STRATFORD district is the area in Warwickshire where the most parents have been fined for unauthorised school absences so far this academic year.
The figures, collated by Warwickshire County Council (WCC) during the current academic year, reveal that a grand total of 352 penalty notices have been issued for unauthorised absence from school to parents across the county.
This figure has now been broken down per area, showing that Stratford district is the area were the highest number of parents were issued with the £120 fine. At last count, Stratford district parent’s had amassed 107 fines between them.
The data is based on the area where the parent, or carer, lives, rather than the school area. But the figure for Stratford district is substantially higher than all of the other areas in the county, especially neighbouring Warwick district, where the number of fines given out so far this academic years stands at just seven.
A spokesperson for WCC stressed that the focus was not on fining parents or carers. Instead it wanted to provide help and support to improve school absence figures and the reasons behind them.
The full break-down for the area is:
– Stratford – 107
– Rugby – 82
– North Warwickshire -67
– Nuneaton and Bedworth – 60
– Out of county – 29
– Warwick – 7
The latest statistics come as the government is looking to clamp down on those who take their children away from school to go on holiday. It is proposing a new national code of conduct for the issuing of penalty notices. This would not increase fines but would offer guidance on how local authorities and schools should deal with unauthorised absences.
