2,200 fines for term time holidays issued in Shropshire
More than 2,200 fines were issued for parents taking their children out of school in Shropshire last year, with the number up by 225 on the previous year.
The issue of fines for parents over unauthorised absence from school has proved contentious, with many parents happy to risk the fines to take their children on holiday during term time.
In 2018/19 there were 2,219 of the fixed penalty notices issued in the county, considerably up on 1,994 the year before.
In total there were 1,623 in Telford & Wrekin and 596 in the rest of Shropshire.
Shropshire Council said the majority of instances it dealt with were down to parents taking their children out of school for holidays.
It is an issue that has proved controversial in recent years with holiday firms charging significantly more for breaks during school holidays.
Regulate
It has even led some to arguing for the government to step in and regulate prices to avoid forcing parents to choose between their child's education and an affordable holiday.
Some parents have also risked a bigger sanction over the issue and have been taken to court for not paying the fines.
In Telford, 54 parents were taken to court last year, while 24 were up before magistrates in Shropshire.
The respective councils also collected thousands of pounds in the fines, with Telford receiving £87,540 and Shropshire taking £32,750.
Chris Kerry, Shropshire Council’s team manager for education access services, said: “The majority of fixed penalty notices issued in Shropshire by the education access service relate to unauthorised leave of absence from school due to holidays taken in term time.
“Whilst the number of penalty notices issued has increased over the past three years, the number of school sessions lost through unauthorised absence for this reason has decreased during the same period.
“This is because Shropshire Council supports schools to ensure that the rules applying to attendance are followed and there is a robust system in place to tackle truancy.
“We know that children are disadvantaged by unnecessary absence from school, and it is positive that the majority of parents and carers do recognise this and support the DfE policy by ensuring their children attend school on a regular basis.”
