No more school penalty fines and bring back the 10 day authorised absence

Back in 2013 the government changed the law on taking your children out of school in term time so that now you receive a penalty fine of £60 per child per parent. This can increase . The law prevents families from taking term time holidays forcing families to pay extra during school holidays.

Myself and my wife received a fine for our two eldest children (two fines each parent) for taking our children on holiday for 5 days in term time which was the only week free from surgery and radiotherapy (school knew of cancer diagnosis) This apparently is not an exceptional circumstance. The council quote is S.444 A or 1 of the Education act 1996 which in its own term indicates truancy and not a one off family holiday. Councils are too ready to fine and wont consider exceptional circumstances

The Government has focused on reducing absence in schools so that every pupil receives an education that allows them to reach their full potential.

Research shows that the amount of time missed from school is linked with a pupil’s academic success. The most recent research ‘The link between absence and attainment at key stage 2 and key stage 4: 2013 to 2014 academic year’(1) was published by the Department for Education on 24 March 2016, and shows that every extra day of school missed can affect a child’s attainment at the end of key stage 2 and key stage 4. Missing school unnecessarily is unfair to children as it can damage their life chances.

The Government acknowledges that family holidays can be enriching experiences. The school year is designed to give families multiple opportunities to enjoy holidays without disrupting their children’s education. Parents should plan their holidays around school breaks and avoid taking their children out of school during term-time, except in exceptional circumstances. Head teachers know their pupils best and are best placed to make these decisions by considering the merits of each request and deciding whether or not it qualifies as an exceptional circumstance.

In 2013, the Government clarified the law that enables head teachers to authorise a leave of absence, allowing for term-time holidays in exceptional circumstances only. There was previously a widespread misconception that parents were entitled to take their children on holiday during term-time. No such entitlement has ever existed in law. The misconception had been created by the previous allowance for head teachers to grant up to 10 days of leave for ‘special circumstances’.