No, we are not an educational website, but the issue of local authorities fining people for taking their children on holidays is one we’ve been following for some time now. And finally, it looks like there has been a ground-breaking legal precedent set which will go some way to making things easier for parents planning term time absences for their children.
Jon Platt, 44, ‘broke the rules’ when he took his daughter on holiday to Disney World in Florida despite having permission refused by the school. After refusing to pay a £120 fine, he was then told to go to court.
His solicitor put forward the argument that the law requires that children attend school regularly, which does not prohibit holidays. Luckily for Mr Platt the magistrates decided that he had no case to answer and was let off the hook.
Where does this leave parents who are considering taking their children out of school? Well, despite this being good news, and being in the public domain via Mirror.co.uk, it would be unwise to automatically assume that you can do the same and get away with it.
As Mr Platt said, the onus was on the school to prove that his daughter was not attending regularly, and her attendance was around the 94% mark. However, until a definition of ‘regular’ is set in stone by the education department itself it may be left to interpretation by local authorities and magistrates, although after this piece of news it may make them think twice before issuing fines.
If you are planning to take your child on holiday during term time it may be wise to have a frank chat with your child’s school, although do bear in mind that they don’t make the rules.
In the long term however this may be great news for families who can’t afford ‘peak holidays’, as long as their children’s attendance records fall within ‘regular’ which is yet to be determined. But, at least it’s a step in the right direction.
By: Gareth Whieldon
