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A mother in Leicestershire, who has paid a £320 fine after she took her two children on holiday during the school term, says she did so because her 10-year-old son has autism and ADHD and struggles to cope with large groups of tourists during the school holidays. “The holiday crowds would be too much for Tyler,” said Sarah. “I feel like I don’t have full responsibility for them, the fact I can’t pull them out of school for a holiday.” The family went to Turkey during the summer term and the children missed six days of school.
Schools and councils say children should not be out of class during term time, but many families decide to take holidays during term time to benefit from cost benefits. Trips often cost thousands of pounds more during the school holidays. In the 2022-2023 academic year, a record 356,181 school holiday fines were issued in England, three times as many as when the government’s figures were originally recorded in 2016-17.
According to the Department for Education guidelines issued in August 2024, schools must consider fines if a child misses five or more days unauthorised. Fines rose from £60 to £80 if paid within 21 days, or £160 if paid within 28 days. If a parent gets a second fine for the same child in three years, it costs £160 immediately. For a third unauthorised absence, other action like prosecution is considered and a court appearance could result in a fine of up to £2,500.
Katy Taylor-Clarke, principal at The Laurel Academy in Mexborough, near Doncaster, says “it’s a big issue”. The school employs two attendance officers who spend all day phoning and visiting the parents of children who do not show up in the morning. In a bid to help parents try to find cheaper holidays, schools across Doncaster have moved their Easter holidays a week earlier this year. “Some of the frustration lies with the travel companies who inflate the prices,” says Miss Taylor-Clarke. “But ultimately, children need to be in school.”
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at the National Association of Head Teachers, says fines are a “crude tool and do not address more complex underlying causes of absence”. To improve attendance, he says there needs to be more support for children with special educational needs, as well as more investment in community services, mental health support and social care. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said “we need a national effort to tackle the epidemic of school absence”, and added fines have a “vital place in our system so everyone is held accountable” for ensuring children are in school
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