The number of absence fines issued to parents has levelled out following a post-Covid surge, but it still remains nearly 50 per cent above pre-pandemic levels.
Department for Education figures released today show councils handed out just under 493,000 penalty notices on the behalf of schools in 2024-25, up 1 per cent on 12 months before.
More than 90 per cent of the penalties last year were for unauthorised family holidays. This is in line with previous years. The rest were for “other unauthorised circumstances” (7 per cent) and arriving late (0.3 per cent).
No fines were issued during the pandemic, and fewer fines were issued in its wake as schools continued to grapple with the fallout from Covid.
But the number later rose from almost 220,000 in 2021-22 to around 487,000 in 2023-24. This represented a 123 per cent jump in just two years.
But today’s stats suggest the increase could be starting to plateau. The data relates to the first year in which fines rose from a basic rate of £60 to £80.
The 492,825 penalty notices issued in 2024-25 is 47 per cent higher than the 333,000 given in 2018-19 – the last figures before the pandemic.
The Yorkshire and the Humber was the region that registered the highest number of fines per hundred children (10.3), while London had the lowest (3.6).
‘Limit travel prices’
Association of School and College Leaders general secretary Pepe Di’Iasio said the “data shows the problem is only getting worse”.
“Everyone understands what is happening here, and that parents are only doing this because of the vast increase in the cost of travel and accommodation during school holiday periods.
“It’s clear that fines are not acting as much of a deterrent when set against this.”
Guidance on how to tackle absences also became statutory in September 2024, as did participation in the government’s daily attendance tracker, which scrapes data from schools’ electronic registers.
Di’Iasio added the issuing of the notices “risks damaging relationships between schools and parents”. There is also “good evidence” suggesting missing class time “has a direct impact on a child’s attainment and future prospects”.
“We cannot continue like this, with parents choosing between an affordable holiday and good school attendance for their child,” he continued.
“We really need the government to consider any ways they can limit how travel firms raise their prices during school holidays. This is the driving factor behind these statistics.”
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