Wtf is a child going to miss from a week off primary school? I wouldn’t even mind if the fine went directly to the school to help them but it wont.
Monkeyboogaloo on
I think these are not nuanced enough.
Taking an eight year old out for a week or a 15 year old has a different impact as they are at different leaning stages with more at stake.
I have taken my daughter out of school for a fanily wedding in France. I wouldnt for a holiday but I totally understand why people do.
Of course there is disruption for the teacher but explaining its impact on the class and learning would be better than a fine which people will build into their holiday cost.
PatternRecogniser on
School absence is absolutely through the roof and educational achievement for younger children is looking really quite dire. Parents should most definitely be held accountable, many are far too uncaring about their child’s education.
Ok_Citron_6615 on
Such rubbish these fines. Why. It tackle greedy holiday company’s that double the price. It’s just another money making scam from the government. They don’t care when teachers have strike days.
Time-Muscle-1831 on
I’m a teacher and I think it needs to be more nuanced. Parents of children with 100% attendance (or close) should be cut some slack for wanting to avoid the extortionate fees during school holidays, especially if it’s at a particularly “dead” time in the school year (e.g. July).
I’m less sympathetic if the child has poor attendance.
Ready_Maybe on
>School absence fines have increased from £60 to £80
You save much more holidaying outside the school holidays. This won’t deter most people.
Shep_vas_Normandy on
Love how the councils pretends this isn’t just a way to suck more money out of people. Guess my kid will just be sick for a week!
raininfordays on
It’s no surprise home schooling rates are increasing with policies like these it’s more and more appealing. Quite shockingly as well is that absences during to bullying and mental health issues aren’t considered ‘unavoidable’ and can be fines which is quite horrid tbh.
legodragon2005 on
Ridiculous. A child missing a week or two from school is hardly going to be affected for the rest of their life.
smoothie1919 on
From £60 to £80. I don’t think an extra £20 is going to deter a family going on holiday when they can save £1500 to go during term time..
Glassjaw1990 on
This is dumb. During my final 2 years of school 05-06 I skipped school plenty. Tuesday or Thursdays were my go to days to take off. I just “missed the bus” walked home when I knew my parents where at work.
Passed with 6 C’s at GCSE’S did well at college and got a consistent job and earn good money. If I had missed a week of school, would I now be homeless and unemployed? No.
Out of touch approach.
lordnacho666 on
This just encourages people to be dishonest about why their kid isn’t there.
I asked if I could take my kid out of school to take him to language camp at the end of the school year. They claimed they were still teaching important things in the last few days, which of course was not what happened.
Next year, my kid will be “ill” and go to this camp instead.
In the end, a school curriculum is not so rigid that you will be unable to follow if you missed something. We know this because when you’re actually ill, you come back and you are not stuck where you left off.
Harmless_Drone on
I can’t get an ENT apoointment for my kid so they’re constantly off with ear problems and their ongoing asthma.
If I could get help with this through the NHS then he’d be in school more.
I don’t want him off school, it upsets his learning, but now we’ve been told he has to be in unless he has a doctors note because he’s been off too much. So I now need to waste GPs time and appointment slots taking him to the doctor to be told he has a chronic ear infection, (again), which they can do nothing about, give us *yet another* referral to the ENT which we cannot get access to because of the queue for it, to then take a doctors note to school to avoid getting a fine for my child being ill.
This focus on attendance is kafkaesque and actively counterproductive.
TylerD958 on
Can the parents fine the teachers for the missed school time during teacher’s strikes?
EddieEliabethHltler on
Too many people on here are speaking common sense but it’s purely a revenue making opportunity. That’s it, they will fine you for whatever they can and having leeway or tolerance will stir the revenue generation so it won’t happen.
Have you heard Labour is planning on introducing pay by mile driving too? Kahn wants to charge electric vehicles congestion charge too, proof it was never about the environment or going green.
Bananasonfire on
Fines are just a way of saying the rich can get away with it. Change it so children are not allowed to leave the country during the school term without a special visa that needs to be applied for with evidence for special circumstances (i.e. funerals).
It won’t stop people going on holiday within the UK but who honestly wants to go to fucking Butlins?
SimpleExtreme7552 on
Good it needs to increase 10 fold, as a parent my children’s school attendance is 98% or above. We have 4 one of them, one had 100% this past year. We refuse to take them out of school we believe it’s important. We pay out our arses to go on holiday during in the holidays. Both work and do everything right by the book. We then get little miss pyjamas walking round the kids playground like king dick. Holiday here and there and never gets fined, pay next to nothing because it’s in school times. It’s a joke.
ChoirBoyComparedToMe on
Missing school when you’re aged 10 and under is literally meaningless. I cannot remember anything from that age, school wise.
