Parent launches petition against term-time fines

Derbyshire County Council has gathered more than £960,000 in fines from parents whose children have missed school, with penalties tripling and dozens taken to court.

Details obtained through a Freedom of Information request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service show Derbyshire County Council has administered penalty notices totalling £961,320 in the past three complete academic years (2021 to 2024).

The information also shows the council has administered 20,487 fines during that time, with the amount issued each year and amount of money owed tripling in three years. This has seen more than half-a-million paid out in penalties in the last full academic year, ending in summer 2024, with more than 10,500 fines issued.

The county council stresses that it is schools – specifically head teachers – who request for the council to issue fines and that it merely administers these requests.

Fine amounts are set by the Government and stand at £160 per parent, per child, with this fee reducing to £80 if paid within 21 days.

The number of penalty notices issued in the last three academic years, followed by the corresponding amount owed are:

• 2021-2022: 3,175 penalties – £167,880 
• 2022-2023: 6,807 penalties – £239,280 
• 2023-2024: 10,505 penalties – £554,160

The council details that of the 20,487 fines, 16,064 were for first 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.

A third offence within three years leads to direct court action, with the council detailing that the most penalties accrued by any parent during the last three years is three.

The council details that 1,016 parents in the past three complete academic years have been prosecuted with six cases being withdrawn and 91 parents facing a “normal fine” of either £160 or £80, depending on how quickly it is paid.

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.

Natalie Elliott, from Marehay, has been leading a national campaign Fight School Fines, due to be debated, in Parliament pushing for parents to be entitled to 10 days of term time leave without a fine.

Her Parliamentary petition has gained more than 161,000 signatures, including 4,911 from Derbyshire (including Derby) and she is hoping to gain the backing of MPs.

Mum of two to Alfie, seven, and Evie, nine, Ms Elliott said: “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, 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.

“I am not surprised to see it going up. 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.

“A lot of parents are being put into the same category as someone who has committed a serious offence, which is just totally unacceptable. 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.

“More people are going to be going to court and getting criminal convictions. Having a criminal record for this is one step too far. It needs to stop, it needs to end.

“With my daughter being autistic and it being half-term, I daren’t go anywhere, as it will be too busy and cause uproar and it will be stressful for all of us.

“I know families need to access term time absence and that will never stop. Something needs to be done to stop this. This isn’t just about being on holiday and getting a cheaper holiday.”

Ms Elliott claims head teachers are taking very different approaches to fines, including pushing for immediate prosecution following a perceived first offence.

The county council was asked 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.

It 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

“The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 introduced penalty notices for unauthorised leave of absence during term-time. This act stipulated that a penalty notice can be issued when leave is taken during term-time, for the purpose of a family holiday, without the prior written approval of the headteacher.   

“This is the law and not the council’s decision.”

An FOI filed to Derby City Council shows it administered 5,024 penalties in the last academic year – half that of Derbyshire – raising £261,725, with 10,861 issues in the last three years.

The Department for Education, responding to Ms Elliott’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. This involves working with schools and local authorities to tackle barriers to school attendance and ensuring schools are able to deliver an excellent education, meeting children’s needs and creating a welcoming, engaging and inclusive environment for children.

“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.

“We know that some pupils face more complex barriers to attendance, including some pupils who have long term physical or mental health conditions or who have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

“However, all of these children have the same need and right to a full-time education as any other pupil.”