BARNSLEY Council dished out almost 5,000 fines to parents whose children have been taken out of school in less than a year since new rules were brought in.
Since October 2024, the local authority has issued a total of 4,838 fixed penalty notices to parents, leading a total of 237 to face a court date.
Almost 3,000 were for primary school-aged children, with a further 1,800 for parents whose children attended secondary school.
Of those fines issued, 3,770 were paid within 21 days and a further 194 were paid within 28 days.
Each fine is £60 if paid within 21 days, rising to £120 if not paid within that time.
If the fine isn’t paid at all, the case can go to court, where parents may face a larger fine or other penalties.
It means that the council has received almost £250,000 during the ten-month period.
Barnsley Council says the money from paid fines covers the costs of running the system and that term-time holidays can negatively affect a child’s education.
The figures relate to a timeline after new government rules were introduced at the start of the school year.
These rules have made it easier and quicker for councils to take action when children miss too many days.
Under the new system, councils must issue fines in certain cases of unauthorised absence such as a family holiday not pre-approved by the school, or when attendance remains low even after a formal warning is issued.
The policy is set nationally by the Department for Education but is administered locally by each council.
Parents can be fined up to a maximum of £1,000 per child for failing to make sure their children attend.
However, if they are a repeat offender, the new guidelines allow courts to impose a fine of up to £2,500 or even a three-month prison sentence in most serious cases.
The figures also show the number of fines issues before the new rules were brought in.
From September 2023 to September 2024, the council issued a total of 6,168 fixed penalty notices - the highest figure since 2019.
It dropped to 3,134 fines in 2022/23 then just 1,780 the year before.
In 202/21 a total of 552 fines were handed out and in 2019/20 there were 756 issued - meaning there has been a 540 per cent increase in the number of fines handed out in the last five years.
Coun Ashley Peace, cabinet spokesperson for children’s services, told the Chronicle: “Improving school attendance remains our priority, and we continue to work with schools and parents to reduce term-time absences.
“This is in line with our Every Child in School Everyday commitment to help remove barriers to school attendance.
“We ask parents to consider the impact of taking children out of school for holidays.
“Term-time holidays can create gaps in learning that are difficult to bridge, making it harder to catch up and for some children it can be challenging to settle back into school when attendance is inconsistent or disrupted.
“We continue to follow government guidance when issuing any school absence fines, and the money raised is used to cover the costs of running the system.”
