Parents face £120 fines if their children are consistently late for school

Parents risk fines of £120 if their children are repeatedly late for school, it has been reported.

Staffordshire County Council has brought in strict new rules this term that could even mean repeat offenders taken to court.

In a bid to ‘promote and support good attendance in school’, parents will be handed fixed penalty notices if their child is late 10 times in a 12-week period.

If they do not pay the fine within 21 days it will double to £120 per parent, per child. Court action could follow if the fine remains unpaid.

Beforehand, parents only faced a fine if their child received 20 unauthorised late marks over a 12-week period.

The council’s head of education, Paul Senior, said: ‘Previously, a pupil had to achieve 20 unauthorised late marks before a penalty-notice warning could be issued.

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‘This has now changed to ten marks and late marks do not have to be one after the other for the penalty notice to be issued.

‘You are therefore encouraged where possible to ensure your child attends school on time.

‘However, if your child is late you must inform the school of the reason why as they may be able to offer you some form of advice or support.

‘If your child is late ten times over a 12-week period you may receive a penalty-warning notice and also potentially a fine.

‘These changes have been agreed with headteachers and implemented to help promote and support good attendance to school.’

The council letter states that parents also face being fined for any period of unauthorised leave from January 1.

The letter states: ‘Your headteacher will continue to be the only person able to authorise leave in term time, but this will apply only in exceptional circumstances.

‘Any unauthorised absence will be referred by your headteacher to the local authority.’

Philip White, Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet support member for learning and employability, said that the authority had reviewed its position after a case in the Isle of Wight and consulted with head teachers as part of the process.

He said: ‘The Supreme Court judgement is very clear that children should go to school every day, because absence and lateness affects their performance and is disruptive for the rest of the class while they’re catching up.

‘Our guidance reflects this and ensures parents know where they stand, but it’s important to remember the general position remains unchanged: head teachers have the discretion to decide whether the reason for absence is exceptional or not and if unauthorised by the head the school reports this to the county council which then processes the penalty notice.’

The move was met with anger on social media.

Christopher John Higgins said on Facebook: ‘More fines for single mothers struggling trying to make ends meet with a teenager who’s bigger than they are.

‘These families need help and support, not punishing them to breaking point.’

Stephanie Harrison said: ‘But what if the situation is totally out of your control? Are they going to be decent enough to take that into consideration? My daughter has been late to school a few times which is through no fault of my own.’

Shop worker Jamie Stonier, 30, says he is having to take his children on holiday in September this year because of work commitments.

He added: ‘I’ve already written to the school and asked for permission and I’ve been told I will find out what is going to happen two weeks before the break which seems a little short notice.’

Figures revealed that the council had taken 184 parents to court in the last two years and collected a total of £102,080 in fines.