School Holiday Fines

Mojisola

anna_1977 wrote: »

Maybe it's not nationwide but in Hampshire the panels very much exist. They were setup after the Education Welfare Officers were no longer

We've still got EWOs.

julie777

I would like to know - at what point has a parent broken a law?
When found guilty in a court? When refusing to pay a fine? When a fine is issued? When they remove the child from school for a holiday?
Are any MSE members qualified to advise on the legal side? When ARE you a law-breaker and/or criminal?
Thanks.

Mojisola

If a child has time off for a holiday, the parents may be issued with a Truancy Penalty Notice. Not paying this is a criminal offence.

If a child has lots of unauthorised absences, the parents may be prosecuted for the offence of failure to ensure regular attendance at school.

foxster99

julie777 wrote: »

I would like to know - at what point has a parent broken a law?
When found guilty in a court? When refusing to pay a fine? When a fine is issued? When they remove the child from school for a holiday?
Are any MSE members qualified to advise on the legal side? When ARE you a law-breaker and/or criminal?
Thanks.

You know when you have been deemed to have broken the law when you are issued with a fine. You can settle the offence for the period in question in full by paying the fine. You will not have a criminal record for this.

If you either don't pay a fine or if you are prosecuted for your child's non-regular attendance then you have to go to court and if found guilty (which is statistically far and away the most likely outcome) then you will receive greater penalties between £120 plus costs (typically a few hundred pounds) for each parent, up to a £2500 fine and 3 months in jail for each parent. You will also then have a criminal record that can bar you from or get you sacked from some jobs. It can also affect your rights to be in the UK if a non-citizen.

Your child's attendance at school is serious stuff. A child's right to an education is guaranteed in the highest legislation and courts, all the way up to the UN. Depriving a child of this right is considered a form of abuse and you do so at your peril.

foxster99

anna_1977 wrote: »

Maybe it's not nationwide but in Hampshire the panels very much exist. They were setup after the Education Welfare Officers were no longer

My understanding (limited that it is) is that Hampshire's Attendance Legal Panel (ALP) decides whether to proceed with prosecutions of parents in court, not to decide whether Penalty Notices (fines) are to be issued. No?

Guest101

Mojisola wrote: »

If a child has time off for a holiday, the parents may be issued with a Truancy Penalty Notice. Not paying this is a criminal offence. - are you sure?

If a child has lots of unauthorised absences, the parents may be prosecuted for the offence of failure to ensure regular attendance at school.

I'm pretty sure not paying a penalty notice is not a criminal offence. It just means the next stage is court.

Guest101

foxster99 wrote: »

That's not good advice these days. I have never heard of such a panel and I am certain they don't exist now.

A fine can be issued for any amount of unauthorised absence, there is no minimum. Generally, schools set their own criteria for issuing fines and the local authority are legally obliged to issue a fine when a school asks them to. Some LAs like to think they are in charge but in fact it is the school.

Typically though, schools are pretty sensible and won't issue fines unfairly. A common internal policy is to fine when there have been more than 6 sessions of unauthorised absence in the previous 12 weeks.

It's not a fine, courts issue fines. it's a penalty notice....

Guest101

julie777 wrote: »

I would like to know - at what point has a parent broken a law?
When found guilty in a court? When refusing to pay a fine? When a fine is issued? When they remove the child from school for a holiday?
Are any MSE members qualified to advise on the legal side? When ARE you a law-breaker and/or criminal?
Thanks.

You break the law when you commit the act.


IE when your child doesn't turn up for school. You are only guilty of the offence when you either pay a penalty notice or are found guilty in court.

Guest101

foxster99 wrote: »

You know when you have been deemed to have broken the law when you are issued with a fine. You can settle the offence for the period in question in full by paying the fine. You will not have a criminal record for this.

If you either don't pay a fine or if you are prosecuted for your child's non-regular attendance then you have to go to court and if found guilty (which is statistically far and away the most likely outcome) then you will receive greater penalties between £120 plus costs (typically a few hundred pounds) for each parent, up to a £2500 fine and 3 months in jail for each parent. You will also then have a criminal record that can bar you from or get you sacked from some jobs. It can also affect your rights to be in the UK if a non-citizen.

Your child's attendance at school is serious stuff. A child's right to an education is guaranteed in the highest legislation and courts, all the way up to the UN. Depriving a child of this right is considered a form of abuse and you do so at your peril.

Just to be technical:


Duty of parents to secure education of children of compulsory school age.E+W
The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable—
(a)to his age, ability and aptitude, and
(b)to any special educational needs he may have,
either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.


Also worth noting s.9


Pupils to be educated in accordance with parents’ wishes.E+W
In exercising or performing all their respective powers and duties under the Education Acts, the Secretary of [F25State and local education authorities]shall have regard to the general principle that pupils are to be educated in accordance with the wishes of their parents, so far as that is compatible with the provision of efficient instruction and training and the avoidance of unreasonable public expenditure.


But hey, why let the law get in the way of a good rant eh....

maman

anna_1977 wrote: »

As long as your grandchild has not been absent from long periods of school before they will find it incredibly hard to fine. A school day is classed as 2 registration sessions and you have to drop below 80 school sessions absent in 100 sessions (so 2 weeks off in a 10 week period) before they are even allowed to present it to the panel that then pursue the court action. If he's only off for the 2 weeks that year and then the odd day here and they they don't have a leg to stand on

I used to sit on the panel for my local area for absent pupils

The parent from the IOW who went to court on that lost his case IIRC.

All schools and Local Authorities will have a complaints policy even if not designed specifically for this purpose. You could try using it by first writing to the Chair of Governors and asking them to reconsider given the circumstances. It has to be worth a try.

That being said I do find your post rather emotive given the current circumstances (which was probably your intention) . The same could be said for all emergency services. And there is something of a contradiction in that his leave could be cancelled yet he is able to plan a term time holiday. I think any number of parents have leave allocated in term time either every year (as in the case of those in the tourist industry) or have to take turns. That's life, they'll just have to wait for a holiday or go at Christmas or Easter or half term: there's 13 weeks to choose from.