The number of fines issued to parents taking their children out of school without permission has fallen in Gravesham and Dartford for the first time in four years.

A combined total of 761 penalty notices were handed out by Kent County Council during the 2014/15 academic year. This represents a decrease of 21% from last year’s figure of 959. A total of 638 were dished out across both boroughs in 2012/13 and 550 in 2011/12.
However, Gravesham and Dartford still scored the second highest number across the county.

Maidstone and Tonbridge topped the league with a combined total of 1,097 fines, with Swale a close third with 737. Penalty notices are issued for unauthorised absences, which can include holidays taken in term time as well as truancy. However, KCC has said term-time holidays only amount to about 7% of the total number.

Until September 2013, head teachers had the discretion to authorise requests for up to 10 days’ leave for a holiday. However, this was removed by the Department of Education, although heads can still decide to allow a child’s absence in exceptional circumstances.

The subject of term-time holidays has sparked much debate, and a recent court victory by a father on the Isle of Wight who successfully argued that a parent only has to ensure a child’s “regular” attendance was welcomed by families on the Messenger Facebook pages.

Many agreed that family time was as important as an education and said absences should be based on a child’s overall school attendance. They argued that tour operators who hiked up their holiday prices at the end of each term were to blame for parents taking their children out of school.

Overall, Kent has seen a fall of 22% in the total number of fines it served for unauthorised absences, from 5,622 in 2013/14 to 4,366 last year.

This also bucked the national trend, which saw a rise of 40,000 to 50,000 being issued last year, and county education chiefs have vowed to continue to penalise parents who fail to ensure their children go to school.

A KCC spokesman said the greater problem was with pupils who frequently miss school for reasons other than holidays, including truancy.

“There is no doubt that good school attendance has a positive impact on pupils’ educational achievement and KCC continues to work hard to improve these figures,” he said.
“The decision to authorise absence is at the head teacher’s discretion based on their assessment of the situation and the reasons for absence, such as illness.

“There are a variety of exceptional circumstances which could be considered to authorise absence from school, but family holidays is generally not among them.
“In any event, term-time family holidays, which are the main focus of media attention on this issue, make up a very small proportion of the total absences from school, amounting to about 7%.”

He added that helping schools to improve attendance was a high priority for KCC, and that government guidance had not changed since the court case on the Isle of Wight.
Parents are fined £60 per parent per child per period of absence, which rises to £120 if not paid within 21 days.

Those who fail to pay also face prosecution with a maximum fine of £2,500 or up to three months’ imprisonment. Money received must be used to support the administration of the scheme.