absence fines | Schools Week

Term-time holidays a ‘small part’ of attendance woes – minister

Catherine McKinnell says she’s focused on children who regularly miss ‘significant amounts of school’

Heads must issue absence fines so poor don’t ‘suffer’, claims Williamson

Pupils from the most disadvantaged backgrounds will suffer if the government does not enforce mandatory attendance in schools, the education secretary has claimed. Responding to a question from Schools Week at the Downing Street press briefing on Thursday, Gavin Williamson said if the government did not have an expectation of “every child to be in […]

School absence fines will resume in September, says Williamson

Parents could be fined if they fail to send their children back to school in September, the education secretary has said. But the decision potentially puts headteachers in the firing line, as they have the final decision on whether to “authorise” absences from school. Gavin Williamson told LBC this morning that “unless there is a […]

School absence fines rise again as landmark court ruling continues to have an impact

The number of fines issued for poor school attendance have continued to increase sharply following a landmark Supreme Court ruling on the matter, new figures have revealed. In 2018-19, the number of these notices issued to parents has increased by 28 per cent to 333,400, up from 260,900 in 2017-18. In the previous year’s data, […]