Policy on School Fines

The paper’s premise is that parents, not the state, are the authority over their children, and that schools exist to support families. It says thousands of parents are fined or threatened with court for short term-time holidays, while other absences — including religious festivals — are already allowed. It argues holiday-price hikes outside term time make a family break unaffordable, especially in a cost-of-living squeeze.

Current tools it lists include parenting orders, education supervision orders, school attendance orders and council fines. A term-time holiday is not treated as an exceptional circumstance.

The proposal is narrow: up to five authorised days per pupil each academic year, at the parents’ discretion, and only where overall attendance and educational progress remain satisfactory. It is framed as restoring trust, not as a general right to skip school.