Parents raising their children in England could be forced to fork out hefty sums of cash for removing their kids from school during term time, with new legislation coming into force today.
The move comes after a staggering increase in amounts of school absences, with many mums and dads being found guilty of prioritising a lower-cost family vacation over their children's education.
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The subject of larger fines for parents removing their children from school without permission was broached by the former education minister back in February.
Conservative MP Damian Hinds spoke at the time of the importance of implementing a new 'deterrent', being that discouragement of parents alone was proving ineffective.
A fine of £60 was previously put into place for parents who did not receive permission from the school board before whisking their children away on a term-time holiday, which increased to £120 if not paid within a 21 day period.
Now, however, the new Labour Government have taken measures one step further, raising the stakes for mums and dads across England.
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In fact, what used to be a gentle warning about the impact that absence from school could have on their youngster's education has now become a pretty hefty financial risk for parents, who are being expected to cough up even more money.
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Fines given to parents will - as of today (19 August) - be raised to £80 for one incident of a child being removed from school for five days.
This fee will increase to a further £160 if not paid within 21 days.
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On top of this, the new rules also say that, if a parent is fined for the same misconduct within a three-year period, the fine will stand immediately at £160 from the start.
In cases where a third penalty is necessary, 'alternative action' will now be considered - as per the new guidelines - which state that this will likely include prosecution.
The Department of Education's (DoE) latest move comes after a staggering 400,000 penalty notices were given to parents who removed their children from school without permission in England between 2022 and 2023.
This figure sparked even further concern when it was found to be considerably higher that pre-pandemic levels, implying parents feel now more at ease than ever about whisking their children away from their education.
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A study carried out by the DoE found that over 89 percent of these removals from school were due to a parent prioritising a family holiday, which naturally tend to be cheaper during term time.
Association of School and College Leaders' general secretary, Geoff Barton, previously told press of this issue: "While nobody wants to be in a position of fining parents there simply has to be a marker that this is not acceptable.
"Not only does it affect the child's education but it means teachers then have to spend time helping children to catch up with lost learning. If everybody did this it would be chaos."
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According to the new guidance, however, both schools and local authorities are now expected to work together to take a 'support-first' approach to tackle the issue of missed attendance in school.
As per the new rules, a 'formal attendance contact' should first be agreed, or alternatively, a family court order pursued if necessary.
Only once both of these measures have been considered will a fine be dispensed.
Topics: Holiday, Life, Money, Parenting, Travel, UK News, Politics
Rhianna Benson