Government rejects fine-free school absences bid

The government will not allow pupils to miss 10 days of school without good reason, a minister has said in response to a mother's petition to remove school absence fines.

On Monday, MPs debated a petition launched by Natalie Elliott, from Ripley in Derbyshire, calling for parents to be allowed up to 10 days fine-free.

The petition received more than 180,000 signatures and prompted a debate which led to some MPs challenging the policy.

However, school standards minister Georgia Gould said the UK was still facing an "absence epidemic".

Ms Elliot, 37, said the current policy was "not fit for purpose" and the system had made parents "scared" to call schools when their child could not attend for legitimate reasons.

The former Conservative government announced plans to increase the fines for parents last February as part of a drive to boost attendance since the Covid pandemic.

Under current rules, parents whose children miss school without a good reason are initially given a fixed penalty notice of £80, which rises to £160 if it is not paid within 21 days.

If the increased fine is not paid within 28 days - or a child is off school three or more times within three years - the matter can be taken to magistrates' court, where a parents can be fined up to £2,500, handed a community or parenting order, or given a prison sentence in the most extreme cases.

Ms Elliot previously told the BBC: "I think there needs to be a clear appeals process.

"As it stands, families are not allowed to appeal a fixed penalty notice."

Introducing the petition on Monday, Conservative MP Robbie Moore said price jumps in travel meant many families could not afford holidays during the school breaks.

"One parent from Keighley in my constituency told me that she was quoted over £1,000 per person for a February half-term holiday compared to the following week, meaning an identical family holiday would cost thousands of pounds more simply for taking it during school holidays," he said.

Mr Moore added a family holiday was one of the key opportunities for families of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to de-stress, with the holiday period being "too much" for many SEND children to handle.

During the debate, the chairwoman of the Education Select Committee, Helen Hayes, called on the government "to do more to work with the travel industry" to stop "unfair price hikes".

Hayes suggested a potential solution could be introducing a new family-friendly charter mark for companies that even out their holiday pricing throughout the year.

While she agreed the fines policy was "very flawed", Hayes said she did not agree 10 days of permitted absence a year was the right way to address concerns.

In response, Gould said: "We're committed to tackling this problem because as we heard from many, absence is one of the biggest barriers to opportunity, damaging learning, health and wellbeing, future earnings and employment and each day of lost learning can do serious harm.

"And that is why we won't allow pupils to miss 10 days of school without good reason."

Gould also said she hoped travel companies were watching the debate and "listening to the strength of feeling" on the price of going away in the school holidays.

The latest figures from the Department for Education last week showed a slight improvement in overall attendance but an increase in children classed as severely absent.

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