South Tyneside Council issues more than £215,000 worth of fines for unauthorised school absences

Figures released by Legal Expert have revealed that South Tyneside Council has issued more than £215,000 worth of fines to parents for unauthorised school absences in the last three years.

South Tyneside Council has confirmed that there has been more than 900 instances where cases were referred for prosecution since 2021 following non-payment of the fine.

Over the last three-year period in the borough, the number of fines for unauthorised absences rose by 48% between 2021/22 and 2022/23 - with £88,620 worth of fines issues, up from £55,560 the year before.

Between 2021/22, 1,286 fines were issued to parents, rising to 1,904 in the following year.

Legal Expert has found that South Tyneside Council has issued 1,822 fines so far this year.

Across the North East, the trend of a big jump in unauthorised absence fines can be seen, which South Tyneside Council has attributed to periods of school closures during 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cllr Liz McHugh, Lead Member for Children and Families Social Care & Education and Skills, has explained to the Shields Gazette that the majority of unauthorised absence fines were issued to parents who took their children out of school to go on holiday during term time.

Read more: Meet the South Tyneside 11-year-old who has never missed a day of school

She said: “We know that children and young people who have good attendance achieve better outcomes, are safer, and have better health and wellbeing and that is why attendance at school is a key priority for both our schools and the Council.  

"Attendance fines are always a last resort and before these are issued both our schools and our attendance team work with families to promote good attendance and to tackle any barriers to children attending school.

“We have clear policies on attendance and these are communicated to parents on a regular basis.

"The majority of fines are issued when a school reports unauthorised absence - where children are taken out of school in term time to go on holidays.

“Whilst we appreciate that family holidays are much more affordable during term time we simply cannot encourage this as lost school days have a serious detrimental impact on our young people.”

Stay up to date with the Shields Gazette’s latest headlines and get a newsletter delivered to your inbox

Currently, unauthorised absences can see parents given a £60 fine, which increases to £120 per child if it is not paid within 21 days.

However, from August 2024, new guidelines will see fines of up to £160 issued to parents if their child is taken out of school for a term-time holiday.

Should fines not be paid within 28 days, there is the potential for prosecution which could include an Education Supervision Order, a Community Order or even a Jail Order.

You can see more detail of Legal Expert’s unauthorised school absence fines by clicking here.