Hundreds of Wiltshire and Hampshire parents fined for school absences
Hampshire has one of the highest totals of penalty notices in England
More fines were issued to parents whose children missed school in Hampshire last year, than almost anywhere else in England.
Department for Education data showed the county accounted for 2% of all penalty notices issued across the country in 2020/21.
But in Wiltshire, the number of fines handed out is significantly lower, and falling compared to the previous year.
HAMPSHIRE STATS
814 of the fines to parents were handed out for unauthorised family holidays, along with a further 24 for being late.
In addition, 946 penalty notices were given to parents in Hampshire for a child's poor attendance last year, even though children were kept away from classrooms for two months during England's third Covid lockdown in January and February.
No figures were available for 2019/20, but the number of fines has dropped 89% from the 8,946 recorded in 2018/19.
Hampshire County Council has said that it has extremely high school attendance figures, and that penalty notices are only used as a last resort.
Cllr Roz Chadd, the council's executive lead member for children's services, added:
“As the third largest shire county, with a large population, Hampshire has around 180,000 school aged pupils attending some 526 schools. Hampshire has historically seen very high levels of attendance in schools and the last published figure was 95.4 per cent attendance. Hampshire has continued to benefit from relatively high levels of attendance during the pandemic.
“Schools have worked hard with parents to reassure them of the mitigation strategies they have put in place to reduce the likelihood of Covid transmission during the pandemic.
"Penalty notices have only been issued as a last resort after all other measures have been exhausted.”
WILTSHIRE FIGURES
It's a very different story in Wiltshire though, where the Council has seen the number of fines handed out drop in recent years.
In the academic year 2020-21, there were a total of 593 fines issued.
458 of those were for holidays taken in term time, with 135 for unauthorised absences.
In the previous year (2019-20), there were a total of 982 penalty notices given to families.
Cllr Laura Mayes, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills said:
“Wiltshire has seen a reduction in the number of penalty notices issued solely for unauthorised holidays in term time which may be a result of the restrictions placed on travel arising from the pandemic.
“In line with neighbouring authorities, Wiltshire Council accepts requests for the issue of penalty notices for unauthorised absence from schools as one of the strategies to manage absence and as a way of averting prosecution. This has been the case since the beginning of the academic year 2020-2021 and may account for the increase in penalty notices issued for unauthorised absence.
“Wiltshire Council works proactively with schools, families and young people to help them overcome challenges that impact on regular school attendance.”