Term-time holiday fine rise wonât stop us, say parents

More pupils in England were off school without permission in the last week of the summer term than at any point in the academic year, official figures show.
The latest school attendance data shows 5% of pupils in England were off without permission in the week ending 19 July â around 450,000 pupils.
It comes as the government tightens rules to try to stop parents taking their children out of school to go on holiday.
Fines issued to each parent have gone up from ÂŁ60 to ÂŁ80 per child which will be doubled if it happens again within three years. Those with a third fine in a three-year period now face prosecution.
But some parents have told the BBC this is not a deterrent.
Megan Hall and her husband Michael got their first fines after taking their two children on a ski holiday in March and have now booked a two-week holiday later this month.
âThe kids will be missing 10 days of school, which is a worry because of the new fines,â Mrs Hall told the BBC.
The couple run a pub and bed and breakfast in Northumberland and said if they took their children â aged four and eight â away during their busy summer season they would incur a cost to their business as well as higher holiday prices.
âI wonât stop doing holidays because thatâs what family is about,â said Mrs Hall.
âThe alternative is to not have family time, or to teach your kids to lie, saying they are sick, which is something Iâm not happy to do,â she added.
Nearly 400,000 penalty notices were issued to parents in England for unauthorised school absences during the 2022-23 academic year. That is much higher than pre-pandemic levels and unauthorised absences have remained at a similar rate over the most recent academic year.
âA risk weâre willing to takeâ

Rachel Kelly and her partner took their children out of primary school in May and are waiting for a fine to be issued.
âYou donât want to take them out of school during term time,â she added. âBut if it means itâs going to save you thousands of pounds then thatâs the best alternative.
âIf I can save [money on a holiday] to go towards bills then you are going to do that, it seems to be the sensible option.â
She said fines and prosecutions are âa risk that weâre willing to takeâ.
Holidaying during term time is substantially cheaper and travel agents say they have seen an increase in enquiries from families weighing up the price difference.
Long haul flights in particular can double during the six-week summer holiday, according to data from the Flight Centre, the fifth largest travel agency in the world.
It gave the BBC examples of price rises between term-time and the summer holidays:
- Thailand: Term-time ÂŁ554, summer holidays ÂŁ1,112
- New York: Term-time ÂŁ586, summer holidays ÂŁ942
- Orlando: Term-time ÂŁ556, summer holidays ÂŁ754
According to Colman Coyne, managing director of travel agency Jetset in Huddersfield an increasing number of families have been looking for holidays during term time.
âGoing back three, four years ago it was very rare that we would find a family with school age children travelling outside the Easter, half terms and summer holidays.
âWe see now itâs quite a regular thing. And you can see theyâre weighing up whether itâs worth risking a fine.â
âParents being victimisedâ

For Dee and Lee Morgan, who have been fined six times in recent years, the new threat of prosecution means they will now stick to school holidays for getaways with their children aged 10 and 13.
âIâm angry weâre having to do this. Lifeâs hard enough,â said Dee, who is a nurse.
âMoneyâs tight, things are going up, we all have to go to work, we deserve a holiday â everybody deserves a holiday â why do they have to make it hard?â
âWeâre being victimisedâŠeveryone has rights, I have rights and theyâre my children and itâs my right to take them on holiday.â
The Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has previously said: âParents have a legal responsibility to make sure their child is in school, so they benefit from the high and rising standards this government will seek to drive.â