Hundreds of families received fines for taking unauthorised holidays during school time.
New data from the Department of Education shows that the amount of pupils penalised for going on vacation or arriving late has risen considerably during the latest school year.
Swindon Borough Council handed out 2,161 penalty notices from September 2022 to July 2023 – 1,476 for unauthorised family holidays, 23 for lateness, and 662 for other uncategorised reasons.
By comparison, 1,594 fines were issued during the 21-22 school year – 1,341 for term-time holidays and 253 for miscellaneous issues.
It means that the total number of fines increased by 35.5 per cent year on year, with the number of fines for term-time holidays increasing by 10 per cent.
A year prior, in 2020-21, 106 penalty notices were issued - 90 for unpermitted holidays and 16 for other reasons.
Before Covid, in 2018-19, 1,876 penalty notices were issued for unauthorised holidays.
These fines are handed to a guardian if a child frequently misses school, and costs either £60 if paid within 21 days of receipt or £120 thereafter.
In 22-23, 1,631 of the 2,161 fines (75.5 per cent) were paid within 21 days, while 62 other guardians paid the doubled cost between 22 and 28 days after receiving the penalty.
After four weeks, the local authority must decide to prosecute or withdraw the notice.
Nearly 150 penalty notices were withdrawn, mostly because they ought not to have been issued, or because the notice contained material errors, or were issued outside of the terms of the local code of conduct.
More than 120 guardians penalised by their children’s school in ’22/23 were then prosecuted in court for not paying the fines, and 199 cases went unresolved.
The 21-22 school term had 53 unpaid penalties which led to court action and 111 other cases are still outstanding.
The National Association of Head Teachers’ general secretary, Paul Whiteman, said: "Fines have always been too blunt an instrument when it comes to tackling persistent absenteeism.
"It is becoming clear that they are ineffective in addressing overall absence."
A Department for Education spokesperson said: "Regular school attendance is vital for a child’s education, wellbeing and future life chances.
"Parents have a duty to make sure their child regularly attends school, and holidays should be around school breaks to avoid taking children out of school during term time.
"Our guidance is based on a support-first ethos, however we support schools and local authorities to use punitive measures such as fines where it is deemed appropriate."
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