Number of fines issued to Hertfordshire parents more than doubled

Previously parents could expect to receive a fine if their children were absent from school for 15 half-day sessions or more in a 12-month period. But since August – following a change in national guidelines – schools have been required to consider a fine if a child misses 10 or more half-day sessions for unauthorised reasons. Crucially, that change means that parents can no longer take their children out of school for a week-long term-time holiday – which could previously have been allowed – without the risk of a fine.

Latest data obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, shows that since the change in the guidance the number of fines issued to parents by Hertfordshire County Council has more than doubled. In the last academic year (2023/24) between September 1 and March 25, the county council say they issued 701..



. Deborah Price.