New analysis has revealed huge variations within the variety of truancy fines handed out by native authorities in England and Wales.
Probably the most aggressive council, Essex County Council, imposed 35,605 fines for unauthorised faculty absences – which value dad and mom as much as £160 – between 2022 and 2024, in response to Confused.com.
In the meantime, essentially the most relaxed council, Denbighshire County Council, imposed simply 4.
The truth is, far fewer fines have been imposed throughout Wales (2,762) than England (873,062). That equates to a high-quality for each 65 individuals in England, in contrast with each 1,134 individuals in Wales.
Right here you’ll be able to see the ten councils that handed out essentially the most and fewest fines…
The insurance coverage web site discovered almost two in 5 dad and mom whose baby has had an unauthorised absence admitted to taking them on vacation, saving a median of £567 on journey prices – rising to greater than £1,000 for 16% of them.
Some 27% of fogeys have acquired a high-quality for doing so.
“I would do it again because the hike in prices for term-time versus non-term-time holidays is crazy,” mentioned Joanne, from Cambridge, who took her two daughters, aged eight and 12, out of faculty for the final three days of time period in July 2024.
She was fined £80 for permitting them to journey with their grandfather to go to their father at his house in Singapore, a visit that lasted 15 days in complete.
“They don’t see him throughout the year, so I think that’s valuable in itself, and then if you’re going on a holiday to see a different kind of culture, I think there’s education to be had in that,” she mentioned.
Nearly half (48%) of these surveyed who have been fined mentioned they’d do it once more.
‘Extreme penalties’
“With prices often soaring outside of term time, some parents are weighing up the potential cost of a fine against the savings they can make by travelling off-peak,” Alvaro Iturmendi, journey insurance coverage professional at Confused.com, mentioned.
“But if this is something that is happening repeatedly, then councils could take legal action. So while the savings could seem worth it, the consequences could be far more severe than you realise.”
Councils in England can high-quality every mother or father £80 for absences, doubling if it isn’t paid inside 21 days.
If a mother or father receives a second high-quality for a similar baby inside three years, this will probably be charged on the increased fee of £160.
In Wales, councils can high-quality every mother or father £60, doubling if it isn’t paid inside 28 days.
It is the accountability of native authorities to determine when to problem fines, which means the method varies from council to council.
Below nationwide guidelines, a high-quality should be thought-about when a baby has missed 5 days of faculty for unauthorised causes.
If they’re off faculty three or extra instances inside three years, the mother or father/s could be taken to courtroom, the place they may face a £2,500 high-quality, a neighborhood order or a jail sentence of as much as three months.
Scotland and Northern Eire don’t problem fines, although dad and mom might nonetheless face authorized motion.
Common unauthorised absences might see dad and mom fined as much as £1,000 by a courtroom. In Scotland, they may withstand a month in jail.
“Poor attendance damages children’s prospects and term-time holidays place the burden on teachers to support missed learning – affecting the entire class,” a Division for Training spokesperson warned.
“That’s why fines have a vital place in our system, so everyone is held accountable for ensuring our children are in school.”
But a 3rd of individuals surveyed mentioned they believed journey was simply as vital as formal training (33%), that folks ought to have extra freedom to determine (31%) and that colleges ought to have extra discretion to approve term-time holidays (35%).
You will discover extra info on absence guidelines and Confused.com’s truancy high-quality calculator right here.
