Increased fines for children’s illegal absence from school are not deterring parents in the UK from booking cheaper holidays with their children during school term time.
More students in England were absent from school without permission in the last week of the summer holidays than at any other time of the academic year, official figures show. In particular, the latest school attendance figures show that 5% of students in England were absent without leave in the week ending 19 July – around 450,000 pupils.
This comes as the government is tightening the rules to stop parents taking their children out of school to go on holiday. Under the new measures, the fine has been increased from £60 to £80 per child, which will be doubled if a child’s unauthorised absence from school is repeated within three years.
Those who have not been fined three times within three years will now face criminal prosecution, the BBC reported.
Almost 400,000 fines were issued to parents in England for unexcused absences from school during the 2022-23 academic year – much higher than those in the pre-pandemic period and unexcused absences remained at a similar rate in the most recent academic year.
However, some parents told the broadcaster that this is not a deterrent.
One family, who were fined after taking their two children on a skiing holiday in March, have now booked a two-week holiday later this month, he told the BBC.
The family run a pub and bed-and-breakfast, so if she took a holiday during the busy summer period, this would have a financial impact on her business and she would have to pay more money for a holiday.
Holidays during the school year are significantly cheaper and travel agents say they have seen an increase in requests from families looking for a holiday during this period, weighing up the price difference.
Long-haul flights in particular can double during the six-week summer holidays in the UK. UK, according to data from Flight Centre, the world’s fifth largest travel agency.
Flight Centre gave the BBC examples of price increases between the school and summer holiday period for long-haul flights:
Thailand: school term £554, summer holiday season £1,112
New York: School term £586, summer holiday season £942
Orlando: School term £556, summer holiday £754.
