Fined for Family Time: Parents Struggle with School Holiday Rules

Many families struggle to afford holidays during school breaks due to high costs. For circus acrobat Kelly, it’s not just about expenses—it’s her job that dictates when she can take time off.

“I work seven days a week and only get January and February off each year,” says the 32-year-old performer.

Kelly was fined for taking her daughter out of school for a two-week holiday to the Canary Islands in January 2024. Her daughter has a unique schooling arrangement: from Wednesday to Friday, she attends a main school, while on Mondays and Tuesdays, she is registered with various schools across the country, following her mother’s traveling circus schedule.

According to figures from the Department for Education (DfE), the number of fines issued for unauthorized school absences rose to 443,322 in England last year—a 24% increase from the previous year and three times higher than in 2016-17 when records began.

Schools and local councils emphasize that regular attendance is crucial for a child’s education. The government defends the fines, arguing they play a “vital role in ensuring accountability” for school attendance. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has described school absence as an “epidemic.”

Kelly acknowledges the importance of her daughter’s education but argues that some flexibility is needed for families with unconventional work schedules. “January and February are crucial for us to rest and recharge,” she explains. While she supports school attendance policies, she believes that parents who can prove they have no alternative time off should be granted permission for term-time holidays.

Despite the challenges, Kelly’s daughter enjoys her education and embraces meeting new people across the country as they travel with the circus.

For Lucy, a mother from East Sussex, school holiday travel is equally difficult due to her family’s farming schedule.

“It’s tricky for us to go away during school breaks because of how we farm,” she says. “The 7 to 10 days we take in January are vital.”

Although the school understands her family’s situation, they cannot authorize the absences.

“In February, we start lambing our first lot of ewes. By Easter, we’re onto the second lot. May half-term is silaging season. Summer is dedicated to haymaking and harvesting, and in October, my husband is drilling crops for next year. Until recently, we even farmed turkeys at Christmas.”

Lucy’s family has already received multiple fines—£240 for their last holiday and £120 for the one before. Despite this, she insists the time away is worth it. However, she worries about future penalties.

“I don’t want a criminal record, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

She believes school attendance policies should consider the realities of farming families. “We’re all in the same boat—we can’t just leave during peak seasons.”

In August 2024, the DfE introduced a new national framework standardizing fines across councils. The first-time fine was increased from £60 to £80. However, local authorities still have the discretion to decide when to issue penalties.

Under the updated guidelines:

• Schools must consider fines if a child misses five or more days without authorization.
• The initial fine is £80 if paid within 21 days or £160 if paid within 28 days.
• If a parent receives a second fine for the same child within three years, they must pay £160 immediately.
• A third unauthorized absence could lead to prosecution, with potential fines of up to £2,500.

The government maintains that fines are necessary to enforce attendance, arguing that absences negatively impact not only the absent child but also their classmates and teachers. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson stated, “When children miss school unnecessarily, all children suffer as teachers must divert attention to helping them catch up. We will not apologize for enforcing attendance to ensure every child has access to high standards of education.”

However, Paul Whiteman, General Secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, argues that fines are a “crude tool” that fail to address the underlying reasons behind absences. He advocates for increased investment in community services to provide families with the support they need to maintain school attendance.

While the debate continues, families like Kelly’s and Lucy’s face difficult choices—between their livelihoods and their children’s education.