Commenting on the Department for Education’s latest data showing a rise in the numbers of fines issued for parents taking their children out of school for term-time holidays, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
"Fining parents has always been a crude measure, and is proving ineffective as a deterrent. It was never thought through. As a policy it fails to grasp the reasons why parents take their children out of school during term time.
"The huge hike in prices during the school holiday breaks makes it impossible for many families to afford a break. This is something that the NEU has asked successive Governments to address. While children and young people being in school during term time is clearly beneficial, unless we address the reasons behind term time holidays this situation will continue."