'Paying £240 holiday school fine was a no-brainer'

“It’s a no brainer,” mum Laura Melling said after she decided to take her daughters out of school during term-time to save £3,000 on their family holiday.

Mrs Melling and her husband Paul from Leyland, Lancashire, were each fined £120 after taking their children out of primary school for a trip to Egypt.

The nurse, whose TikTok about the fine has been viewed 1.4 million times, said the term-time holiday ban was “ridiculous”.

The Department of Education said school attendance was the key to giving “every child the best start in life”.

Repeated failure to ensure school attendance can result in a court prosecution, a fine of up to £2,500, a community order and even a jail sentence of up to three months.

The minimum fines, imposed by local authorities, for removing children without permission for five school days will rise from £60 per child to £80 per child from August.

Head teachers have some discretion over which cases to send to the council for potential fines.

In the last academic year, pupils in the North West missed more than one million school days through unauthorised holidays.

Across England, the figure was more than six million.

Mrs Melling said she took her children out of school during term due to the “unbelievable price” of holidays in the summer months.

One travel agent told the BBC that holiday costs can be as much as 40% higher during the school holidays.

“It was £5,500 to go in the summer and to go in February it was £2,500, it’s a no brainer,” Mrs Melling said.

“We know primary school age is important, but they’re just babies compared to GCSE age.

“They should be living life and experiencing different places around the world if they have that opportunity.

“I could understand if I was taking my children away every single year, but if it’s a one-off, I don’t see why I should get fined.”

She added: “I’ve been made to feel like I’ve done something wrong, but I was treating my children and giving them a good life in my eyes.

“Since my TikTok, I’ve had a lot of support from parents. Everybody has been saying how they’ve always taken their kids out of school and their children are now lawyers, it’s done them no harm.”

Lancashire County Council, which issued the fine, said it always encouraged schools to work closely with parents to reduce unauthorised absences.

“Evidence shows that attainment is linked to attendance, so supporting our schools with this issue is important,” it added.

Andrew Newton, head teacher at Kearlsey Academy in Bolton, told the BBC his school had seen a 52% rise in holiday absences over the last year.

“A holiday can feel like a small period of time to families, but this is having a big impact and we don’t want that to be the case,” he said.

“All of us within the education sector are imploring parents to recognise the detrimental impact it can have when children are not consistently in school.”

But for some parents, a term-time holiday is about more than just the cost.

Human resources manager Rachael Wild, 50, took her seven-year-old son Casper, who has special educational needs, to Spain during term-time.

“He was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder when he was four and he struggles with crowded areas,” she said.

“Busy areas can cause anxiety and distress, so my decision to go away wasn’t to do with money, it was more to do with his well-being.”

Mrs Wild said “a one-size-fits-all approach” to term-time holidays “does not work”, adding: “The government needs to understand how difficult it is for children with additional needs, they shouldn’t have to miss out on experiences.

“There needs to be more leeway.”

A Department for Education spokesman said the government was “committed to improving attendance” and the department would “support teachers to take the decisions needed so all pupils benefit from a rich curriculum that encourages a love of learning”.

In England, local authorities decide when to issue fines, so the process varies from council to council.

But under a new national framework, all schools will have to consider a fine for five days of unauthorised attendance.

From August, fines will rise in line with inflation to £80 per parent if paid within 21 days, or £160 if paid within 28 days.

For example, a two-parent family would face an initial fine of £160.

If a parent receives a second fine for the same child within three years, that would be charged at a higher rate of £160. The number of fines a parent can receive within three years is capped at two.

Once this limit has been passed, a parenting order or prosecution could be considered – which could mean a fine of up to £2,500.

In Wales, local authorities can issue fines of £60 per parent if their child has had an unauthorised absence of five days or more. This rises to £120 if it’s not paid within 28 days.

In Scotland, schools will not normally grant permission for term-time holidays, but they do make some exceptions.

There are no fines, but an education authority may issue an attendance order requiring a parent to provide an explanation for non-attendance.

Non-compliance with this could lead to prosecution and a maximum fine of £1,000.

Likewise, in Northern Ireland the Education Welfare Service can apply to the courts to fine parents.

In a magistrate’s court, a parent could be fined up to £1,000 for each child who misses school.

Branwen Jeffreys

BBC education editor

Something fundamental has shifted in how parents view absence from school since Covid.

It is harder for schools to hold the line that every day missed has an impact on education, because bluntly families no longer believe it is that stark.

Yet this week research has confirmed that tests and exam results are showing the pandemic led to a widened gap between children from the highest and lowest income families.

That suggests missing days at school will have a bigger impact on some children than others.

At the same time, it’s clear how much the cost of living crisis is hitting families, making a trip away during school holidays ever more expensive.

Some parents may decide that £80 is still cheaper than a family trip in the UK or abroad in July or August.