Parents face £120 fines and court action if kids are late to school in new crackdown

PARENTS of kids who are consistently late for school face fines of £120 in a new crackdown.

They also risk court action if the penalty goes unpaid.

Education chiefs at Staffordshire County Council have brought in the new measures “to promote and support good attendance”.

The new policy sees parents hit with a £60 fixed penalty if their child is late ten times in a 12-week period. That doubles to £120 if the fine is not paid within 21 days.

In a letter the council's head of education, Paul Senior, said: "If your child is late ten times over a 12-week period you may receive a penalty-warning notice and also potentially a fine.

"These changes have been agreed with headteachers and implemented to help promote and support good attendance to school.

"If your child is late you must inform the school of the reason why as they may be able to offer you some form of advice or support.

"The vast majority of children in Staffordshire have an excellent record of school attendance and we recognise the efforts of so many parents to ensure their children attend school regularly."

It adds: "Your headteacher will continue to be the only person able to authorise leave in term time, but this will apply only in exceptional circumstances.

"Any unauthorised absence will be referred by your headteacher to the local authority."

The move was blasted by some parents who described it as a "money making opportunity".

Christopher John Higgins said on Facebook: "More fines for single mothers struggling trying to make ends meet with a teenager who's bigger than they are.

“These families need help and support, not punishing them to breaking point!"

Stephanie Harrison said: "But what if the situation is totally out of your control? Are they going to be decent enough to take that into consideration?

“My daughter has been late to school a few times which is through no fault of my own."

Ryanwolf07 added: "It's the answer to everything isn't it. Fine them or criminalise them!

"Never seems to work though. I think they need a better alternative."

Another, Robert, added: "Another scam by Councils to fill or top up coffers."

Web user Thomas said: "Another money making scam by Staffordshire county council.

"Not much equality going on though is there... for example, how do they monitor the attendance and timekeeping for children who are home-schooled?"

Figures revealed that the council had taken 184 parents to court in the last two years and collected a total of £102,080 in fines.

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