Local penalty notice Code of Conduct compliance procedure

Applicability

This procedure applies conditionally to maintained and academy schools and other authorised issuers in England when issuing or supporting penalty notices. It does not make a school responsible for producing, publishing or consulting on the local authority’s Code of Conduct.

Requirement

When issuing or supporting a penalty notice, the school or other authorised issuer must adhere to the relevant local authority’s published Code of Conduct. The relevant authority is [local authority name] and the applicable document is the current published version, [current code version].

Procedure

Obtain the applicable Code

Obtain the current published Code of Conduct from [local authority name] before issuing or supporting a penalty notice. Confirm that the version being used is [current code version].

Apply the Code

The authorised issuer must follow the applicable requirements in the current published Code of Conduct when issuing or supporting a penalty notice.

Communicate the requirements

Communicate the applicable requirements of the current Code of Conduct to authorised staff involved in issuing or supporting penalty notices. The responsible role is [authorised issuer role].

Retain the current version

Retain access to the current published Code of Conduct and identify the version used for penalty-notice activity.

Record compliance and clarification issues

Record whether the penalty-notice activity was carried out in accordance with the applicable Code of Conduct. Record any issue requiring clarification and refer it to the relevant local authority before relying on an uncertain requirement.

Local authority responsibilities

The local authority is responsible for drawing up and publishing its Code of Conduct. When producing or amending the Code, the local authority must consult schools and the police.