Data on North East school fines released
A Schools Week investigation has found some local councils are collecting as little as 25% of the fines they issue for children’s unauthorised absences from school.
The data, obtained by FOI requests to local authorities, has been shared with SCHOOLS NorthEast. It shows a large variance in collection rates across the North East, mirroring the national picture. Durham, Redcar and Cleveland and Sunderland councils collected the highest number of fines issued in 2015/16 and 2016/17, with Durham collecting almost £60,000 in fines in 2016/17. Newcastle and Gateshead were the lowest, with Newcastle collecting barely a quarter of all fines issued in 2016/17. No data was provided to Schools Week by Stockton Borough Council.
Newcastle City Council gave the following statement to Schools Week;
“Improving attendance across all our schools is a key priority for Newcastle City Council.
“We take a proactive approach to pursuing fines that are issued as a result of attendance that we would deem to be below an acceptable level and support head teachers across the city to maintain high levels of attendance for all their pupils.
“We understand that good attendance is an important factor for improving a child’s educational outcome and helping them to reach their potential. As a consequence, we will exercise our full legal powers where required against parents who do not share these same values and aspirations.”
Note: fines issued in one academic year may not be resolved until the next academic year given the length of the statutory process. Figures for fines paid in 2016/17 will include fines issued in 2015/16.
