Schools rake in more than £5m for unauthorised pupil absences

SCHOOLS are handing out more than 100,000 absence fines to parents, new figures reveal, as revenues rise by 30 per cent in just one year.

County councils issued 102,968 penalty notices in 2018-19, compared with 82,130 in 2017-18. Fines generated £5,374,866, up from £4,151,859 over the same period. Gloucestershire county council increased its number of fines by 184 per cent, while Hampshire handed out the most fines overall (30,073). Cumbria recorded the fewest (194). Parents can be fined £60 for unauthorised absence, which rises to £120 if it’s not paid within 21 days. Failing to pay after 28 days can result in prosecution.

The fines must be spent on administering the penalty notice system, with any excess going to the Department for Education. Jon Platt, fined for taking his daughter out of primary school on an unauthorised holiday during term time in 2017, called the process “cruel”.

“We’re spending millions of pounds for people to sit at computers and issue fines, when the money could be spent on teachers and more important things,” he said. “Thousands of parents are getting these notices for utterly trivial absences. If your child misses a day at school, you can go to prison.

“It’s causing real hardship to families who are struggling to make ends meet – it’s just cruel.”

The data was obtained by the Knowledge Academy, a Berkshire training company, from all 26 county councils. Spokesman Joseph Scott warned that the term “unauthorised” can vary and that parents could be fined for what they thought was a legitimate absence. Since 2013, heads cannot allow any leave of absence unless there are “exceptional circumstances”.

A spokesman for Gloucestershire county council said: “Issuing a penalty charge notice to parents for taking a child out of school is entirely the decision of individual schools.

“The council only issues notices on the schools’ behalf. Any money raised goes back to schools to provide them with extra support.”

Hampshire county councillor Roz Chadd said: “We consider that the number of penalties issued to be proportionate. The reasons for poor attendance are wide ranging and complex and we continue to work hard with schools and families to improve the situation.”

102,968

The number of fines issued by schools for unauthorised pupil absence in England and Wales in 2018-19, a rise of 30 per cent