As children across England return to primary or secondary school in the coming days, new rules will be in force that parents considering a holiday soon should to take note of.
The government has increased the amount parents have to pay if their child misses five or more days of school without a valid reason, for the first time since 2012. They will now receive an £80 fine, doubled to £160 if they don’t pay within three weeks - up from the £60 they were originally charged. All schools are now legally required to consider a fine - rather than it being left up to the local authority.
The move appears to be part of a bid to crack down on term-time holidays, which often work out cheaper for families. The Department for Education says that currently, a whopping 89% of fines for unauthorised absence are being issued for children being taken on holiday when they should be at school - which it says is detrimental to their learning and development.
But when is comes to different parts of England, not all city, county, and borough councils are having to dish out fines to parents at the same rate. We’ve taken a look at the local authorities with the highest rates of notices issued compared to how many children are enrolled in local schools, to get a fair idea of which regions have the highest percentage of their student body - and biggest problem - with unauthorised absences.
Here are the 21 local authority areas that came out on top:
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1. Doncaster
The South Yorkshire city of Doncaster took the top spot, with Doncaster Council handing out some 6,779 penalty notices for its almost 42 thousand enrolments in the 2022/23 academic year. This gave it the highest rate of penalty notices issued, at 16.2%. | National World/Yorkshire Post Newspapers
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2. Rochdale
The Greater Manchester town of Rochdale - in the North West - is next, with its borough council handing out 5,250 penalty notices for its almost 35 thousand enrolments in the 2022/23 academic year. This gave it a rate of 15.2%. | Adobe Stock
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3. Wakefield
Wakefield, also in Yorkshire, came in third place. In the last academic year, its council issued 7,140 penalty notices for its nearly 48 thousand enrolments - a rate of 15%. | National World/Yorkshire Post
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4. Bolton
Another Greater Manchester town, Bolton is in fourth place. In the last academic year, its council issued 6,899 penalty notices for its nearly 48 thousand enrolments - a rate of 14.5%. | Adobe Stock