Government introduces tough new measure to prevent acid attacks READ MORE HERE: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-introduces-tough-new-measure-to-prevent-acid-attacks

Hello Everyone, I have no idea where to post this, I am also INCANDESCENT, got this from the school yes, a SCHOOL , today " Dear Parents/Carers FIXED PENALTY NOTICES The Behaviour and Attendance Team see Fixed PenaltyNotices as an effective part of XXXX School’sdrive to improve attendance, reduce unauthorised absences and raise standards. Fixed Penalty Notices are supported by both theLocal Authority and the DfE and we understand that several local schools haveadopted this approach. The GoverningBody of XXXX have agreed to introduce a system of Fixed Penalty Noticesfrom the start of the Summer Term 2013, ie. week commencing Monday 15thApril 2013. Fixed Penalty Notices will be issued to studentswith 21 or more sessions of unauthorisedabsences in the current and/or previous terms. (One session is either 1 morning or 1afternoon, 2 sessions equates to one day and 21 sessions equates to 2 weeks andone morning or afternoon etc). Thismeans: · Afine of £60.00, if paid within 28 days · Afine of £120.00, if paid within 42 days PleaseNote: Non-payment of fines can lead to prosecution. An unauthorised absence is when: · Your child arrives late, after the register hasclosed. · We have not received notification of absence. · A term time holiday has taken place. · No evidence is provided, if requested by school (whenattendance is an ongoing concern, eg. persistently below 85%, the SeniorLeadership Team will meet with you and ask you for medical evidence eg.prescriptions and / or appointment slips). In light of these changes, we are currently in theprocess of updating our attendance policy which will be published to you. We will be reminding you of the new systemthroughout this term, but please remember that this new system will not startuntil next term. ATTENDANCE/PUNCTUALITY Our whole school attendance figure for last term (3rdSeptember to 19th December 2012) was 94.7% and Ofsted would gradethis as “Requires Improvement”. This isnot a good situation to be in. However, we are mindful that attendance wasseverely affected during December by the high number of families suffering fromthe winter sickness bug and all the cough/cold type viruses. If we exclude December’s figures, ourattendance percentage between September and November 2012 was 95.7% whichOfsted would grade as “Good” – just a small percentage below Outstanding. We were Outstanding at the end of the firsthalf term and are hoping to get back there as quickly as possible. Please find below punctuality figures for the firstand second half of the Autumn Term 2012/13, plus the attendance figures for thewhole term. Wehave published these figures which include all absences including holidays,medical appointments and illness etc. Wefully understand and appreciate that, unfortunately, within some classes,children have serious ongoing medical conditions which obviously inflate thefigures. TERM TIME HOLIDAYS 2011- 2012 (1st Sept to 23rd Dec 2011) 2012 – 2013 (3rd Sept to 19th Dec 2012) 67 children = 483 sessions missed 90 children - 669 sessions missed With regards to attendance, both the Leadership Teamat XXX and our School Attendance Improvement Officer will be focusingmore on the number of incidents of absence, ie. the odd days off “here andthere” compared with 1 bout ofillness. The minimum expectation is that children attend school for 95%of the time. Children are classed aspersistent absentees once their attendance drops below 85% and unfortunately,it only takes two or three incidents of absence (holidays, medical appointmentsand illness etc) to affect overall attendance percentages to this degree. Obviously, we are not advocating that yousend your poorly child into school, but if they are simply “under the weather”,then please consider sending them in. The children have responsibilities and commitments to their learningjust the same as adults do in their daily lives. It is a major concern of ours to see how many termtime holidays are being taken. There isa significant increase on the same period last year. We fully appreciate how much cheaper holidaysare during term-time and in the current, ever worrying financial climate, wecan understand why parents make this decision. However, we still cannot authorise these absences; school is importantand the pace of the day is rapid, the children do miss a lot when they are awayand it could even mean an entire topic or aspect of one subject is completelymissed. Poor attendance can severelyaffect attainment and progress (see attached document), and always rememberthat primary school is just as important as secondary school. The impact on GCSE results as outlinedoverleaf is the same as SATS in Years 2 and 6. Please remember that we want to support you in ensuringyour children achieve good attendance and punctuality. If there is anything at all that we can do asa school to assist you, please do not hesitate to pop in for a chat, we wouldbe pleased to see you. Yours sincerely" I would dearly love to hear what law says that they can charge a penalty notice and how this is enforcable.

The already famous Ukraine Police,who are always quick to top up their wages with "fines" extracted from foreigners for so called infringements ...will be rubbing their hands at this latest earner rubber stamped by Yanukovitch today. Getting caught smoking in non designated places could now set you back 1000 uah (approx 81 quid) That is of course if you choose to elect for Court.....its likely that an offender will escape this by presenting 2-500 crispy Hirivnas to avoid any "problems" you read it here first.....watch the newspaper complaints come flooding in before the end of the comp. http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/129509/