Huge fall in school absence fines in Shropshire in 2020
Almost 2,000 fewer fines were issued to parents in the county after their children missed school last year amid the Covid-19 pandemic, figures reveal.
Department for Education (DfE) data shows that 208 penalty notices were issued to Telford and Wrekin parents for a child’s poor attendance in 2020-21 - down 87 per cent from 1,623 in 2018-19.
In Shropshire, the number fell 88 per cent from 596 in 2018-19 to 69 last year.
Measures did not apply for two months when schools were not open to all pupils and there were no figures available for 2019-20 because of the pandemic.
Of the fines last year, all in Telford and most in Shropshire were for unauthorised family holidays.
Across England, the number of notices issued fell from 333,400 to just 45,800 over this period – a fall of 86 per cent, and the lowest number since 2011-12.
