The government declared today that all parents who take their children on vacation during the school year would be issued a fixed penalty notice (FPN).
FPNs will be handed to parents when children are late five times in one term, take five unauthorised absences, go on vacation during the school year, or are out in public in the five days following an exclusion under the new truancy crackdown.
Nadim Zahawi, the Education Secretary, promised to stop the ‘postcode lottery’ in how local governments handle school absences.
‘I know from the work of the Children’s Commissioner on school attendance that children themselves place a high value on being in school with their teachers and friends,’ he said.
My goal is to make sure that every child has those opportunities in school.’
According to the ideas, the education secretary will also be in charge of a Whitehall database containing all school records.
‘The ideas set out today to alter how absence fines work, together with our Schools Bill presently in parliament, will enhance uniformity throughout the UK and help fight persistent absence,’ Mr Zahawi added.
Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner, has asked for 100% school attendance by the autumn term.
She challenged schools to go to “whatever length” to achieve that goal.
Each parent would be subject to a maximum of two fines each school year for each child.
Prosecution would be contemplated if that limit was reached.
Currently, councils determine whether fines are enforced on parents based on their own criteria.
In addition, the plans would tighten rules regarding student absences due to illness.
If a student’s health makes it doubtful that they will be able to attend school, the existing standards allow their name to be removed from the registers.
This, according to the government, is “outdated” since “changes in support for kids with medical issues have allowed many of them to complete their education in their local school.”
In the event of absences, proposals also suggest online learning.
Without the agreement of the local council, kids with a child protection plan, an education and health care plan, or a child in need plan should not be removed from the school rolls.
They also recommend that students under the age of compulsory schooling have their absences noted.
As things are, they are not required by law to keep track of their attendance.
The Government noted that students who are absent for 15 days or more due to illness should be reported to the local council so that they and their families can receive further care.