MD564 on
When I was in year 6 I missed two weeks of primary school to go sailing around Australia over a month period in December (something I was insanely lucky to do and will probably never be able to do again).
My teacher told me I had to send emails to my class updating them on what I was doing and my classmates had to send me emails back. I also had to write a diary and draw pictures of marine life and hand it in when I returned. My teacher didn’t mark it, just flipped through and gave me a sticker for anything that caught her eye.
My parents were very involved with making sure I was doing all of this and I think perhaps this is where the catch should be. If parents agree to do something along these lines that help not only with cultural capital but continue their development of literacy, then they should be allowed time off for an extended time.
bobblebob100 on
Unless school has changed since i was there many years ago, the last week of term you did fuck all anyway
Ex-art-obs1988 on
Oh no, I guess my child will just be sick that week…
The fine is paltry compared to the cost increase of holidays outside term time.
We are going to italy next may, during term time and it’s £900 cheaper than in half term…
Pretty sure my kids will have a greater education experience in Rome, Venice and Pompeii vs the there current crop of teachers who keep using out of date lesson plans from the early 00’s
Few-Role-4568 on
I see no-one has addressed the elephant in the room.
What is the difference to a parent taking a child out for a week to go on holiday vs a child losing a week of education due to teachers going on strike?
Apart from the fact the council can raise some revenue from one whilst vilifying the parents?
dahid on
That doesn’t sound like a big enough deterrent. £80 for a week off, you could save up ready for the fine if you know it’s coming.
Btw I think the fines are silly anyway, parents should be able to negotiate with teachers. For example, they could get copies of the work they will miss so their kids can catch up whilst on holiday. But this could be a once a year deal so the kids don’t miss out too often.
aehii on
This is draconian, the idea kids missing a week or two of school will miss a substantial amount is a load of shit, no one’s child is owned by the government whereby a parent choosing to do whatever they want with them should be fined. It’s genuinely insane. 0
EruanneUk on
Growing up in France my parents got the “zone” dates wrong (different regions have different holiday times in France) so we went on holiday for two weeks and when we came back it was the school holidays for two weeks haha. I was 14 at the time and it had no negative impact whatsoever
jbkb1972 on
Also, what where families have siblings at different schools and have different weeks off school? If that family wanted a holiday in February, may or October half terms.
Sidian on
Needs to go up far more. It’s lovely to be able to go places and not have kids running around screaming.
William_Taylor-Jade on
Taking kids on holiday is a good thing. It broadens their knowledge in a way that can’t be achieved in schools, it’s good for their motivation and it’s good for their development.
It’s far cheaper too during term time and is beneficial to everyone if you don’t effectively try forcing people to all go away during the same weeks in the year
A child is not going to suffer or fall behind because they go on holiday for 1 or 2 weeks.
TheHess on
Love how everyone says “it doesn’t matter if they miss a week” and yet will be raging if the teacher applied the same logic to go on holiday for a week in term time to save some cash instead of having to go in the school holidays.
AlchemyAled on
what’s going to have more impact on a child’s overall education, another week in school or a week in another part of the country/abroad?
Key_Kong on
We kept our child off school for a week as the family holiday was £2k more to go in August.
Reluctant_Dreamer on
“Here’s what you need to know”
Proceeds to tell me nothing I need to know.
Is it any unauthorised absence? A day? Two days? What about a week? Is it percentage based? What about sickness? What religious holidays not celebrated nationally (such as Sukkot).
Admittedly this did give some information but just nothing to aid me in making a decision. If my child is over performing academically and attendance is great I don’t see why I shouldn’t be able to give her some great holiday memories minus the big holiday prices.
LadyWithABookOrTwo on
This is terrifying for us who are from outside the UK and whose entire family lives back in our country of origin. I take my child back to my home country regularly as my child and I both deserve to stay connected to our family. I can imagine there being multiple times when I need to take him during term time (terminal illness, funeral, special occasions or not being able to afford out of term tickets sometimes). I would of course do my very best to ideally go during term holiday only but its just not always realistic when youve got family abroad.
daviess on
No worries council. Here’s your £80. Thankfully center parcs out of holiday time saved me £1400.
ProgramLegitimate915 on
I took my kids out of school for holidays abroad however they both had 100% attendance and it was only a few times on the last one it was just my youngest and we got fined for taking him out and you know what that £60 fine still paled in comparison to the 1000£ extra I would have paid
vidutus on
Fining parents for their kids not showing up to school? That’s a pretty intense move. Sure, getting kids to attend is important, but fines might not fix the real issues behind why they’re missing school. Instead of just slapping parents with penalties, maybe schools should focus on figuring out what’s really going on and how to support families better. It’s definitely going to get people talking!
mallardtheduck on
More expense for parents of children with chronic illnesses then…
I know medical appointments and the like are _supposed_ to be considered “authorised” absences, but many schools/councils are overzealous, especially when it comes to what constitutes a “reasonable” recovery period from surgery or when the absence is due to a flare-up/episode rather than a medical appointment. _Most_ parents of children with chronic illnesses will be at least threatened with fines at some point during their child’s schooling.
