Pepe Di’Iasio, Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) General Secretary, says fines for taking kids out of school without permission ‘often deepen tensions’ with families
School is seen as “optional” by some families since the pandemic – and fines have failed to reverse the trend, the leader of a headteachers’ union says today.
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), will warn that fining parents for taking kids out of school without permission “often deepen tensions” with families. It comes as a poll found 93% of teachers had told this year that a pupil was absent as their family wanted to take a term time holiday
The survey by Teacher Tapp asked 9,127 teachers and leaders in England about reasons for pupil absence. More than four in five (81%) said a pupil was absent to attend a family event and 74% said a pupil was too anxious about school to attend.
More than three in five (61%) said a pupil was tired after an event the night before, and 36% said it was because a parent or carer was in dispute with the school. Around one in eight (13%) said a pupil had been absent as they wanted to work online from home.
In a speech at the union’s annual conference in Liverpool, Mr Di’Iasio will say: “We all know something changed in society after the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I can’t pinpoint exactly why, but for some families, school seems to have become – at least in part – optional. And that mindset persists. The blunt instrument of fines is not reversing this trend.”
School absence fines in England went up from £60 to £80 in September, rising to £160 for parents who get a second fine for the same child within a three-year period. The number of fines rose to 487,344 in the 2023/24 academic year – the vast majority (91%) for unauthorised family holidays.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson yesterday called for schools to “catch up fast” to improve pupil attendance. She said some schools were “not making enough progress” and called for “old-fashioned graft” – adding that she would not accept the “damage” caused by children missing school.
The Education Secretary also told heads that smartphones had no place in schools and they had her full backing to crack down. She said: “You know, we all know, that phones are disruptive, distracting, bad for behaviour. They have no place in our schools.
“And the Government’s position is clear, you have our full backing in ridding our classrooms of the disruption of phones. I know that will be the case in the overwhelming majority of all classrooms, but I expect it to be true in all classrooms.
“So I tasked my officials to look at how we can more effectively monitor what’s happening on the ground.”
