North Yorkshire had the lowest number of unauthorised absence fines for term-time holidays issued compared to its total number of children enrolled in school during the 2023/24 academic year, with 2,871. That's equivalent to 4% of its 71 thousand-strong student roll.placeholder image
North Yorkshire had the lowest number of unauthorised absence fines for term-time holidays issued compared to its total number of children enrolled in school during the 2023/24 academic year, with 2,871. That's equivalent to 4% of its 71 thousand-strong student roll. | National World

The Yorkshire areas where parents got the most fines for term-time holidays - from best to worst

Amber Allott
By Amber Allott

Education & science writer

Published 4th Feb 2025, 17:03 GMT

In one council area, the equivalent of nearly 1 in 5 pupils took a family holiday during the term 🏖

In a record-breaking year of parents fined for taking children out of school for family holidays, Yorkshire stood out - and not in a good way.

New government figures released last week showed that the total number of fines issued for unauthorised absences shot up by 22% during the last school year (2023/24), with 91% of them being for family holidays when children were supposed to be at school. The reason behind unauthorised absence fines only started being recorded in 2016/17, and this year’s number of fines issued for term-time holidays was three times higher than when records began - meaning that it has hit a record level.

Last year, the Government increased the amount parents could fined for unauthorised absences from £60 to £80 in a bid to curb this behaviour, for young people’s own good. However, the change took effect in mid-August, meaning that parents fined during the last school year would have been charged the previous rate.

The amount of penalty notices issued varied a lot by area too, the new data showed, with 26 out of 153 local authorities accounting for half of them. By region, Yorkshire and The Humber was the worst offender, making up 10.7% overall.

We’ve taken a look at each of the 13 local authorities responsible for schools in Yorkshire to see which area’s parents were getting the most fines for letting their children skip school for often cheaper holidays. To do this, we compared how many fines the council had issued with how many students aged 5-16 were on local rolls, ranking them from best (the lowest rate), to worst (the highest).

Here’s how they fared:

Across Calderdale, 3,173 fines were issued for unauthorised family holidays during the last school year. This is the equivalent of 10.1% of its 31 thousand-strong student body.

9. Calderdale

Across Calderdale, 3,173 fines were issued for unauthorised family holidays during the last school year. This is the equivalent of 10.1% of its 31 thousand-strong student body. | Adobe Stock

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In Bradford, an enormous 10,513 fines were handed out. This is the equivalent of about 12.1% of its nearly 87 thousand students.

10. Bradford

In Bradford, an enormous 10,513 fines were handed out. This is the equivalent of about 12.1% of its nearly 87 thousand students. | Adobe Stock

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Getting up into the higher figures, Doncaster sent out 6,798 unauthorised absence fines for term-time holidays. That’s the equivalent of 16% of its 42 thousand students.

11. Doncaster

Getting up into the higher figures, Doncaster sent out 6,798 unauthorised absence fines for term-time holidays. That’s the equivalent of 16% of its 42 thousand students. | Tony Johnson/Yorkshire Post

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West Yorkshire’s Wakefield took out the penultimate spot in the last school year, issuing 7,757 unauthorised family holiday fines. This is the equivalent of 16.1% of its 48 thousand student enrolments.

12. Wakefield

West Yorkshire’s Wakefield took out the penultimate spot in the last school year, issuing 7,757 unauthorised family holiday fines. This is the equivalent of 16.1% of its 48 thousand student enrolments. | Chris Chambers/Adobe Stock

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