • secrecy around gaming or devices

  • mention of meeting in person

  • gifts or in game currency being offered

Trust your instincts. If something feels wrong, it usually is.

If something goes wrong

You do not need certainty to act.

Parents can report on behalf of their child. Early reporting helps protect other children too.

Non negotiable protections that matter

  • No screens in bedrooms

  • Devices used in shared spaces

  • Layered technical controls combined with adult supervision

  • Open conversations without fear or punishment

No filter replaces an informed, present adult.

Safer Internet Day 2026

Learn Without Limits CIC is participating in Safer Internet Day 2026 on 12th February 2026. We will be running an online Zoom workshop for parents focusing on online safety, disability, assistive technology, and safeguarding in home education spaces.

Details on how to join our event will be published on our website:
https://learnwithoutlimitscic.org

Safeguarding disclaimer

This article is provided for general information and parental support only. It does not replace professional safeguarding advice, police guidance or statutory intervention.

Learn Without Limits CIC does not investigate safeguarding concerns and cannot act as a reporting body. If you believe a child is at risk:

  • contact emergency services immediately if there is danger

  • report concerns to CEOP or the police

  • follow local safeguarding procedures

We encourage early reporting, calm action and support for children without blame.

Final reassurance for parents

Elective home education and disability spaces rely heavily on trust. Trust must be built slowly, reviewed regularly and never assumed.

Good safeguarding is:

  • calm

  • proportionate

  • realistic

  • responsive to how your child actually lives and communicates

If this article feels long, it is because families of disabled and chronically unwell children are rarely given the full picture.

Presence, boundaries and early reporting protect far more effectively than fear.

Sources and further reading

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When Everyone Is Acting Rationally, and Children Are Still Harmed




Well-being, welfare, and unintended system effects for ALN children in Wales

What happens in complex public systems when every individual actor is behaving rationally within their role, yet the collective outcome still harms the very people the system was designed to protect?

This is not a question of intent. It is a question of system design.

In Wales, a deliberately well-being-centred legislative framework is now intersecting with new statutory mechanisms introduced through the UK Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill [1], [2]. While these mechanisms are intended to improve oversight and safeguarding, they also change how judgement, discretion, and relationships operate in practice. This has particular significance for children with Additional Learning Needs, whose educational outcomes depend heavily on stability, trust, and effective collaboration between families and professionals.

The issue is not whether children should be protected. The issue is how systems behave when pressure, process, and philosophy collide.

Rational actors and predictable system effects

In the ALN context, all key actors are responding rationally to the pressures they face.

Practitioners are managing safeguarding duties, attendance expectations, professional guidance, and increasing caseloads. Their rational response is to prioritise defensibility, compliance, and timely escalation.

Schools are balancing inclusion, safety, staffing constraints, and accountability. Their rational response is to escalate concerns when risk feels unmanaged or provision unsustainable.

Local authorities are operating under statutory duties, inspection pressure, and finite resources. Their rational response is to standardise processes, reduce variation, and evidence oversight.

Parents are responding to unmet need, distress, and exhaustion. Their rational response is to protect their child, avoid punitive pathways, and seek stability wherever possible.

None of these behaviours are unreasonable in isolation. Harm emerges when system design converts reasonable individual behaviour into collective failure.

Welfare and well-being as organising principles

To understand the current pressure point in Wales, it is important to distinguish between welfare and well-being as organising principles for children’s services.

A welfare-led system is primarily concerned with protection from harm and threshold-based intervention. Its core questions are whether a child is safe, whether statutory thresholds are met, and whether duties have been discharged. It relies on monitoring, escalation, and procedural compliance. Once minimum standards are met, the system often considers its role complete.

A well-being-led system asks broader questions about lived experience, participation, development, and long-term outcomes. It prioritises prevention, proportionality, relational working, and tolerance of complexity. Rather than asking whether a child is safe enough, it asks whether the child is able to live and learn well over time.

This is not a softer standard. It is a more demanding one.

The Welsh legislative direction

Wales has made a sustained and deliberate decision to embed well-being at the heart of children’s services. This is reflected in the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 [3], the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 [4], and the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018, supported by the ALN Code for Wales [5], [6].

Together, these establish a policy environment that emphasises partnership with families, professional judgement, and prevention before enforcement. Over time, this approach has shaped both professional culture and parental expectations.

