Unauthorised school absences reach five-year high
The number of pupils in England taken out of school for unauthorised family holidays rose to a five-year high last year, newly published official statistics reveal.
Despite overall absence rates generally declining over the past decade, Department for Education (DfE) data shows the proportion of pupils taking unauthorised trips rose from 4.4% to 6.1% between 2013 and 2015/16.
One in 10 pupils were classified as persistently absent between autumn 2015 and spring 2016 - a rate of 10.3%, which was down from 11.1% during the previous year.
The DfE introduced new rules in September 2013 that reduced the power of headteachers to approve authorised absences for family holidays, restricting authorised leave to "extraordinary" events such as funerals.
Since then, the rate of absences due to agreed holidays has dropped significantly from almost one in 10 pupils to fewer than one in 50, while unauthorised absences have risen.
In May, the High Court ruled in favour of father Jon Platt, who refused to pay a £120 fine for taking his six-year-old daughter out of school during term-time to go on a holiday to Disney World, Florida.
Travel agencies subsequently reported a surge in term-time holiday bookings.
The DfE has said it will fund a challenge to the High Court's decision.
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