37 Comments
Wtf is a child going to miss from a week off primary school? I wouldn’t even mind if the fine went directly to the school to help them but it wont.
I think these are not nuanced enough.
Taking an eight year old out for a week or a 15 year old has a different impact as they are at different leaning stages with more at stake.
I have taken my daughter out of school for a fanily wedding in France. I wouldnt for a holiday but I totally understand why people do.
Of course there is disruption for the teacher but explaining its impact on the class and learning would be better than a fine which people will build into their holiday cost.
School absence is absolutely through the roof and educational achievement for younger children is looking really quite dire. Parents should most definitely be held accountable, many are far too uncaring about their child’s education.
Such rubbish these fines. Why. It tackle greedy holiday company’s that double the price. It’s just another money making scam from the government. They don’t care when teachers have strike days.
I’m a teacher and I think it needs to be more nuanced. Parents of children with 100% attendance (or close) should be cut some slack for wanting to avoid the extortionate fees during school holidays, especially if it’s at a particularly “dead” time in the school year (e.g. July).
I’m less sympathetic if the child has poor attendance.
>School absence fines have increased from £60 to £80
You save much more holidaying outside the school holidays. This won’t deter most people.
Love how the councils pretends this isn’t just a way to suck more money out of people. Guess my kid will just be sick for a week!
It’s no surprise home schooling rates are increasing with policies like these it’s more and more appealing. Quite shockingly as well is that absences during to bullying and mental health issues aren’t considered ‘unavoidable’ and can be fines which is quite horrid tbh.
Ridiculous. A child missing a week or two from school is hardly going to be affected for the rest of their life.
From £60 to £80. I don’t think an extra £20 is going to deter a family going on holiday when they can save £1500 to go during term time..
This is dumb. During my final 2 years of school 05-06 I skipped school plenty. Tuesday or Thursdays were my go to days to take off. I just “missed the bus” walked home when I knew my parents where at work.
Passed with 6 C’s at GCSE’S did well at college and got a consistent job and earn good money. If I had missed a week of school, would I now be homeless and unemployed? No.
Out of touch approach.
This just encourages people to be dishonest about why their kid isn’t there.
I asked if I could take my kid out of school to take him to language camp at the end of the school year. They claimed they were still teaching important things in the last few days, which of course was not what happened.
Next year, my kid will be “ill” and go to this camp instead.
In the end, a school curriculum is not so rigid that you will be unable to follow if you missed something. We know this because when you’re actually ill, you come back and you are not stuck where you left off.
I can’t get an ENT apoointment for my kid so they’re constantly off with ear problems and their ongoing asthma.
If I could get help with this through the NHS then he’d be in school more.
I don’t want him off school, it upsets his learning, but now we’ve been told he has to be in unless he has a doctors note because he’s been off too much. So I now need to waste GPs time and appointment slots taking him to the doctor to be told he has a chronic ear infection, (again), which they can do nothing about, give us *yet another* referral to the ENT which we cannot get access to because of the queue for it, to then take a doctors note to school to avoid getting a fine for my child being ill.
This focus on attendance is kafkaesque and actively counterproductive.
Can the parents fine the teachers for the missed school time during teacher’s strikes?
Too many people on here are speaking common sense but it’s purely a revenue making opportunity. That’s it, they will fine you for whatever they can and having leeway or tolerance will stir the revenue generation so it won’t happen.
Have you heard Labour is planning on introducing pay by mile driving too? Kahn wants to charge electric vehicles congestion charge too, proof it was never about the environment or going green.
Fines are just a way of saying the rich can get away with it. Change it so children are not allowed to leave the country during the school term without a special visa that needs to be applied for with evidence for special circumstances (i.e. funerals).
It won’t stop people going on holiday within the UK but who honestly wants to go to fucking Butlins?
Good it needs to increase 10 fold, as a parent my children’s school attendance is 98% or above. We have 4 one of them, one had 100% this past year. We refuse to take them out of school we believe it’s important. We pay out our arses to go on holiday during in the holidays. Both work and do everything right by the book. We then get little miss pyjamas walking round the kids playground like king dick. Holiday here and there and never gets fined, pay next to nothing because it’s in school times. It’s a joke.
Missing school when you’re aged 10 and under is literally meaningless. I cannot remember anything from that age, school wise.
