Torfaen Council Increases Efficiency, Boosts Revenue and Improves Attendance Outcomes with MRI’s FPN Solution

Key Achievements:

• 2-4 hours of council admin reduced to just 5-15 minutes per process 

• 10-20 minutes of school admin saved per school request 

• End-to-end process time reduced from 1-3 weeks to 1 day 

• Significant reduction in stress and postage costs 

• More penalty notices issued, improving attendance and funding 

• Staff time freed up to improve outcomes with proactive intervention 

Torfaen’s Attendance Challenges Needed a Modern Solution 

Torfaen’s Education Welfare Service faced mounting pressure to tackle pupil absences, and issuing fixed penalty notices (FPNs) was a manual, time-consuming task. Staff were spending hours on each case, and complex FOI requests redirected the focus of their already stretched resources. 

When Sarah Allard assumed the role of Education Welfare Service Manager, she quickly recognised the urgent need for a more effective approach to managing pupil attendance. MRI’s FPN solution transformed the process: schools now submit each request through a simple five-stage process, and local authorities can issue penalty notices with a single click after reviewing evidence. The solution has streamlined enforcement, reporting, and school communications. 

Clear, Automated Processes Delivered Immediate Impact 

Previously, their penalty notice process was time-consuming, open to human error and hard to track. Staff relied on labour-intensive manual processes, often delaying action when colleagues were off sick or on leave. At times, a single request could take several days to process. 

MRI’s FPN platform transforms the process with: 

• Schools follow a clear, transparent, and efficient five-step workflow, reducing complexity and speeding up submissions 

• Automatic progress updates ensure every stakeholder remains informed throughout the process 

• With a single click, a template letter is generated, dynamically merged with current data, and automatically printed & posted—eliminating manual intervention 

• A unified dashboard delivers complete oversight with a comprehensive audit trail for full accountability 

• Provide instant insights for Freedom of Information requests and demographic analysis, supporting informed decision-making 

The project was managed closely by the PM and always available. We were made to feel respected and valued… no question was a silly question.

Strong Leadership Drove Rapid Adoption of MRI FPN 

Although MRI Education was already a trusted partner of Torfaen, the FPN solution hadn’t yet been explored. That changed when Sarah Allard stepped in. Revisiting MRI’s offerings, she saw untapped potential during a product demo and seized the opportunity to drive real change. 

“With absence rates a concern and the loss of potential revenue that could be invested towards improving attendance, there was pressure within the council to ensure these were being issued.”

With the right prep – including updating internal policies, drafting letter templates, and setting up the Gov.UK Notify Service – the council launched in October 2024. It was a smooth rollout and transition supported by MRI’s project team, helpful training videos, and shared resources from other LAs. 

We benefitted from some existing LAs sharing templates which has been a common theme with new customer onboarding.

94% Less Admin Freed Staff Time for Action 

MRI’s platform delivered immediate and measurable time savings. Tasks that once consumed hours are now completed in minutes. Manual follow-ups have been practically eliminated, and schools benefit from real-time visibility, empowering them to track progress independently and stay informed without the need for calls or emails. 

• Admin time dropped by 94%, from 2-4 hours to just 5-15 minutes 

• Schools save up to 20 minutes per request, allowing staff to focus on core educational priorities 

• Postage costs reduced thanks to Gov.UK Notify integration and automated letter template generation 

• More notices issued, with schools now more confident in the process 

• More income generated to cover the cost of delivering FPN and to put in place additional attendance measures 

And the benefits go beyond admin: 

Very positive impact… staff are much happier to manage PNs now, knowing that it is such a simple process and much less time on administration. 

Staff are able to get out on the ground more – FPN has freed up time to actually put in place strategies and interventions to improve attendance.

Instant Access to Key Data Reduced Staff Stress 

Freedom of Information (FOI) requests once posed a major challenge for Torfaen. Today, MRI’s system delivers near-instant access to key demographic and process data, streamlining the preparation of responses for even complex FOI inquiries. 

“They have commissioned some key reports for managing these tasks… the commissioned report is invaluable and easily edited to provide additional fields and data.”

This means: 

• Fewer data breaches (thanks to automated input) 

• Faster FOI responses 

• Monitoring of vulnerable groups that was previously impossible 

Savings and Revenue More Than Cover the System’s Cost 

The wider impact has been extremely positive. With streamlined processes and lower costs, the council’s FPN system now pays for itself, delivering long-term value at no extra expense. 

• Central budgets no longer drained by postage 

• Time savings have enabled resource redeployment (e.g. attendance support officer reassigned) 

• Workload linked to FPNs has dropped which has enables staff to dedicate more time to improving attendance on the ground 

Previously, postage came out of the central Torfaen budget – it’s now self-funding through the improvements made to our processes using FPN. And, staff are much happier to manage FPNs now, knowing that it is such a simple process and much less time on administration.

Word of mouth has been a powerful indicator of change. Families now see penalty notices as a true deterrent for avoidable school absenteeism, reinforcing Torfaen’s commitment to addressing unauthorised absences. As more people recognise that penalty notices are being issued consistently and decisively, holiday-related absences are already beginning to drop.  

“We expect to see a reduction in holiday absences as word of mouth spreads that Torfaen will take action.”

Torfaen’s Results Inspired Other Welsh Authorities to Join 

Torfaen’s success has already inspired neighbouring Welsh authorities to adopt the same system, including Blaenau Gwent and Newport.  

We believe this is a very beneficial product and have already recommended it to two other Welsh Authorities who have both recently purchased it as well. Working in a multi-authority environment is enlightening and reassuring as resources are freely shared and ideas are bounced around.