Relationships as delivery infrastructure for ALN

For children with ALN, effective educational support relies on relationships. The most visible is the parent and teacher relationship, but in practice this extends to ALNCos, inclusion teams, therapists, educational psychologists, social workers, and local authority officers.

Where these relationships function well, escalation is less likely and outcomes improve. Where they fracture, outcomes deteriorate quickly. Relationships are not incidental. They are delivery infrastructure.

Welsh professional culture has historically treated partnership with families as the default unless and until clear safeguarding thresholds make this impossible, such as in cases of neglect, domestic abuse, addiction, or serious risk [11]. This has created a shared expectation that dialogue and collaboration precede enforcement.

What currently works in practice

Much of what works well for ALN children in Wales is not written explicitly into statute. It exists in professional discretion, sequencing of support, and time allowed for stabilisation.

For example, where consent is required for deregistration from special schools, current practice typically allows several weeks for planning and coordination. This enables continuity of NHS services such as speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy to transition calmly into the home environment [6], [10]. Refusal of consent is rare and usually well justified.

This is not goodwill in a sentimental sense. It is informed professional judgement exercised close to the child.

What the new legislation changes

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill introduces statutory Children Not in School registers, formal information duties on parents, defined procedural timeframes, and closer integration with School Attendance Orders [1], [7], [9].

Individually, these measures are rational. Collectively, they re-engineer where judgement sits in the system.

When discretion is replaced by duty, systems rely less on relational flexibility and more on procedural compliance.

The displacement of professional judgement

Under current Welsh practice, escalation decisions are shaped by professionals who know the child and family, with enforcement typically used as a last resort after attempts at stabilisation and support.

Under a more prescriptive statutory framework, judgement is increasingly constrained by procedural triggers, statutory timelines, and information completeness. Delay itself becomes a risk. Context is flattened into compliance. Judgement does not disappear, but it is pushed earlier, higher, and further away from the child.

Why ALN children are particularly exposed

Children with ALN are disproportionately affected by these shifts. Their needs are complex, often non-linear, and frequently expressed behaviourally. In trigger-led systems, distress can appear as non-cooperation, recovery periods can appear as delay, and parental protection can appear as resistance.

As a result, enforcement may occur sooner and on narrower grounds, reducing opportunities for relational repair and increasing system stress for families and professionals alike.

A cultural and philosophical clash

The Bill, as introduced through Westminster, is rooted in an English welfare philosophy that emphasises thresholds, monitoring, and enforcement as safeguarding tools [7], [8]. Welsh children’s services, by contrast, have been deliberately shaped around a well-being philosophy that treats relationships, lived experience, and long-term outcomes as central to safeguarding.

When welfare-led mechanisms are layered onto a well-being-led system, system behaviour changes even where intent does not. This clash plays out structurally, systemically, and at the level of school and home.

Design questions rather than ideology

If safeguarding is to be strengthened without increasing harm, system design must retain proportionality, contextual judgement, relational capacity, and space for prevention.

These are not ideological demands. They are design criteria.

Closing reflection

Safeguarding does not fail because people stop caring. It fails when systems prioritise certainty over proportionality and compliance over context.

When everyone is acting rationally and harm still occurs, the system rather than the individual is where attention must turn.

References (IEEE style)

[1] UK Parliament, Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, Bill 11, Session 2024 to 2025. [Online]. Available: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3519

[2] Welsh Government, Legislative Consent Memorandum: Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, Senedd Cymru, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.senedd.wales/legislation/legislative-consent-memoranda

[3] Welsh Government, Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. [Online]. Available: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2014/4/contents

[4] Welsh Government, Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. [Online]. Available: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2015/2/contents

[5] Welsh Government, Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018. [Online]. Available: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2018/2/contents

[6] Welsh Government, Additional Learning Needs Code for Wales, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.gov.wales/additional-learning-needs-code

[7] Department for Education, Children Not in School: Draft Statutory Guidance, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/children-not-in-school-draft-guidance

[8] Department for Education, Elective Home Education: Guidance for Local Authorities, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/elective-home-education

[9] UK Parliament, Education Act 1996, sections 437 to 443. [Online]. Available: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/56/contents

[10] Welsh Government, Elective Home Education Guidance for Local Authorities, 2018. [Online]. Available: https://www.gov.wales/elective-home-education-guidance-local-authorities

[11] Welsh Government, Keeping Learners Safe: Safeguarding Guidance, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.gov.wales/keeping-learners-safe

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Why stories still matter for children and emotional regulation

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 Why stories still matter (and why Wales is well placed to reclaim them)



Not everything that helps children grow needs to be therapy.

