Fines for term time holidays are here to stay, says Education Sec
But it comes at a time when parents are under more financial pressure than ever, with many willing to face fines in order to save money on the skyrocketing cost of holidays.
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00:00I think parents have responsibilities and their children should be in school.
00:04Fines are an important part of that system and I think, you know, it's an important part of the social contract that we have, that we honour our responsibilities.
00:12Because children not being in school doesn't just have an impact on those individual children, it means that teachers often have to recover material because children have missed out.
00:21The Education Secretary there speaking with the BBC and confirming fines are here to stay.
00:27But it comes at a time when parents are under more financial pressure than ever, with many willing to face fines in order to save money on the skyrocketing cost of holidays.
00:37For Bridget Philipson, it's no excuse.
00:39Parents should not be taking their children out of school during term time for holidays.
00:43They just should not be doing that and should they do it, there will have to be consequences.
00:48According to the experts, there are many reasons why the fines are necessary.
00:51It's well-being, it's, you know, children in a social context, there's safety in schools, it's a chance to have pastoral care, they're with friends.
01:00So there's a lot of social and emotional benefits from that.
01:04There's also a number of academic benefits as well.
01:07Research trawling back over the last few years has really found that children in GCSE and A level have done better with reduced absenteeism.
01:16And certainly that's the case very much for end of primary school with SATs as well.
01:20And those in the last, in 2021, those who achieved better results in maths, English and science had less days absenteeism.
01:28For Jonathan, the fines are far from a punishment, but should be seen as a helpful measure to get pupils back on track with learning.
01:35What's behind this is not punitive in that respect.
01:38It's more of a, you know, a support ethos first, first of all, to try and help you.
01:44Because behind that, there is a massive support mechanism within schools and to a certain extent local authorities as well to help families, to guide children and the families through this.
01:55And it's not, oh, you've missed a day, therefore we will fine you. It's not seen in that respect.