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Parents are calling for fines linked to school attendance to be scrapped, as travelling during the school holidays becomes increasingly unaffordable.
Currently if a child misses a week of school for an unauthorised holiday councils can issue an £80 fine – that can rise to £160 if it’s not paid within 21 days.
But many parents take the risk in order to take their family on an affordable holiday.
A petition to scrap the fines has attracted more than 138,000 signatures, with campaigners suggesting fines have “have become a stealth tax” and are “a blunt, ineffective tool” when it comes to improving attendance.
“We feel that the attendance legislation is being abused. It was introduced to tackle persistent absenteeism when parents refused to engage with support,” campaigners said.
“The attendance drive is driving a wedge between school and home,” it added.
However, the government rejected the calls, saying Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) for unauthorised holiday absences play a “vital” role in ensuring children attend school.
In response to the petition the Department of Education said: “Government has no plans to ban fixed penalty notices or prosecutions for non-attendance. Both influence parental behaviour, where support has been exhausted, not engaged with or is inappropriate.”
Last academic year (2024-25) a record 459,288 fines were issued to parents, according to the Department for Education – that’s a 4 per cent rise on the previous year.
The Parentkind National Parent Survey 2026 revealed that more than one in five (21 per cent) parents – the equivalent of to about two million parents across the UK – removed their child from school to take them on a more affordable holiday.
However, 28 per cent of parents said they did not tell the school the true reason for the absence.
The survey suggests the rising cost of going on holiday during the school holidays are forcing parents to choose between getting a fine and affording a break.
The department of education rules outline that schools must consider a fine if a child misses five or more days without authorisation.
While an initial fine is £80 if paid within 21 days, if a parent gets a second fine for the same child in three years, it costs £160 immediately.
If a child has a third unauthorised absence, other action like prosecution is considered, which could result in a fine of up to £2,500, or a jail sentence of up to three months.
