Term time holiday prosecutions soar with huge spike in number of parents taken to court for taking their kids out of school
RISING numbers of parents have been prosecuted and even jailed after their children missed school without permission, it emerged today.
Almost 20,000 people were taken to court in 2015, up more than a fifth on the 2014 total.
The figures were revealed today as the Supreme Court is due to rule on a landmark case that could decide if parents can take their kids out of class in term-time.
Britain's top judges are considering the issue after businessman Jon Platt refused to pay a £120 fine for taking his daughter to Disney World in 2015.
The number of prosecutions has been steadily rising since a major government crackdown on children missing school in 2013.
Changes included tough new rules on term time holidays which mean heads can allow absences only in "exceptional circumstances".
In total, 19,920 people in England were prosecuted in 2015 for failing to ensure that a child went to school - equivalent to around 105 cases for each day of the school year.
This is up 21 per cent on 2014, when 16,430 were prosecuted, and a 61 per cent rise on 2011 when 12,344 cases were heard by the courts.
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The Ministry of Justice statistics were obtained by the Press Association through freedom of information requests.
Of those taken to court in 2015, three in four were found guilty. The vast majority of these (77 per cent) were handed fines averaging £176, up £155 in 2011.
Eight people were handed jail terms and 553 were given community sentences.
Parenting expert Erika Brodnock told Sky News: "Those numbers are huge.
"I'm incredibly shocked by the numbers mentioned here.
"What is deeply concerning is that this has been the law for some time now and the message just isn't getting through to some parents."
Justine Roberts, chief executive of parenting website Mumsnet, said: "Mumsnet users are supportive of teachers who want to minimise absences and disruption, but at the moment even trips with genuine educational value risk being refused - and if an older child is truanting without their parents' knowledge, fines are unlikely to resolve the problem."
She said parents would like to see headteachers given more discretion over absences.
Mums and dads who take kids out of school without permission face a fine of £60 each per child, rising to £120 if it is not paid quickly. Those who do not pay can face prosecution.
Mr Platt's case was thrown out by magistrates as his daughter had a good attendance record. Isle of Wight council appealed the case and lost.
Last year another couple had their £240 fine overturned after they said a trip to Spain was educational.
Another family refused to pay fines issued after they went to a wedding.
Some councils are said to have relaxed term-time holiday fines pending the outcome of the Supreme Court case.