Parents pay £240k in fines over school absences

Parents in a town have paid about £240,000 in council fines in a year over school absences, with many choosing to take their children on term-time holidays.

The penalties were paid to Oldham Council by more than 5,600 parents across the 2021-22 academic year.

The majority of fines were handed out after children were taken on term-time holidays but some head teachers said absences could also be linked to poverty.

Chadderton head teacher Glynn Potts, said the fines for unauthorised absences were a "blunt tool" for tackling absenteeism.

Parents can be fined £80 for children's absences, rising to £160 if the fine is not paid within 21 days.

After 28 days, the council can choose to take parents to court, landing them a fee of £2,500.

The data on fines for pupil absences across Oldham was revealed after a Freedom of Information request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The £240,000 figure is almost three times more than in 2021/22, when fines brought in £87,000.

'Complex issue'

But Mr Potts, who is head teacher of Newman College, said truancy rates in Oldham were less to do with parents seeking a cheaper holiday, and more linked to economic disparity.

“Where you’ve got high areas of deprivation, some of these young people are staying off school in order to support parents who are keeping down zero hour jobs," he said.

Pupils may also have "siblings that need looking after" or are acting as "carers to members of their family", the head teacher added.

When fines were increased in February, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said families with absent children should first be offered support - but fines were an important option.

"If it's a deliberate decision to take your child out of school for unauthorised absence, then that's something we do not want to encourage," Ms Keegan said.

Schools across the borough were "generally supportive" of fines, a spokeswoman for Oldham Council said.

The local authority recognised absences were a "complex issue", but said schools "need to do everything they can" to get pupils in the classroom.