Hundreds of parents fined for not sending their children to school

MORE than 500 parents were fined across Wales last term for not sending their children to school, with more than 100 prosecutions.

- ABBIE WIGHTWICK Education editor

The figures, obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, were revealed as schools face the annual problem of families taking their children out of lessons to go on summer holidays before prices rise in peak season.

The Welsh Government, councils and schools are struggling to get more children back into classrooms.

Despite a very small improvement in school attendance this academic year, it still trails pre-pandemic levels more than five years after classrooms first closed due to the threat of Covid. Some children have never returned at all.

Schools inspectorate Estyn recently warned it would take a decade, at the current rate of progress, to get attendance rates back to where they were before Covid, and some schools believe fines and court action are the only answer.

On average, secondary-age pupils miss about one day of school a fortnight and now miss 11 days of school more each year than before the pandemic.

More than one in 10 secondary school sessions - counted as half of a school day - are now being missed on average in high schools across Wales with absence rates worst for less-well-off children and those in key GCSE year 11.

Estyn has described low school attendance in Wales as "an important national concern".

The watchdog said school leaders in some parts of the country have told inspectors they are frustrated their local authorities won't fine parents who don’t send their children in.

They have told Estyn this failure to act is "restricting their ability to challenge families to improve pupils’ attendance".

The data shows while some councils are issuing fines and prosecuting parents for not sending their children to school, others, such as Anglesey, are not.

Fixed penalty notice (FPN) fines for parents not sending their children to school are £60, rising to £120 if that's not paid within 28 days.