For most of human history, wisdom was passed down through stories. Around fires. At the end of long days. Or at the start of new ones. Long before schools, psychology or parenting manuals, humans used stories to teach children how to live in a world that could be hard, unfair, confusing and beautiful all at once.

Stories did something very specific. They helped children regulate, make sense of difficulty, and understand boundaries without being shamed or overwhelmed.

That is not a coincidence. It is how we evolved.

Stories are older than schools, therapy or the written word

Long before humans could read or write, we told stories.

After a hard day of hunting, gathering or travelling, early humans sat together around a fire with their children and elders. In the flicker of firelight, they passed on what mattered most through story.

Not facts.
Not instructions.
But meaning.

Stories taught:

  • what to fear

  • what to respect

  • when to persist

  • when to stop

  • how to live alongside others

  • how to survive hardship without losing yourself

This is how humans evolved to teach emotional regulation.

The rhythm of a familiar voice.
The predictability of a known ending.
The safety of being together at rest.

Long before the written word existed, stories helped children make sense of a world that was uncertain and often dangerous. They learned about loss, courage, boundaries and responsibility through characters and metaphor, not explanation.

That matters, because it means stories are not an optional extra or a cultural add on. They are part of our biological and social inheritance.

They work because they always have.

What replaced stories did not do the same job

In many households today, that shared space has been quietly replaced. Not by silence, but by screens. By fast moving content designed to provoke outrage, comparison and emotional spikes rather than calm or meaning.

This is not a judgement of parents. It is a reflection of the environment we are all trying to survive in.

Algorithms are not neutral. They are designed to keep attention by amplifying intensity. Over time, that intensity crowds out the quieter practices that help children feel steady.

When stories disappear entirely, something else fills the gap.




Stories are not nostalgia. They are infrastructure.

A story is not just entertainment. It is a handover point between the outside world and a child’s inner one.

Stories:

  • slow the nervous system

  • create predictability

  • externalise problems

  • teach cause and effect

  • build meaning without pressure

That is why children ask for the same story again and again. Repetition is reassurance. Knowing what comes next is safety.

Stories also do not have to happen at bedtime to work.

In our house, bedtime was the worst possible time. By then, my son was exhausted and had no capacity for language at all. So we told stories at breakfast instead. Same stories. Same adult. Different timing. No cost. Big impact.

That small adaptation is a good example of what inclusion actually looks like. It is not always about money. Often it is about timing, observation, and flexibility.




Wales already has what we need

One of the quiet strengths of Wales is its public library service. Libraries are:

  • free

  • local

  • trusted

  • inclusive

  • non judgemental

This means story led approaches do not exclude families on low incomes. They do not require devices. They do not require specialist input. They simply require time and intention.

In a cost of living crisis, that matters.

Librarians have secret superpowers

One of the most underappreciated assets in Wales is not just our libraries, but the people who work in them.

Librarians have a kind of professional intuition that is rarely talked about. They are exceptionally good at matching the right book to the right child.

Not by age on a spine, but by:

  • developmental stage rather than chronological age

  • emotional need rather than reading level

  • visual accessibility for children with limited language processing

  • illustration quality for children who struggle with text

  • themes that can gently support a specific behavioural or emotional challenge

If you explain what you are trying to help a child understand, such as coping with frustration, respecting boundaries, managing anxiety, or feeling different, a good librarian can often suggest a story that does exactly that without turning it into a lesson.

Even better, they are trained to think beyond one child.

They can help you choose books that:

  • work for neurodivergent children

  • also benefit siblings or classmates

  • are inclusive without being patronising

  • can be shared in group settings as well as one to one

And if the perfect book is not currently stocked by your local library, most councils will order it in so that you can borrow it. That means families are not limited to what happens to be on the shelf that day.

This matters, because it keeps support:

  • free

  • local

  • non stigmatising

  • accessible to families under financial pressure

Libraries are not just buildings full of books. They are staffed by professionals whose job is to connect people with the right information at the right moment.

Used well, they are one of the most inclusive and cost-effective early support tools we already have.





Stories that quietly teach life skills

Below are examples of traditional stories that help children build resilience, boundaries, and self-regulation. Not as therapy. Just as stories.

