‘Cheap travel is not a defence’: the parents facing court for school absences in England
Summary
In England, hundreds of parents are being taken to court for not making sure their children regularly attend school. The courts are issuing fines or other penalties if children miss too much school without good reasons, aiming to improve attendance rates which have worsened since the Covid pandemic.Key Facts
- Several parents in Margate, England, were summoned to court for their children’s poor school attendance.
- Parents can be fined or, in extreme cases, face up to three months in prison for not ensuring their children attend school.
- One parent admitted to taking a child on a 10-day trip during term time, causing attendance to fall below 75%.
- The court reminded parents that low-cost travel is not a valid reason to take children out of school.
- School attendance rates in England have not fully recovered since Covid closures, with absence rates rising to nearly 7% in 2025-26.
- Persistent absence means missing at least 10% of school, which now affects nearly one in five children.
- In 2024-25, a record 492,825 penalty notices were issued to parents for unauthorized absences, well above pre-pandemic levels.
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