More parents prosecuted for failing to pay fines

Sunderland had the country's highest prosecution rate for parents who failed to pay fines after their children missed school last year, new figures reveal.

Department for Education data shows that Sunderland parents were prosecuted on 216 occasions for not paying penalties for their child’ s poor attendance in 2018-19.

It means 38% of the 571 fines do led out during the year resulted in legal action – well above the average of 7% across England.

In Sunderland, penalty notices rose by 62% in 2018-19 compared to the previous year – with 51% handed out for unauthorised family holidays.

Across England, fines rose by 28% to more than 333,000 in 2018-19 – 86% for unapproved term-time holidays.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of The Association of School and College Leaders, said the significant number of fines showed the sanctions were an imperfect solution, but better than no deterrent at all.

He said: “A term-time holiday means teachers have to help the pupil catch up, adding to their workload and potentially taking time away from other pupils.

“We understand the difficulty of affording the cost of holidays during peak season, but the rules are there for the good of all children in the school community, and we would appeal to all parents to respect this fact.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Headteachers, said the real problem was holiday pricing.

“Parents and schools will both continue to be caught between a rock and a hard place without some sensible government intervention ,” he added.

Penalty notices are £60 if paid within 21 days of being issued – in Sunderland, 266 fines worth £15,960 were paid within this time.

The fee rises to £120 if paid between 22 and 28 days – this was the case on 21 occasions in the area, equivalent to £2,520.

If the penalty is stilloutstanding after this, the council must either prosecute for the original offence or withdraw the notice.

A DFE spokeswoman said: “Local authorities now have greater clarity on when they can issue fines to parents who take their children out of school without good reason – and this is reflected in the increase.”