Scrap absence fines, say teaching unions

Education unions are calli n g fo r a te m p o ra r y ba n on school absence fines as thousands of pupils return to classrooms in England.

Around 40 per cent of schools were expected to we l c o m e bac k s tud e nt s for the start of the autumn term, despite concerns about their ability to reopen safely.

But the National Association of H e a d Te a c h e r s (NAHT) has said the Government should temporarily scrap fines for parents who do not send their children back to class due to fears around coronavirus.

NA H T ge n e ra l s e c re - tary Paul Whiteman said: "If you are a parent and you are worried about safety, a fine is unlikely to make you feel any safer.

"The Government und e r s ta n d s th i s , but th e threat of fines still remains, so we're urging the Government to take the threat of fines off the table for the coming term.

"This would send a powerful signal to parents and families and could well mean that more of them are willing to bring their children back to school, which is what we all want to see." The school leaders' union said while it hoped attendance would be "as close to 100 per cent as p o s s i b l e", i t u nd e r s t o o d "t h e re will be some families who do not yet feel ready to return".

Its recent survey of over 4,000 school leaders in England and Wales found that 97 per cent plan to reopen their schools to all pupils at the start of term.

The Department for Education said fines for pare nt s wh o re f u s e to s e n d their children to England's schools will only be a "last resort".