Questions on school fines for the upcoming year

Chrisffxiv

Hi

We took our 8 year old out of school in April to go to Centre Parcs (damn their holiday time prices!!) and we each got the £60 fine which we paid.

I've seen in the new school year that fines are going up to £80 per parent per child, and our youngest will be starting primary in September.  He was kept back a year due to being born so late in the year, so he will already be five when he starts so will also face fines.  We were hoping to go again next April but just wanted to check some things before we booked.

We read that the fines would be multiplied if you had two lots within three years, so would that count the existing ones from this year since it is technically a new system?

Also, we saw that the fines now only get taken if you are off for 10 half days/five days, so if we were to let them go into school on the Monday and then take them out for the remaining four days, we would avoid any fine at all?

artyboy

Have you ever considered the system might be trying to deter you from taking your kids out of school? 

Yes, holidays are expensive but most people grin and bear it. You could always <shudder> downgrade to Butlins...

silvercar

https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/02/29/fines-for-parents-for-taking-children-out-of-school-what-you-need-to-know/

These are the rules. Your local authority can decide how to implement them, but they must implement them if there is an absence of 5 days/ 10 sessions. It doesn't mean that they won't implement them if the absence is less than that.

Having already had one fine, you should note this section carefully:

"In the case of repeated fines, if a parent receives a second fine for the same child within any three-year period, this will be charged at the higher rate of £160.

Fines per parent will be capped to two fines within any three-year period. Once this limit has been reached, other action like a parenting order or prosecution will be considered.

If you’re prosecuted and attend court because your child hasn’t been attending school, you could get a fine of up to £2,500."

So you already looking at £160 each. Repeat the same next year and you risk prosecution and a fine up to £2,500.

At what point will you stop?

silvercar

So basically if you go again in term time next April, you will potentially get a fine of £160 each for your eldest as a second offence and £80 each for your youngest. So that is £480 total! Repeat again and you risk prosecution, court and a fine of up to £2,500 each.

It isn't a new system, it is an increase in the fine.

jaycee147

No parent wants to take their children out of school in term time. Not every parent has the luxury of being able to take their vacation in the school holiday timetable for many reasons. 

Many parents, particularly those in professions with inflexible schedules (such as healthcare, law enforcement, and essential services), find it challenging to synchronize their leave with school holidays. This legislation does not account for the complexity of modern work-life balance.

   - For those needing to book annual leave within a 13-week period, companies cannot allow all staff time off during school holidays. This limitation is particularly acute in sectors where business operations must continue without interruption.

The new legislation does not apply to families who home-school their children, creating an inconsistency in how educational policies are applied. Parents who home-school have the flexibility to plan education around family commitments, whereas parents of children in traditional schools face punitive measures. This discrepancy highlights an unfair and inconsistent approach to education and family life.

The threat of court action and possible fines or criminal records is an excessive response to parents prioritizing family needs. It places undue stress on families and can exacerbate financial and social hardships.

The price of holidays in school  holidays sky rocket and can take it out of affordability for lots of hard working families, who just want to pass some quality time with their children when they can.

There is a petition to hopefully bring this to be reviewed. If this affects you please check it out on the change.org website

LightFlare

Some of the underlying issues stem from people thinking they are entitled to a holiday every year.

For one reason or another, we haven’t had more than 3 nights away (that was just in GB) for over 5 years

Its all part of compromises you have to make when deciding to have children

lincroft1710

jaycee147 said:

The price of holidays in school  holidays sky rocket and can take it out of affordability for lots of hard working families, who just want to pass some quality time with their children when they can.

There is a petition to hopefully bring this to be reviewed. If this affects you please check it out on the change.org website

Holiday prices in July/August have been high since at least the 1950s. At one time the industry used to say that "out of season" prices were lower in order to attract holidaymakers who could travel at less popular times, thereby reducing the pressure in Jul/Aug and hopefully fill otherwise empty accommodation.


If holiday prices were unaffordable, then either the industry would have to reduce their prices or close some hotels or other accommodations as they would be surplus to requirements

Grumpy_chap

silvercar said:

So basically if you go again in term time next April, you will potentially get a fine of £160 each for your eldest as a second offence and £80 each for your youngest. So that is £480 total! 

How much does a family save by going in term time and suffering the fine versus going in holiday time?  Bearing in mind the impact to the child's education which will increase as each year passes.

I ask, partly because I don't know, and partly because I have been very surprised at some of the holiday offer prices we have received for travel within the school holiday this year.  As a couple without children, we really try to avoid taking a holiday in the school holidays because it is expensive and busy, but this year we received an offer for the end of August Bank Holiday that we are going on because the prices were simply too good to pass up.

Spendless

Grumpy_chap said:

silvercar said:

So basically if you go again in term time next April, you will potentially get a fine of £160 each for your eldest as a second offence and £80 each for your youngest. So that is £480 total! 

How much does a family save by going in term time and suffering the fine versus going in holiday time?  Bearing in mind the impact to the child's education which will increase as each year passes.

I ask, partly because I don't know, and partly because I have been very surprised at some of the holiday offer prices we have received for travel within the school holiday this year.  As a couple without children, we really try to avoid taking a holiday in the school holidays because it is expensive and busy, but this year we received an offer for the end of August Bank Holiday that we are going on because the prices were simply too good to pass up.

That week has always been the cheapest of the 'school summer hols'. I used to watch out for it myself. It's because some areas the kids return late August rather than early Sept but also for others they want to do things like last minute uniform and school shoes shopping rather than being away and straight back to school routine on the return. The week after is normally extremely cheap! 

Green_hopeful

Centre Parks is much cheaper in Europe. Have you thought about looking to go abroad. You would still have to get there but it might be easier than taking kids out of school. 

powerful_Rogue

artyboy said:

Have you ever considered the system might be trying to deter you from taking your kids out of school? 

Yes, holidays are expensive but most people grin and bear it. You could always <shudder> downgrade to Butlins...

Nothing wrong with Butlins. Went for the first time last year and was amazed how good it was. Came back from our second trip there a month ago. I much preferred it over Center parcs.