School holiday fines 'worth it', says mum

A mum has said paying more than £800 in school fines is "worth it" to save "thousands" on a holiday.

Rebecca Saunders, from Cheltenham, said going away at the end of August - meaning her children will miss the start of term - meant a "massive saving".

The number of holiday fines issued in the south west of England was 25% higher in 2023-24 compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Responding to the new figures, released on Thursday, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said there was a need for a national effort to tackle the "epidemic of school absence".

New figures show the number of penalty notices issued for unauthorised holiday absences was at a record high in England in 2023-24, at 443,322 - up 24% on the previous year.

While the number of fines issued in the south west of England rose by 20% year on year.

Ms Phillipson said fines have a "vital" place in our system to hold people accountable, adding "all children suffer" when pupils miss school unnecessarily.

"We will not apologise for ensuring every child is in school accessing high and rising standards so they can achieve and thrive," she said.

Mrs Saunders, 37, is planning a US road trip at the end of the summer holidays - including her three children aged 12, eight and four - to celebrate her husband's 40th birthday.

The dates mean her children will miss the start of term, leaving the family potentially facing fines of about £850.

But Mrs Saunders said the decision meant they would save more than £3,000 on flights and car hire alone.

Parents taking their children out of school on holiday could be liable to pay a fine per child, per day.

"We weighed the decision and decided to go ahead," she told BBC Radio Gloucestershire. "It's still a massive saving."

Asked about concerns children taken out of school for holidays may fall behind in their learning, Mrs Saunders said she used to share the same view and had only taken her children out in term time once before.

But her perspective, she said, changed after Covid forced families into home-schooling.

"We just got told [by the school] 'they'll all catch up in the end, it will be fine,'" she explained.

"Covid happened and our kids are doing absolutely fine, so I don't believe a few weeks a year will have a massive detrimental effect on their learning."

She said that many private schools have longer school holidays than state schools without suffering a collapse in achievement amongst their pupils, adding that her children would have opportunities while away such as visiting the Nasa Space Centre in Houston they would not have in a classroom.

"I think a lot of people are taking a similar view," she said. "I think Covid had a huge effect on us and we realised that actually there's more than just an education system - making memories and spending time with your children is just as important.

"The cost of living for us parents, for everybody, has gone through the roof, not everyone has the savings they used to, so if you can make savings by taking them out then you will."

The number of penalty notices issued for unauthorised holiday absences was at a record high in England in 2022-23, at 356,181 out of 7,364,802 enrolments.

That's a rise of 24% since the pre-pandemic period (2018-19) across the country - much higher than the 4% increase in the South West.

A Gloucestershire Council spokesperson said that while they did not wish to comment as it administers rather than issue the fines, attending school was "extremely important".

They added: "Absence from school should only occur when children and young people are unable to attend.

"The school system and the local authority work closely together to encourage and support improved attendance, in line with guidance from the Department for Education."

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