From this Monday, August 19, guardians in the United Kingdom will be fined more if their students miss five days of classes. The move was proposed by the Education Department in February to curb unfair attendance. These fines already existed in the country, but now they range from 70 to 93 euros, which must be paid within 21 days. Otherwise, they increase to 187 euros.
Fines start at 187 euros if the same guardians are fined more than once within a three-year period. If a student misses more than five days in two academic years, their guardian will not face a fine, but rather “alternative action”: this means a case will be opened.
Taking into account guidance from the Department for Education, schools and local authorities should try to adopt a ‘support first’ approach to help students and their families cope with the difficulties caused by absence.
In the 2022/2023 academic year, the country issued nearly 400,000 notices of unauthorized school absences: far higher than pre-pandemic levels. Almost nine-tenths (89.3%) of these fines related to unauthorized holidays during the school term, as many families chose to book holidays outside the high season without taking school holidays into account.
In February, when the new measures were introduced, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the Association of School Heads, said “a standard national system for fines makes sense” because until now “there has been significant variation between local authorities who issue fines. Parents.”
However, he dismissed the criticism: “At a time when schools are struggling to have enough teachers, buildings are crumbling, and the special needs response is in the middle of a crisis, parents may wonder why the government is focusing on increasing fines. Parental attendance is very important, but fines are the weakest and most effective means of improving persistent absenteeism. It has long proven to be a largely ineffective tool.
In Portugal, when a student does not have a lot of time, an individual work plan is drawn up to help the young person make up for lost time and learn the content. If students do not comply with the individual program, it is the teachers’ responsibility to decide whether or not they are failing due to their absence.
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