When I was in year 6 I missed two weeks of primary school to go sailing around Australia over a month period in December (something I was insanely lucky to do and will probably never be able to do again).
My teacher told me I had to send emails to my class updating them on what I was doing and my classmates had to send me emails back. I also had to write a diary and draw pictures of marine life and hand it in when I returned. My teacher didn’t mark it, just flipped through and gave me a sticker for anything that caught her eye.
My parents were very involved with making sure I was doing all of this and I think perhaps this is where the catch should be. If parents agree to do something along these lines that help not only with cultural capital but continue their development of literacy, then they should be allowed time off for an extended time.
Unless school has changed since i was there many years ago, the last week of term you did fuck all anyway
Oh no, I guess my child will just be sick that week…
The fine is paltry compared to the cost increase of holidays outside term time.
We are going to italy next may, during term time and it’s £900 cheaper than in half term…
Pretty sure my kids will have a greater education experience in Rome, Venice and Pompeii vs the there current crop of teachers who keep using out of date lesson plans from the early 00’s
I see no-one has addressed the elephant in the room.
What is the difference to a parent taking a child out for a week to go on holiday vs a child losing a week of education due to teachers going on strike?
Apart from the fact the council can raise some revenue from one whilst vilifying the parents?
That doesn’t sound like a big enough deterrent. £80 for a week off, you could save up ready for the fine if you know it’s coming.
Btw I think the fines are silly anyway, parents should be able to negotiate with teachers. For example, they could get copies of the work they will miss so their kids can catch up whilst on holiday. But this could be a once a year deal so the kids don’t miss out too often.
This is draconian, the idea kids missing a week or two of school will miss a substantial amount is a load of shit, no one’s child is owned by the government whereby a parent choosing to do whatever they want with them should be fined. It’s genuinely insane. 0
Growing up in France my parents got the “zone” dates wrong (different regions have different holiday times in France) so we went on holiday for two weeks and when we came back it was the school holidays for two weeks haha. I was 14 at the time and it had no negative impact whatsoever
Also, what where families have siblings at different schools and have different weeks off school? If that family wanted a holiday in February, may or October half terms.
Needs to go up far more. It’s lovely to be able to go places and not have kids running around screaming.
Taking kids on holiday is a good thing. It broadens their knowledge in a way that can’t be achieved in schools, it’s good for their motivation and it’s good for their development.
It’s far cheaper too during term time and is beneficial to everyone if you don’t effectively try forcing people to all go away during the same weeks in the year
A child is not going to suffer or fall behind because they go on holiday for 1 or 2 weeks.
Love how everyone says “it doesn’t matter if they miss a week” and yet will be raging if the teacher applied the same logic to go on holiday for a week in term time to save some cash instead of having to go in the school holidays.
what’s going to have more impact on a child’s overall education, another week in school or a week in another part of the country/abroad?
We kept our child off school for a week as the family holiday was £2k more to go in August.
“Here’s what you need to know”
Proceeds to tell me nothing I need to know.
Is it any unauthorised absence? A day? Two days? What about a week? Is it percentage based? What about sickness? What religious holidays not celebrated nationally (such as Sukkot).
Admittedly this did give some information but just nothing to aid me in making a decision. If my child is over performing academically and attendance is great I don’t see why I shouldn’t be able to give her some great holiday memories minus the big holiday prices.
This is terrifying for us who are from outside the UK and whose entire family lives back in our country of origin. I take my child back to my home country regularly as my child and I both deserve to stay connected to our family. I can imagine there being multiple times when I need to take him during term time (terminal illness, funeral, special occasions or not being able to afford out of term tickets sometimes). I would of course do my very best to ideally go during term holiday only but its just not always realistic when youve got family abroad.
No worries council. Here’s your £80. Thankfully center parcs out of holiday time saved me £1400.
I took my kids out of school for holidays abroad however they both had 100% attendance and it was only a few times on the last one it was just my youngest and we got fined for taking him out and you know what that £60 fine still paled in comparison to the 1000£ extra I would have paid
Fining parents for their kids not showing up to school? That’s a pretty intense move. Sure, getting kids to attend is important, but fines might not fix the real issues behind why they’re missing school. Instead of just slapping parents with penalties, maybe schools should focus on figuring out what’s really going on and how to support families better. It’s definitely going to get people talking!
More expense for parents of children with chronic illnesses then…
I know medical appointments and the like are _supposed_ to be considered “authorised” absences, but many schools/councils are overzealous, especially when it comes to what constitutes a “reasonable” recovery period from surgery or when the absence is due to a flare-up/episode rather than a medical appointment. _Most_ parents of children with chronic illnesses will be at least threatened with fines at some point during their child’s schooling.