Nearly half a million fines issued to parents for taking children out of school
Nearly half a million fines issued to parents for taking children out of school
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The number of fines issued to parents in England for taking their children out of school without permission increased to almost half a million last year, figures have shown. The Department for Education (DfE) data showed there were 487,344 penalty notices issued for unauthorised absences in 2023-24, compared to 398,796 in 2022-23 – a 22% rise in a year.
In 2018-19 – the academic year before Covid-19 – there were 333,388 penalty notices issued to parents. The vast majority (91%) of fines were for unauthorised family holidays, according to the DfE. The latest data covers the last academic year before fines for unauthorised absences were increased.
In September, school absence fines in England rose from £60 to £80, and a parent who receives a second fine for the same child within a three-year period will now receive a £160 fine. The former Conservative government announced the hike in fines in February last year as part of a drive to boost school attendance since the pandemic.
The latest data has shown that 443,322 penalty notices were issued for unauthorised family holidays in the 2023-24 academic year, compared to 356,181 in 2022-23 – a 24% rise in a year. The figure has almost doubled since 2017-18 when there were 222,904 fines for unauthorised holidays.
Overall, 1,086 penalty notices were issued for being late and the remainder were for other reasons. The use of penalty notices by local authorities varied greatly across England, the DfE said. Three local authorities issued no fines, while 26 out of 153 local authorities accounted for half of all penalty notices issued.
