Fewer
parents were fined last year for taking their children out of school
without permission despite unauthorised absence rates in England
reaching a record high, new Government figures show.
Around
one in six (16.9 per cent) pupils missed at least half a day of
lessons during the 2016-17 school year, up from 14.7 per cent, the
Department for Education data shows. However, the number of
fines issued to parents for taking their children out of school
without permission fell by 5.4 per cent. More than three-quarters of
fines were for unauthorised holidays.
The
figures cover the period after a father won a High Court case in May
2016 for taking her daughter on a trip to Disney, without permission.
This suggests that more parents took the decision to take term-time
holidays following the ruling as they believed they were less likely
to face a fine.
Today’s
figures show the unauthorised absence rate is at its highest level
since records began. “This increase in unauthorised absence is due
to an increase in absence due to family holidays that were not agreed
by the school,” the report said.
Justine
Roberts, chief executive of parenting forum Mumsnet, said: “It’s
possible that some parents saw coverage of a High Court judgment and
thought they had official permission to book term-time breaks.” But
she added that “other parents will have spotted that the
decision couldn’t be interpreted that broadly”.
”When
the Supreme Court has to weigh in on what should be a straightforward
matter of home/school communication, and when parents are poring over
the judgment to assess its relevance to their situation, it feels
like an indication that something isn’t working optimally,” Ms
Roberts added.
Government
regulations amended in 2013 state that term-time leave may only be
granted in exceptional circumstances, which was expected to lead to
more penalty notices issued.
A
Department for Education spokesman said: “Children only get one
chance at an education and evidence shows that every extra day of
school missed can affect a pupil’s chances of achieving good GCSEs.
Therefore, we believe that no child should be taken out of school
without good reason and the Supreme Court agrees with us. The
rules on term-time absences are clear and we have put schools back in
control by supporting them to use their powers to deal with
unauthorised absence.”
Adapted
from The Independent March 2018
Question
1: Indicate whether the following statements are true or false and
write down which part of the text justifies your answer.
a)
The Department of Education fined fewer parents because less students
were absent.
b)
Most parents were fined because they took their children on vacation.
c)
School unattendance redords had never been so high.
d)
All parents think they are backed by the High Court decision.
e)
The more you attend lessons, the better results you may get.
f)
Schools do not have the help of the government in terms of
nonattendance.
Question 3. Find words or phrases in the text that correspond to the words and definitions given.
- To penalise, to charge
- To deliver
- Numbers, statistics
- Probable
- Largely
- To add
- Direct
- To study cautiously
- To complete
- Manage, handle
KEY
a)
FALSE
“Fewer
parents were fined last year for taking their children out of school
without permission despite unauthorised absence rates in England
reaching a record high”
b)
TRUE
“More
than three-quarters of fines were for unauthorised holidays.”
c)
TRUE
“Today’s
figures show the unauthorised absence rate is at its highest level
since records began”
d)
FALSE
“other
parents will have spotted that the decision couldn’t be
interpreted that broadly”
e)
TRUE
“ every
extra day of school missed can affect a pupil’s chances of
achieving good GCSEs”
f)
FALSE
"we
have put schools back in control by supporting them to use their
powers to deal with unauthorised absence.”
- To fine, fine
- To issue, issued
- Figures
- Likely
- Broadly
- To weigh in
- Straightforward
- To pore over
- To achieve
- To deal with
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