Under the Freedom of Information Act a local resident asked Sefton Council how many parents were fined for their children missing school without good reason and how much money was raised from the fines.



Dear Sefton Borough Council,

Please can you confirm, in your local authority area:

1. How many penalty notices/fines were issued to parents due to their children missing school without good reason in the 2015/2016 school year?

2. The total amount (£) worth of penalty notices/fines issued to parents due to their children missing school without good reason in the 2015/2016 school year?

3. The number of appeals made by parents who have been issued a penalty notice/fine due to their children missing school without good reason in the 2015/2016 school year?

Mike McSorley Head of Schools and Families replied...


1. How many penalty notices/fines were issued to parents due to their children missing school without good reason in the 2015/2016 school year?

1045

2. The total amount (£) worth of penalty notices/fines issued to parents due to their children missing school without good reason in the 2015/2016 school year?

£62,700 (£125,400 if paid in week 4)

3. The number of appeals made by parents who have been issued a penalty notice/fine due to their children missing school without good reason in the 2015/2016 school year?

9

Good. These parents would no doubt be the first to complain if their child's school got a poor Ofsted report due to poor attendance.

Very interesting but pity the question of what they did with the money was not asked.

Originally Posted by Mr. Brightside

Good. These parents would no doubt be the first to complain if their child's school got a poor Ofsted report due to poor attendance.

It's a pity these parents can't issue fines when schools are closed for open evenings, teacher training days, strikes, or being used for elections.

Originally Posted by tenno

It's a pity these parents can't issue fines when schools are closed for open evenings, teacher training days, strikes, or being used for elections.

Hit the nail fairly and squarely on the head.
An often cited rationale behind taking kids out of school during term time is the educational benefits of experiencing different cultures.
Well - unless they're doing a project on the socio-economic effects of the traditional British pub on various Spanish coastal strips and the related availability of a full English I doubt this is true.

Maybe it's a maths assignment were they're asked to express in graph form the relationship between x - the consumption of all inclusive booze and y - the punch up and or domestic.