Aycliffe Today Business PNE1578_AycliffeTodayBusiness_Issue28_WEBhighres | Page 17
The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 17
We don’t need no
education!
With Nick Dent, Head of the Education Team
at law firm Endeavour Partnership...
We’re fast approaching holiday season
and the long school break is just around the
corner. Plenty of time to take that family
holiday.
But prices rise, airports are busy and camp
sites and hotels heave with stressed mums
and dads.
It’s no surprise then that some parents
take their children out of school during term
time- but it is actually illegal.
Peak holiday demand drives up prices
for flights and accommodation, and some
families argue that term-time holidays are the
only way they can afford to take their children
on enriching overseas trips.
The issue was brought to the fore earlier
this year in the case of Jon Platt, the father
who took his six-year-old out of school for
a family holiday to Florida. The Supreme
Court ruled that “no child should be taken
out of school without good reason”. Mr Platt
therefore lost his earlier legal challenge
against a fine for taking his daughter on an
unauthorised term-time holiday.
What does the law state?
Since September 2013, Department for
Education rule changes have made it harder
for parents to get a school’s permission
to take their children out of class during
term time for more than 10 days and, now,
there are tougher criteria of “exceptional
circumstances”, restricting it to absences for
events such as funerals of family members.
What happens if parents or carers do opt
to take their children out of school?
Parents and carers are legally responsible
for ensuring their children attend and failure
to do so is an offence so parents have no
legal right to take their children out of school
during term time for holidays.
Parents who do not have the school’s
permission for their child’s absence face
a maximum fine of £60.00 per pupil, per
parent. That rises to £120.00 if not paid
within seven days. Those who refuse to pay
can face court action and, if prosecuted,
a fine of up to £2500 and a possible jail
sentence of up to three months.
And what now in-light of the Jon Platt
case?
This ruling by The Supreme Court means that
parents will have to comply with the rules set
by schools and education authorities and will
not receive any sympathy.
In 2015, there were almost 20,000 such
prosecutions, a rise of more than 20% on the
previous year, leading to more than 11,000
fines and, in eight cases, jail sentences. The
message to parents is now clear: remove
your children from school during term time at
your peril.
Nick Dent
Head of the Education Team, Endeavour Partnership
www.endeavourpartnership.com
Parents who do not have
the school’s permission for
their child’s absence face
a maximum fine of £60.00
per pupil, per parent.