Parents face £160 penalty for term-time holidays

Fines may be issued if a child misses five days of school over a 10-week period in clampdown on absences in England

Parents who take their children out of school without permission face fines of up to £160 as penalties go up by a third in a clampdown on absences.
Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary, will announce the higher penalties on Wednesday amid concern about the number of pupils missing school in England, including for term-time holidays.
From September, fines for school absences will increase from £60 to £80. After 21 days, the cost will rise from £120 to £160. If a fine is not paid after 28 days, a parent can be prosecuted.
The Department for Education (DfE) said that under new national guidelines, a fine must be considered if a child misses five days of school for unauthorised absence over a 10-week period.
Under the existing system, local authorities have their own policies on when to impose fines, meaning they are used sparingly in some areas.
The tougher penalties come after a record proportion of secondary pupils missed at least a month of school in the academic year ending in August 2023, with research suggesting that parents do not believe that ensuring a child’s attendance at school is fundamental to good parenting.
In the academic year up until Feb 28, one in 50 state school pupils has been absent without permission, according to DfE figures. The numbers exclude children absent because of illness.
Since lockdown, term-time holidays have become “entirely socially acceptable across all socioeconomic groups”, according to research by Public First.
The rise in absences come despite warnings from head teachers that taking children out of school damages their educational outcomes.
In 2023, a record 356,181 penalty notices were issued for unauthorised family holiday absences, up 24 per cent since 2019. The existing £60 fixed penalty notice has not increased since it was introduced in 2013.
Mrs Keegan said improving school attendance is her “number one priority”, adding: “We are taking that next step to further boost attendance and I want to thank those who are working with us including teachers and heads.”
Every English state school will share daily attendance registers with the DfE, councils and academy trusts. They currently share data every term.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “Fines have proven to be largely ineffective at improving absence. What is needed is more targeted resources to find out the reasons behind absence, including support. Higher fines could just be further punishing already struggling families and children.”