£82k School Holiday Fines in East Riding of Yorkshire

Tuesday, 18 October 2022 06:00

By Joe Gerrard, Local Democracy Reporter

Hundreds of parents have been fined for taking their children out of school during term time for holidays and a total of 28 were prosecuted across the East Riding.

East Riding Council figures showed fines for holidays racked up from April 2021 to March 2022 made up about 98.3 per cent – £82,792 – of the £84,240 total for absences.

The figures, from a Freedom of Information request, showed 1,776 fines were issued for holidays compared to 31 for other unauthorised absences in the same year.

It comes as 28 East Riding parents were also prosecuted because they took their children out of school during term for a family holiday in that year.

None were prosecuted in 2020-21 but 62 were in 2019-20.

The figures for 2021-22, the last year with data available, only includes those parents who already paid the penalty and settled their case by Wednesday, September 28.

Council figures showed parents with children in primary school were fined £62,640 for all unauthorised absences while those with secondary age children were fined £21,600.

The total number of fines for taking primary school pupils out during term time was 1,311, compared to the 496 handed out to parents with secondary age children.

Parents were fined a total of £13,620 for unauthorised absences in 2020-21, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, with 368 of the 389 penalties related to holidays.

A total of £11,160 in fines were handed to parents with primary age children while £2,460 went to those of secondary pupils, with none prosecuted.

Figures for 2019-20 show 62 parents were taken to court due to holidays taken during the school term.

Of the 1,242 penalties handed out, 1,230 were related to holidays compared to 12 connected to other absences, with 912 given to primary school parents and 330 to secondary.

The amount in fines for unauthorised absences totalled £54,660, £40,980 for primary school pupils and £13,680 for parents of secondary age children.

Fines for taking children out of school for holidays during term time were introduced in 2013 to try and crack down on pupils missing education.

Parents must get approval from their child’s school’s headteacher to take them on a holiday during term and there are allowances for exceptional circumstances.

If they do not they can be issued with a £60 penalty notice which rises to £120 if not paid within 21 days.

Parents who fail to pay the £120 within 28 days can be taken to court.

They can appeal with the school if they feel a holiday or any other absence should have been authorised.

Some families have tried to holiday during term time because prices during school breaks can rocket.