I'm aware this is a very divided subject and one which has passionate supporters on each side of the fence however my question is to gauge how many people have refused to pay the fine and landed themselves in court.
I'm currently deciding weather to pay mine. I fully accept that attendance at school is very important and my son turns up at school on time everyday, and apart from this yr has had 1uuu00% attendance for the last 4 yrs. This yr however has been an anomaly. He has had no time off sick (lucky for us I know). At Easter I took my son out of school to visit family in South Africa and to combine with a memorial service for my late father. It wasn't a family holiday and wasn't done to save money (it actually cost us more to go when we did as it was actually over the Easter period). We went at this time as I'm currently at university studying midwifery which is heavily regulated by the NMC and I'm required to have 100% attendance in order to fulfill the course requirements. I only get 7wks off a yr. my husband also works and struggles to get time off during holidays unless booked a yr in advance. My sons (he's 8) Easter holidays this yr however did not start until 2 wks after Easter so in order to attend the memorial which was planned to enable all who were attending were available it meant I had to take my son out of school for 8 days. It isn't something we will repeat as I woukd not book a family holiday during term time. I write to the head teacher to outline the situation and did ask for work to take away. No work was given and permission not granted as it wasn't deemed exceptional circumstances and listed as a family holiday. To me it was exceptional and meant a great deal to me. However because of her judgement and interpretation I'm now being fined.
I've written some strongly worded emails to my LEA as I feel the fine is unjust at this time. My sons attendance is currently over 93% even with the days off. I'm debating whether to pay the fine as I feel this is an admission of an offence I don't feel I've committed. I'm not denying my child an education. However if I don't pay I'm worried I could land myself with a criminal record which could have serious implications on my future as a student midwife. I'm awaiting responses from the LEA and my local MP but in the meantime I thought I'd see if anyone has been in a similar position and what the outcome was.
Thank you xx
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School fines. Did you pay??
90 replies
10oclocknews · 30/05/2016 09:40
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