School Holiday Fines

Guest101

daska wrote: »

I think in this instance it's worth being pedantic. If people realised that what the Local Authority issues is effectively an offer to settle they might feel less intimidated by them. People don't usually get appropriate advice until after they've paid up. Some then kick themselves when they realise that if only they had checked the register were correctly marked and the guidance correctly followed they would have had a statutory defence against prosecution. (It's not unknown for schools to mark an absence as unauthorised instead of illness or medical.)

If people aren't knowledgeable enough to know that a FPN is not a fine, then they aren't going to be aware of the possible defences.


People still refer to it as a fine, as a 'commonly known as'.


The name really isn't relevant to the path most people choose, which is why risk paying £400, when they can pay £60.


Though this will change as the judgment starts to filter down to the lower courts.

Guest101

aragornlegolasbunny wrote: »

Ok, my son is in year 4 and mad about computers, lego, minecraft et al... so I hear about a great course being run at a local private school for a week where he can indulge his passion. Only trouble is the only week suitable for him is the last week of his school term.
Obviously this delicious week is aimed at the lucky private school kids who have broken up before then. I am prepared to shell out for the course but I am going to fall foul of his school for taking him out - even though it's abundantly clear this is not a holiday it is educational....
Any one else had any experience of this and how to get around it so everyone is happy?

Generally I put my childs happiness over that of the teachers.


More importantly your child isn't of statutory age, and therefore you cant be fined.

Brighton_belle

Guest101 wrote: »

Generally I put my childs happiness over that of the teachers.


More importantly your child isn't of statutory age, and therefore you cant be fined.

He's year 4 , not aged 4.

aragornlegolasbunny

Yes I agree about putting his needs first and I think doing the course will- he's got 2 more years at primary to go and I think boredom is going to be quite an issue so I'm trying to add to his education the best way I know how. He's 9 and a half ...

Minimum_2

My husband and I took my daughter and grandson then aged 5 to Australia during term time - up to that point his attendance was good. We thought long and hard but my niece was getting married, my daughter was asked to be bridesmaid and I wanted my grandson to meet my father who lives there, is 93 and has heart failure. My daughter was unemployed and on benefits at the time although she is now working. This was the impetus for paying thousands and taking the trip. We wrote to the school but received no reply until the week we were due to leave when they told us it was not authorised. We went and whilst there my grandson did all his school work online every day - on our return with a lot of aboriginal songs and stories for the class, my grandson got star of the week the week after we got back because he was doing so well in class. We were fined £60 and whilst every fibre of my being wanted to argue that the authorities had made not a single effort to work with us and understand why we had done it - I could not waste court time and taxpayer money fighting and so I paid - but soo annoyed!

Minimum_2

My husband and I took my daughter and grandson then aged 5 to Australia during term time - up to that point his attendance was good. We thought long and hard but my niece was getting married, my daughter was asked to be bridesmaid and I wanted my grandson to meet my father who lives there, is 93 and has heart failure. My daughter was unemployed and on benefits at the time although she is now working. This was the impetus for paying thousands and taking the trip. We wrote to the school but received no reply until the week we were due to leave when they told us it was not authorised. We went and whilst there my grandson did all his school work online every day - on our return with a lot of aboriginal songs and stories for the class, my grandson got star of the week the week after we got back because he was doing so well in class. We were fined £60 and whilst every fibre of my being wanted to argue that the authorities had made not a single effort to work with us and understand why we had done it - I could not waste court time and taxpayer money fighting and so I paid - but soo annoyed!

King_Drax_I

It's all very well the Govt saying that the child could miss 'crucial' knowledge, education etc. which could lead to worse GCSE results and poorer life opportunities, but a) they have no direct evidence of this; b) a few days off is certainly going to be better for the child if the holiday gives them life experiences; and c) since when does the Govt care about GCSE results and life choices? It's all about SATs results, the teachers have to 'teach to the test' and actually very little knowledge that will ever be useful in a workplace is being transmitted.

As usual, our Govt BS detectors are working overtime.....

gabriel1980

Can you just refuse to pay the fine? What can they do about it?

girlsmum

gabriel1980 wrote: »

Can you just refuse to pay the fine? What can they do about it?

This is what could happen

What if I don't pay the fine?
The £60 fine jumps to £120 if you fail to pay within 21 days of the fine being issued. If you don't pay within 28 days you can be taken to magistrates' court under the Education Act 1996. If found guilty you could end up with a criminal record and face a fine of up to £2,500, court costs or even a jail sentence of up to three months.

anna_1977

I was an attendance officer in a secondary school for years and I sat on the panel for our area to decide whether or not to fine parents and subsequently pursue legal action. In our area a child had to be absent from school 10 sessions out of 100 (5 days absence out of a 10 week period), these absences had to be unauthorised, anything less and it wouldn't stay up against any action. Bear in mind that most absences will be marked as illness or medical if that the case.

I always took mine out of school, they are now aged 18 & 20 - I was told 2 weeks out a year was massively affecting their education.
Eldest currently lives abroad on year sandwich year from Uni - she studies 3 languages and is predicted a 1st and youngest is sitting A Levels at the moment and heading to Uni in September......

I worked in a school at the time and did get some stick from others but for me quality family time and life experiences were just as important as education