Fines for parents who take kids out of school for holidays hits record high
Fines given to parents who make children skip school to take holidays in term time have soared to a record high, according to new data.
The latest Department for Education (DfE) figures on penalty notices (PNs) for unauthorised absences showed that a whopping 398,796 were issued in 2022/23 academic year - a rise of 58% on the year before. A breakdown showed 89.3% of these were due to unapproved family holidays. The total number of absences returned to the upward trend seen before the pandemic, and are now higher than the last pre-pandemic figure of 333,400 in 2018/19.
Penalty notices are given to parents who are unable to give a valid reason why their child has missed school. Last academic year, nearly 25,000 parents were taken to court - up from 16,000 the year before, and again a record number.
Fines are issued by local councils, and there is a lot of variation in the number being handed out. For example, Doncaster Council issued 16.2 fines for every 100 pupils in the area, compared to just 0.2 fines issued for every 100 schoolchildren in Cumbria.
You can see the figures for your area using our postcode-search based interactive map:
Penalty notice fines start at £60, and can rise to £120 if you fail to pay within 21 days. Some councils charge this fine per child, while others fine each parent for each child. You can also be prosecuted if the problem persists, and if a parent is made to attend court because their child hasn’t been attending school, they can be given a fine of up to £2,500. Other measures that can be imposed prior to prosecution include parenting classes or the child being given an appointed supervisor.
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Headteachers have in recent times been instructed to take a harder line on absences following concerns of a post-pandemic slump in attendance. Alongside a clampdown on unauthorised holidays, new campaigns have emphasised that certain common illnesses do not require children to stay at home.
A letter to headteachers and trust leaders from Professor Chris Whitty and five other health officials in September said they were "aware that the COVID-19 pandemic may have caused some parents to feel less confident with assessing whether their child is well enough to be in school" - but stressed that attendance is "vital to the life chances of children and young people".
"It is usually appropriate for parents and carers to send their children to school with mild respiratory illnesses", the letter added. A new series of NHS radio adverts have also reminded parents that a mild cold, sore throat or runny nose are not severe enough for children to be given time off school. The Mirror has contacted the DfE for comment.
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