Hundreds of parents are being summoned to courts across England this month for failing to ensure their children regularly attended school during the last academic year. These parents face potential fines, or in some cases, the theoretical possibility of up to three months in prison.
In Margate, Kent, seven mothers and two fathers appeared in magistrates' court. One father was fined £166 after admitting to taking his daughter out of school for a 10-day holiday, which pushed her annual attendance rate below 75%. This was the third such holiday in three consecutive years.
Data released by the Department for Education shows the overall absence rate for pupils in England for the 2025-26 academic year was 6.93%. This marks a slight rise from the previous year and remains significantly above the 2018-19 pre-Covid level of 4.7%. Persistent absence rates have doubled since the pandemic, with nearly one in five children now missing at least 10% of school.
A record 492,825 penalty notices for unauthorised absences were issued to parents in England in 2024-25, an increase from the 333,388 penalties issued in 2018-19. Education minister Paul Waugh noted that absences due to illness are 25% higher on Fridays compared to the rest of the week.
Another case in Margate involved a mother charged with knowingly allowing her 14-year-old son to miss school, where his annual attendance rate was 19%. The case was adjourned as her solicitor needed time to collate evidence that the son had been seriously bullied at school.