The government will raise fines handed to parents for unauthorised school absence by a third and force all schools to submit daily attendance data from September.
Parents are currently fined £60, rising to £120 if not paid within 21 days, for unauthorised absences. Ministers said today they would increase for the first time since 2012 to £80 (rising to £160), bringing them in line with inflation over the past 12 years.
Guidance on how to tackle absences will become statutory from the beginning of next academic year, as will participation in the government’s daily attendance tracker, which scrapes data from schools’ electronic registers.
The guidance will include a national “framework” governing absence fines, amid concerns about inconsistency from area to area. Legislation to enact the changes will be introduced in Parliament tomorrow.