The Hare and the Tortoise
Teaches persistence over speed and effort over comparison. Especially powerful for children who feel behind or discouraged.
Simple message: You do not have to be fast. You just have to keep going.

Atlas
Explains why adults carry responsibility so children do not have to yet. Strength as responsibility, not control.
Simple message: Grown-ups carry the sky until you are strong enough.

The Lion and the Mouse
Shows that kindness matters and that even small people have value.
Simple message: Being kind can matter more than being powerful.

Goldilocks
Introduces boundaries, respect for other people’s spaces, and the idea that not everything is yours.
Simple message: Some things are not for you, even if you want them.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf
Teaches trust, honesty, and consequences in a way children understand.
Simple message: If people stop believing you, help may not come when you need it.

The Ant and the Grasshopper
Encourages planning, balance, and thinking about the future you.
Simple message: Enjoy yourself, but remember tomorrow.

The Ugly Duckling
A powerful story for children who feel different or excluded.
Simple message: Difference is not failure. Belonging can take time.

The Three Little Pigs
Shows why effort, preparation, and solid foundations matter.
Simple message: Shortcuts feel good until they fall down.

The Emperor’s New Clothes
For older children and teens. Teaches critical thinking and speaking up.
Simple message: If something does not make sense, you are allowed to say so.




Not everything has to be therapy

Therapy has its place. It can be life-changing when used well. But it should supplement kind, boundaried parenting, not replace it.

Stories are one of the oldest tools humans have for helping children grow steady. They cost nothing. They are flexible. They work across cultures and generations.

And perhaps most importantly, they remind children of something very simple.

You are not alone.
Someone is here.
The world makes sense eventually.

In uncertain times, that may be one of the most protective gifts we can offer.


_______________________________________________________________________________

Your story matters here

If reading this has stirred memories, questions or reflections of your own, we would love to hear from you.

We welcome short reflections from parents, carers, professionals, and young people about lived experience of supporting children, navigating systems, or moments that changed how you understood your child or your role.

You do not need to be a polished writer. A few paragraphs, a rough draft, or even notes are enough. Our Blog Editor can help shape submissions with care and respect.

If you would like to contribute, please email: support@learnwithoutlimitscic.org

_________________________________________________________________________________

If you'd like to join us to reflect on other ideas that can help our children and young people, we are holding an online peer support session later this week. You can book on to  join us for calm, reflective discussion either online or in person throughout the year, where we discuss ideas for supporting our children & young people in a live environment. If there's a topic you'd like to discuss at an upcoming session just let us know via email. 


You can find the details for booking onto all our events over at eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.com/o/learn-without-limits-cic-116012434951#events
& on our Website here https://learnwithoutlimitscic.org/events.en.html

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Attendance warnings, fines and prosecution in Wales: what parents need to know

 

Attendance warnings, fines and prosecution in Wales: what parents need to know

(especially if your child has Additional Learning Needs)

Important disclaimer
Learn Without Limits CIC is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
This article is for general information and guidance only, based on Welsh and UK legislation, statutory guidance, and publicly reported cases.
It should not be relied upon as a substitute for independent legal advice.
Parents facing enforcement action, fines, or prosecution may wish to seek specialist legal or advocacy support.

1. The legal duty to secure education in Wales

The starting point in law is section 7 of the Education Act 1996, which applies in Wales.

The Act states:

“The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable
(a) to his age, ability and aptitude, and
(b) to any special educational needs he may have,
either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.”
(Education Act 1996, section 7)

Two points matter legally and are often misunderstood:

  1. The duty is to secure suitable education, not attendance at any cost.

  2. Regular school attendance is one lawful way of meeting the duty, but it is not the only way.

However, this is still a parental duty, and failure to meet it can carry serious legal consequences if the statutory tests are met.

2. What attendance letters mean in practice

Most attendance letters sent by schools or local authorities are administrative.

They are usually issued to:

  • notify parents of attendance concerns

  • request engagement or meetings

  • warn that enforcement action may follow

At this stage:

  • no criminal offence has been proven

  • no fine has yet been issued

  • no prosecution has started

That said, attendance letters are important.
Failure to respond or engage can later be relied upon by a local authority as evidence that a parent did not take reasonable steps.

3. Fixed Penalty Notices (attendance fines) in Wales

The legal basis

Attendance fines in Wales are governed by the Education (Penalty Notices) (Wales) Regulations 2013.

These regulations allow a local authority to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice for unauthorised absence.

