As the great British summer break hit its awkward mid-point - sandwiched between the year’s fourth and fifth heatwaves - Margate beach was packed with families enjoying the brief reprieve. For most, the classroom was the last thing on their minds.

But for seven mothers and two fathers summoned to a stuffy room in the town’s magistrates court, just behind the arcade strip, the subject was unavoidable. They were among hundreds of parents across England facing court this month for failing to ensure their kids regularly attended school last academic year. The stakes: fines, or in extreme cases, the theoretical possibility of three months in prison - depending on the excuses offered.

The first defendant admitted he’d taken his partner and daughter abroad for 10 days at the start of the summer term. This was the third unauthorised holiday in three years, pushing her attendance below 75%. But the family needed a break, he said, because two close friends had died and the child’s mother had been unwell. The timing - right after Easter, not during - was about family strain, not cheaper flights. “There’s a lot going on at home,” he told the court, wearily.

The three magistrates presiding over court two were the sharp end of a faltering drive to improve attendance rates, which have never recovered post-Covid. Parents can be taken to court as a last resort if gentler local authority attempts fail, or if they’ve racked up multiple penalty notices within three years.

That drive is stumbling. The same week, the Department for Education released data showing the overall absence rate for 2025-26 was 6.93% - a slight rise on the previous year, and still well above the pre-Covid 4.7% in 2018-19. Persistent absence has doubled since the pandemic, with nearly one in five children now missing at least 10% of school.

In Margate, the magistrates heard from a Kent county council representative about a girl whose parents had been fined a year earlier for a term-time dental trip, and the year before for an unauthorised holiday. “Unfortunately the availability of cheap travel is not a defence,” the official said.

The father countered that his daughter had done some work on his iPad and hadn’t fallen behind; he was also annoyed that primary school staff appeared to be monitoring his social media to track his movements - a privacy breach, he felt. After deliberation, he pleaded guilty and got a £166 fine. “You have a duty to send your daughter to school, and the council has a duty to prosecute you if you don’t,” the lead magistrate warned, adding the fine must be paid at £20 a month to avoid bailiffs.

A record 492,825 penalty notices for unauthorised absences were issued in 2024-25 - up from 333,388 in 2018-19. Researchers warn of a “seismic shift” in attitudes, with some parents no longer automatically agreeing that kids must be in school full-time.

New education minister Paul Waugh acknowledged progress had slowed, noting absences due to illness were 25% higher on Fridays than the rest of the week. “It’s possible that where pupils are less engaged with school overall, Friday is becoming a particular weak spot,” he wrote.

The next Margate parent faced a more serious charge - section 444(1A) of the Education Act 1996: “knowingly” allowing her child to miss school. This can attract a £2,500 fine or three months in prison, though custodial sentences are rare. Her 14-year-old son’s attendance was just 19%. The case was adjourned because the duty solicitor needed time to gather evidence that the boy had been seriously bullied and was frightened of being attacked.

“I’m keeping him home. It’s a sad world where you need to keep a child home for their safety,” the mother said after the hearing. Her son has ADHD and autism; problems began at secondary school, with mild bullying escalating to violent abuse. Police had been called several times. “My son’s had his ribs broken by bullies. He was threatened with a Stanley blade.”

She hadn’t slept the night before court, and felt she was doing her best - teaching him at home, baking, telling him about castles and money management, despite her own dyslexia. “I’m concerned he is becoming lonely. He struggles with friends, with going out.” She’s had support from Kent’s children’s services, and in September her son starts a specialist college for children with complex barriers to education. He wants to be a mechanic; she hopes the new school makes that real. A new court date was set for autumn.

By late morning, the hearings paused because seven summoned parents hadn’t shown up. Staff seemed unsurprised - parents who can’t get kids to school often struggle to get to court on time - so they proceeded in absentia.

While a few cases were chronic, unexplained absences, most were term-time holidays. More than 90% of fines nationally (459,288 in 2024-25) are for that reason. One mother, charged with taking her seven-year-old out for a third unauthorised holiday, emailed to say she couldn’t attend but wouldn’t repeat the offence. She’d broken the law because she couldn’t afford to go away otherwise. She got a £140 fine, plus £252 surcharge and costs, paid at £20 a month from benefits.

Waugh noted other reasons behind absences: screens affecting sleep, social media bullying, rising special educational needs, summer heatwaves, winter flu.

Prosecutions remain controversial - campaigners argue penalties hit mothers and tight budgets. But the Department for Education insists they’re a final resort, pointing out persistently absent secondary pupils are three times more likely to become Neet (not in education, employment or training).

A Kent county council spokesperson said staff were working on understanding school avoidance triggers and had brought attendance “broadly in line with the national average”, adding that taking parents to court is “not a decision that is taken lightly and only where all other routes have failed.”