Parents fined nearly £1m over school absences

Derbyshire County Council has generated nearly £1m from fines issued for unauthorised school absences, a Freedom of Information Act request has revealed.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) obtained figures which show the authority issued 20,487 penalties since 2021, totalling £961,320, over the three academic years since 2021-22.

The county council said the fines had been issued at the request of head teachers and according to the law.

However, mother-of-two Natalie, from Marehay near Ripley, has started a national campaign, called Fight School Fines, to get the law changed.

She has started a petition, so far signed by 161,000 people, calling for parents to be entitled to 10 days of term-time leave without a fine.

"A lot of these fines that are being issued and prosecutions for unauthorised absences aren't due to just going on holiday because they want to get it cheaper, which is the media narrative," Natalie said.

"They are marking things down that should fall under exceptional circumstances.

"For example, we are seeing loads of stories from parents where they have asked for authorised leave to visit family members who are poorly, or they have gone to a funeral overseas and they are not marking it as authorised, they are refusing it."

The number of fines issued in Derbyshire in 2021 was 3,175 and that rose to 10,505 in 2023-24.

Fine amounts stand at £160 per parent, per child, with this fee reducing to £80 if paid within 21 days.

The council said 16,064 fines were for first-time offenders and 1,567 for second offences, with parents only able to accrue two penalties in a three-year rolling period before being prosecuted in court.

Council figures show 1,016 Derbyshire parents have been prosecuted in the past three complete academic years , with six cases being withdrawn.

Court fines do qualify as a criminal conviction and are attached to a criminal record, which would need to be added to a DBS check, the LDRS said.

"I am not surprised to see it going up," Natalie said.

"They say it will act as a deterrent, but clearly it is not doing because people still need to take leave during term-time.

"Even if it is a cost thing, they are doing it to save money, we don't know the reason why they can't afford to go in the holidays.

"It is not so black and white as people make out. Some people work seasonal jobs or run their own businesses, they can't just shut up shop.

"It doesn't act as a deterrent.

"It is criminalising parents.

"Many parents don't know that what comes with that court fine is a criminal record.

"Most of the time, parents are doing it because it is the best decision for them and their children. They are our children, they are not the state's.

"Having a criminal record for this is one step too far.

"I know families need to access term-time absence and that will never stop.

"This isn't just about being on holiday and getting a cheaper holiday."

The LDRS said it asked the county council if it felt the penalties were serving as a deterrent, if they could respond to the perception that the penalties were criminalising parents, and if parents were saying they were willing to accept the fines to gain term-time holiday savings.

A council spokesperson said: "Headteachers ask us to issue the fines, so this is one for schools and not the council.

"We respond to headteacher requests, we do not make the policies that schools make that lead to fines being issued.

"The government sets the penalty fines amounts.

"This is the law and not the council's decision," the spokesperson added.

The Department for Education, responding to Natalie's petition in December, said: "We sympathise with parents who, for a variety of reasons, face barriers to securing their children's school attendance.

"This government is taking a new approach to tackling absence based on responsibility, partnership and belonging."

It said that involved working with schools and councils to remove barriers to attendance.

The spokesperson said: "The government takes seriously its responsibility to ensure that schools are equipped to meet children's needs and help them succeed, but that is matched by parents' legal responsibility to send their children to school every day that they can.

The department said it acknowledged some children had long-term physical or mental health conditions or special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) which affected attendance.

The spokesperson added: "However, all of these children have the same need and right to a full-time education as any other pupil."

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