Key legal facts parents should understand:

  • Penalty notices are discretionary, not automatic.

  • They are intended as an alternative to prosecution, not a replacement for the law.

  • Paying a penalty notice usually prevents prosecution for the same period of absence.

  • Failure to pay may lead the authority to consider prosecution for the underlying attendance offence, not for non-payment itself.

A penalty notice is not a criminal conviction.

4. Welsh Government guidance on enforcement

Welsh Government guidance makes clear that enforcement should not be the default response.

The Attendance Framework for Wales states that legal intervention should be:

“used sparingly, consistently, and only where other approaches have failed.”
(Welsh Government, Attendance Framework for Wales)

The guidance also stresses the importance of understanding why a child is not attending school, rather than relying solely on attendance percentages.

Although guidance is not law, local authorities are expected to have regard to it when making decisions.

5. When fines may be inappropriate

Welsh Government guidance and established practice indicate that penalty notices are often inappropriate where absence relates to:

It is important to be clear that guidance does not create immunity from enforcement.
These factors do not automatically prevent fines or prosecution, but they are highly relevant to whether enforcement is reasonable and proportionate.

6. Additional Learning Needs and attendance

Under the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 and the ALN Code for Wales, children with ALN are entitled to additional learning provision that meets their needs.

The ALN Code states:

“A child has additional learning needs if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for additional learning provision.”
(ALN Code for Wales)

If required provision is not in place, or the placement cannot meet the child’s needs, non-attendance may reflect system failure rather than wilful parental neglect.

This does not remove parental responsibility, but it is directly relevant to how attendance enforcement should be approached.

7. When schools say a child is “unsafe”

If a school states that a child is:

  • unsafe when dysregulated

  • unable to cope in the school environment

  • a risk to themselves or others

this raises serious questions about:

  • suitability of the placement

  • safeguarding responsibilities

  • reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010

A local authority may still pursue attendance action, but parents are entitled to challenge the fairness and logic of enforcement where the school itself says it cannot safely educate the child.

8. When non-attendance becomes a criminal offence

The offence

Prosecution for non-attendance occurs under section 444 of the Education Act 1996.

A court must be satisfied that:

  1. the child failed to attend school regularly, and

  2. the parent failed to secure attendance without reasonable justification.

Section 444(1A) applies where a parent knows their child is failing to attend regularly and fails to act.

Welsh prosecutions under this section do take place.
Parents have been prosecuted in magistrates’ courts following sustained periods of unauthorised absence.

Reasonable justification

Section 444 provides a defence where there is reasonable justification.

Evidence of:

may be relied upon, but the burden is on the parent to evidence this.
This is why early engagement, written responses, and record keeping are so important.

9. What parents should do to protect themselves legally

  1. Do not ignore letters or visits.
    Lack of engagement can increase risk.

  2. Respond in writing, explaining:

    • why your child is absent

    • what needs are unmet

    • what provision is missing or unsuitable

  3. Keep evidence, including emails, medical letters, school statements, and IDP paperwork.

  4. Reframe the issue as provision, not refusal to attend.

  5. Seek advice early if enforcement escalates.

10. Common misconceptions corrected

“Attendance fines are automatic.”
They are discretionary.

“A fine means a criminal record.”
Only a court conviction does.

“ALN prevents prosecution.”
ALN is legally relevant but does not create immunity.

“Nothing happens if letters are ignored.”
Ignoring contact can significantly increase legal risk.

11. Key legislation and guidance parents can quote

  • Education Act 1996, sections 7 and 444

  • Education (Penalty Notices) (Wales) Regulations 2013

  • Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018

  • ALN Code for Wales

  • Welsh Government Attendance Framework

Related guidance: acting early to reduce escalation

If you are at an early stage, or have not yet received a fine or prosecution notice, you may also find this earlier guidance helpful:

Attendance guidance for families in Wales: understanding your options and acting early
https://learnwithoutlimitscic.blogspot.com/2026/01/attendance-guidance-for-families-in.html

That article focuses on:

  • early engagement with schools and local authorities

  • practical steps to reduce escalation

  • documenting unmet need and support requests

  • keeping attendance concerns from becoming enforcement matters

It is designed to sit alongside this article, not replace it.

Final note

Attendance enforcement in Wales is real, serious, and legally grounded.
It is also required to be fair, proportionate, and informed by a child’s needs.

Parents are not powerless, but accuracy, engagement, and evidence matter.

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