Overview
- More than 443,000 penalty notices were issued in England in the last school year for term-time holidays, a 53% rise from 2018/19.
- Penalty notices start at £80 if paid within 21 days and are issued per child and per parent, which can rapidly increase the total for families.
- MPs including Robbie Moore, Helen Hayes, Rupert Lowe, and Andrew Cooper criticised the approach, with several calling for a ban on fines.
- Education minister Georgia Gould said the government will not change the rules and will not allow pupils to miss 10 days without good reason, citing harm to attainment and a support-first framework.
- Confused.com research reported average savings of £567 for term-time travel and £41 million in fines between 2022 and 2024, while the NAHT says fines are not deterring parents and councils can escalate to legal action for repeated absence.