The new higher fines and rules parents face as government bids to boost school attendance

ITV News Political Correspondent Libby Wiener explains the higher fines and new rules parents who take their children out of school will face

By Rachel Dixon, Multimedia Producer

Parents in England will face higher fines for taking their children out of school without permission, under new government rules.

The Department for Education (DfE) has said a fine must be considered if a child misses five days of school for unauthorised absence.

It's part of a government campaign to drive up school attendance as numbers have not returned to normal after slipping during the pandemic.

Almost 400,000 penalty notices were issued to parents in England in 2022-23 for unauthorised school absences - which is much higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Here's how parents will be impacted by the new rules.

What are the new fines ?

School absence fines currently start at £60, rising to £120, if they are not paid within 21 days.

But the DfE has said fines will now start at £80, rising to £160.

A fine must be considered if a child misses five days of school for unauthorised absence.

While the system has always been in place, a national framework will be used to help tackle inconsistencies in their use.

Who decides whether a fine will be issued?

While schools should initially work with parents to encourage attendance through meetings or contracts, which set out targets for children coming in to school, if this fails a fixed penalty notice will be issued.

These can only be issued by a headteacher or someone authorised by them (a deputy or assistant head), a local authority officer or the police.

School councils set out the rules and guidance on when a fixed penalty fine can be issued, under a code of conduct.

What would likely lead to a fine?

The fines are not meant to punish children with physical or mental health issues, the education minister has said.

Instead the sanctions are meant for unauthorised absences.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “However, it is important to understand that these fines predominately relate to pupils who are taken out of school for term-time holidays.

"While nobody wants to be in a position of fining parents there simply has to be a marker that this is not acceptable.

“Not only does it affect the child’s education but it means teachers then have to spend time helping children to catch-up with lost learning. If everybody did this it would be chaos.”

Local councils publish their guidance on what would lead to a fine.

For example, Medway Council, in Kent says a child has to be absent for five school days within six weeks, persistently coming in late, after the register is taken or miss an exam when the date of it was previously published.

If these are not paid, it can lead to a court case.

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Will the fines help absences?

It is hoped upping the charges and standardising the national rules will help return school attendance to pre-pandemic levels.

However some feel targeting parents financially, rather than focusing on improving barriers families face does not go far enough to stop the problem.

Emily Hunt, Associate Director for Social Mobility and Vulnerable Learners at the Education Policy Institute (EPI). said: “Increasing the cost of fines for parents whose children miss school is likely less effective than measures to support families and tackle the root causes of absence.

"There is a risk that not only do fines fail to address the attendance barriers that families face, but that they are counter-productive through placing additional strains on family finances. Such punitive measures should only be used as a last resort.

“We have previously called for investment to improve both mental health provision in schools and support for children with SEND, alongside the urgent need for a cross-government child poverty strategy. We also need higher levels of funding for disadvantaged children and a much stronger evidence base on why so many children are missing school.”

Where does the money go?

The collected fines should first be used for administration of the penalty notice system and prosecution, the government guidance says.

Any surplus should be spent on attendance support, which is defined as any other activity to improve attendance, short of a penalty notice or prosecution.

This revenue should not be considered part of wider local authority funding or be pooled in wider legal services budgets or allocated outside the local authority’s attendance functions.

Any remaining surplus at the end of the year must be paid to the secretary of state.

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