Back in September, when the latest rules came into operation, parents opposed the new Government-enforced system that would see them being fined £60 per child taken out of school without permission.
If the fine is not paid within 28 days, it rises to £120 and if still not paid, the parents could be prosecuted.
A long-standing problem
As reported by OnTheWight in December, in 2011/12 the Isle of Wight had the highest absence rates in the UK, despite a minuscule decrease of 0.3% in 2012-13 in secondary schools.
This is a long-standing issue, as illustrated way back in 2010 when we reported the Isle of Wight absence record of pupils of compulsory school age was higher than National averages.
In particular, absence rates within the secondary sector on the Isle of Wight have risen steadily over the last five years.
Massive price drop in term time holidays
When you see the difference in prices for holidays in term time, it’s hardly surprising that the Island has seen a year-on-year rise in the number of penalty notices issued.
According to Islander Frank Fletcher, a week at CentreParcs in the 2014 autumn half term is £700 more expensive (£999) than the week later (£299).
Talk about hiking your prices for half term @CenterParcsUK £700 difference for half term week pic.twitter.com/iosiUbKpzk
— Frank Fletcher (@frankfletcher) January 12, 2014
Last week’s report stated that in the 2011/12 academic year, 79 fixed penalty notices were issued, rising to 169 during half of the following academic year.
Image: rpstanton/ under CC BY 2.0
