Fine for taking child on holiday in term time questions.

[ColinRobinsonsfamiliar]

We have obviously been denied permission and a fine will be issued.
Is this an enforceable fine do you know?
What happens if people don’t pay it?

we got fined for taking my daughter out of school for one day. We tried to appeal it but failed. I appealed to the council but they said it was down to the head.

@SirMingeALot Which is probably why the government is going to make a national policy.

That’s all changed now I’m afraid.
Heads don’t get a say anymore. If it’s 4.5 days out then it auto gets a fine.
It used to be a post code lottery but not anymore.

I took ds out just before covid lockdown in reception and wasn't fined.
I also took ds out the beginning of this year and wasn't fined again. Both wasn't authorised obviously but I didn't lie and said it was for a holiday both times as it was pretty obvious anyways !

I'm pretty sure it was 5 sessions then can be fined, and a session counts as either a morning registration missed or afternoon if I remember right...

I'm not planning on doing it again as we would 100% be fined this time, also as a pp has stated the government are clamping down big time now.

Yeah they have been talking about tightening up for a while.

IME the fine is less than the extra cost of a holiday in term time, so just pay it
Don't make it a habit though.

Just pay it. You’re obviously saving money by going on a cheaper holiday in term time.

You can end up with a CCJ.

Another reason I'm glad to live in Scotland where we don't have fines. But do have free Uni education. Just saying

Presumably you'll cancel. That was an expensive mistake.

I don't think they can fine you until the term after your child turns 5 as schooling is not mandatory until then

As everyone else has said there's no point, just pay it. What I have noticed is that the kids who miss days every week or whatever, their parents never get fined. But holidays always do, even when the child hasn't had any other time off. It's irritating. Parents who regularly keep their kids off school for no good reason or because they simply can't be arsed never seem to have any consequences.

If I remember correctly the father who was all over the press complaining was saying his child's attendance was brilliant at 90%, which is the equivalent of the child having a day off every fortnight and isn't good attendance at all. Once a child is missing 10% of school they're classed as persistently absent. He lost in the supreme court if I remember correctly.

@Gazelda I’d say an even bigger reason to take the holiday, SATS are unnecessary and are there to test the school more than the child anyway.

My DD missed a GCSE exam ( art) back in 2010 as we got Glastonbury tickets that year before we realised the clash....the choice was heres to make and she chose Glastonbury.....she was never going to be an artist anyway.

100% agree with this....I wouldn't think twice about taking a child on holiday in sats week

Oh I agree.
Why not let the child work hard all year preparing for a test they don't then get to take?
That they miss out on the rite of passage and feeling of achievement?
So they miss out on the fun 'after SATs reward' on the Friday?
So their incoming school doesn't officially have any baseline for them so have to use the average so won't tell if your high achiever is slipping behind or have clear visibility they need extra support?
Definitely not worth considering at all.

We’re taking the kids to South Africa in January to visit their grandparents who they’ve not seen in 4 years. They don’t know yet.
schools have just introduced fines for term time holidays, a bit gutted but it was too expensive to go during the holidays and working in retail I couldn’t get time off over Christmas.
Just getting my head around having to pay the fines now

Being refused permission & getting a fine are 2 separate things.
We have been refused permission but never been fined.

I never heard of anyone who fought the fine (in court) winning.
Just pay it if you get a fine. No biggie.

I don't know about anyone else but it definitely wasn't a "rite of passage" for me. I just remember it being awful and lots of children crying over it. I had no feeling of achievement either just relief it was over with.

Equally I'm not sure it matters much for high school as most schools/academies are only interest if you're a high achiever anyway, ime there is not much help for the average child anyway. They're not interested.

I did it by accident by only checking one school's holiday dates. I got a warning that next time they would both fine me, and do a safeguarding referral.

(It was for two days and child had 100% attendance forever.)

A safeguarding referral for what exactly? I'd have struggled not to have laughed in the face of whoever said that!

@Ineverwannabelikeyou it was a letter, on the doormat on our return 🤣. Something about disregarding the importance of a child's education and quoting the law about school attendance.

SATs for both of my average-low ability DC was a very positive experience, and I didn't hear of any children crying over it at their school either. The school was focused but low stress, SATs breakfasts were good, the post SATs rewards were fun. But then their school was good with average ability children too, definitely focused on all children suceeding, not just high achievers.

Jeez. We got a fine months later and paid it but they didn't threaten us with that bollocks. It's a shame to waste safeguarding staffs time really when there will be actual real issues they need to attend to.