Shropshire parents still face term-time holiday fines despite changes elsewhere

Under new measures, parents in Staffordshire will no longer be fined if they take their children out of school for up to 10 days.

But Shropshire Council and Telford & Wrekin Council have confirmed they have not changed their policy.

Staffordshire Council bosses voted on the temporary rule change following the recent Isle of Wight case, which saw a father fined £120 after he took his daughter out of school for a holiday in term time.

The High Court then decided his punishment was unlawful, prompting some local authorities, including Staffordshire, to temporarily suspend the practice of fining parents for going away with their children during term time.

Dudley Council has also revised its policy, while other Black Country authorities say they are not planning changes.

Over the last three years councils across the country have issued more than 208,000 term-time holiday fines, generating £12.5 million.

Christine Kerry, Shropshire Council's education access service manager, said: "There has been no formal change to Shropshire Council's policy on leave of absence in term time. The individual circumstances of each case continue to be taken into consideration. Following the Isle of Wight judgement, this also includes taking into account the broader picture of a child's attendance when determining the appropriate action to take on unauthorised absences."

Russell Griffin, a spokesman for Telford & Wrekin Council, said: "The council leaves the decision whether or not to authorise any leave in term time requests with individual head teachers. We become involved when individuals are referred to us after non-payment of fines.

"Although there is new case law to consider, we are awaiting the results of an appeal from the High Court decision on the Isle of Wight case and any subsequent changes by the Department for Education from that point. In the meantime, the current legislation and statutory guidance remains in place."

New laws were brought in in 2013 allowing councils to fine each parent £60 for each child taken out of school during term time.

Councillor Ben Adams, Staffordshire County Council's education chief, said the authority's decision to impose a 10-day limit on term-time holidays pending a full review was "a common-sense approach".

"We recognise that the recent ruling in the Isle of Wight case has led to some uncertainty for parents," he said.

"Some authorities have suspended fines altogether; we didn't think this was right for Staffordshire as we have seen the majority of parents responding well to the rules and not taking their children out of term time."

Holidays taken in school holidays can cost thousands of pounds more than those during term time. The Isle of Wight case is currently the subject of a Supreme Court appeal.