It has become a matter of established practice in recent years that parents who remove children for holidays without permission for five school days during term time are fined.  In the last academic year, across England, six million academic days were missed due to unauthorised holidays.  The decision about whether to issue fines presently rests with local authorities, so the process can vary from council to council.  Under a new national framework, all schools must consider a fine for five days of unauthorised absence.

The current system fines each parent £60 per child and the new Labour government has just confirmed that this sum will increase from August 2024.  The new Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, was clear that fines “are here to stay”.  Fines for school absence will increase from £60 to £80 per parent per child if paid within 21 days, or £160 if paid within 28 days.  This new rate aligns with inflation and marks the first increase in 12 years.  If a parent receives a second fine for the same child within any three years, the second fine will be charged at a higher rate of £160 per parent per child.

The purpose of fines is to encourage parents to keep children in school for the whole of the academic year to maximise opportunities for education and other curricular activities.  Repeated removal of children during term time may be cost-efficient for the parents but can become disruptive for children.  To focus on the benefit of education to children, the enforcement process takes effect if there is persistent removal.  Fines per parent are capped to two fines within any three-year period and, once this limit is reached, alternative action like a parenting order or prosecution will be considered.  If a parent is prosecuted and required to attend court because their child has not been attending school, fines of up to £2,500 can be issued; community orders can be made; and even jail sentences of up to three months issued.

The conflict with the fine system is that thousands of pounds can be saved by going away in term time, often making the fines a drop in the ocean against the savings available on a family holiday, usually abroad. Holiday costs can be as much as 40% higher during school holiday periods compared to school terms.  Parents taking children away to say, Disney World Resort in Florida will likely willingly absorb the cost of fines if thousands of pounds are otherwise saved travelling outside key holiday periods.

Where fines may more unfairly land is when parents are separated.  If co-parenting is amicable, there may be jointly agreed decisions about who takes the children where and when and an agreement as to payment of fines. If a separated parent takes a child out of school unilaterally, the other parent may also receive a fine which will feel unfair.  For the purpose of the fine system, a ‘parent’ is defined as those with parental responsibility which most often reflects each parent, though can also include step-parents and other carers with parental responsibility.

The other parent is not without the ability to make representations as to why they should not have to pay a fine incurred by their ex, but the appeals system is presently of limited benefit.  There has not yet been a clear suggestion by the government of how fines apply to separated parents where such unfairness arises.

It can of course be beyond some parents’ control as to what the other parent does when the children are in their care.  If a parent really objects to a holiday (for whatever reason), they can apply to the court for a prohibited steps Order to try and prevent the holiday from going ahead.  These applications take time to be listed by the court, however, and without adequate notice of the holiday, there may not be time to get the matter into court.  The cost of a court application regarding children is £255 and so any application based just on trying to avoid a fine immediately outweighs the level of the fine.

For now, therefore, it is likely that fines will continue to apply to each parent regardless of who goes away with the children.  So far as is possible, agreement on holidays for the children should be pursued so there are no nasty shocks in the post after the holiday.  Mediation is a good resource for parents who find direct communication difficult but who wish to reach a broad agreement as to how each parent will holiday with the children.  Improved co-parenting can benefit the children and both parents – and may also protect the wallet.