This petition was submitted during the 2017-2019 parliament
Petition End fines for parents who take their children on short holiday during term time.
Since 2013 parents can be subject to criminal proceedings for taking their children on holiday during term times.
The current system exploits the law that was passed under the guise of dealing with repeated truancy. It is also indirectly discriminating against families based on class and income.
More details
Two scientists (Dr. Beccy Smith and Alan Barr) have investigated the figures, separating the data for authorised term-time holidays from the broader dataset used by the government, which includes other absences such as those related to illness or exclusion.
They have concluded, independently, that authorised holiday absences are not linked to poorer attainment at KS2, and there is growing evidence to suggest this is the case across the stages.
This petition is closed This petition ran for 6 months