School Abscense Fine - huge amount

[PMDD]

If I am correct, if you take your child/ren out of school without prior agreement, there is an automatic fine of £60/day/child/parent?

So for us, a family with 3 children, a 2 week holiday in (say) June, would cost us £3600 - or double that if we don't pay within a certain amount of time!

Is it me to think that is totally unreasonable?!

That is a huge amount. The people who take their children out normally can't afford the hike in holiday prices, so how on earth would they afford the fine?

I am also not happy to have to wAit several years until we find done sort of balance. In the mean time it's the children who will suffer from it.

Sometimes a nice bottle of whiskey for the head does the trick...

My default is that it is fine for the school to decide what is authorised and what isn't, as they are providing the "service"

I see this as similar to missing an NHS appointment - if you cancel within 24 hours in my area without good reason more than once, you get discharged. I'm sure different areas allow different reasons, two cancellations, 36 hours or whatever. The service provider should have an element of discretion to set the reasonable terms of that provision.

Your default is that it should be up to the parents.

So we are arguing from different ends and I doubt I'll convince you and you probably won't convince me.

Life's rich tapestry, hmm?

Excelt NHS don't prosecute for a missed appointment.

Isn't the prosecution for unpaid fines, not simply for unauthorised absence? I believe it's possible for local authorities to prosecute for unpaid parking fines also.

so why is missing school a criminal offence? maybe we should make missing work for a reason your boss doesn't think is good enough a criminal offence too?

fcukkedup. There are already sanctions for missing a day of work for a reason your boss doesn't think is good enough. It's called 'losing your job'.

Tiggy, the prosecution is for unpaid fines, right, not non-attendance?

there are also set processes your boss has to follow etc - and it's not a criminal offence

you could in theory be prosecuted for non attendance even if you pay fine

But if so isn't that the kind of non attendance that even those against this change in guidelines on the thread want prosecuted ie parents enabling persistent truancy?

yes but they aren't tackling persistent truancy that remains same and you could be prosecuted for a holiday

The thing is, we are not really talking about children whose parents fail to get them to school regularly. The debate is about otherwise responsible parents not being allowed to make the decision to have a short holiday or for other similar reason.
Many reasonable employers would allow you to take an extra two week holiday, unpaid.

According to Tiggy's references, that has been the case since 2003. Have any parents who paid their fines been prosecuted for taking a holiday, I wonder?

Kitty, I think that would massively depend on your line of work! If the two week holiday affected only you - maybe. If it affected 29 colleagues and your supervisor, maybe not!

Well, they would have to cope if you were ill for two weeks, so I am sure they would manage.

Being able to manage in the event of a colleague being ill and actually just allowing an employee to swan off for a couple of weeks are two completely different things.

Normally if a colleague is ill for two weeks, there's no question of 29 other colleagues also wanting to be ill for two weeks so it's fair...

Where do you work, cosi, that is so generous?!

Well, most people don't take extra holidays just because a colleague does as it is unpaid and costly! I work in a school, and on occasion staff have been allowed to take extra leave for an extra special travel based vacation, and I know several people whose employers, such as banks etc which have allowed them, say a six week, extended holiday for a 'trip of a lifetime' type holiday or for a visit to family abroad etc. I have also heard of lots of people taking a days unpaid leave from schools in order to attend a wedding or graduation ceromony of their child etc.

The fines have been there for a while but the idea of what was an ok circumstances to go away has changed.
I am also sure there had been a change in that law at some level because the HT certainly weren't in the situation where they would have fined people that easily before.
So it's yes there was already something there but no it's not just about applying a law that was already there.

The fact you would become a criminal for example certainly wasn't in there to start with!!

Doctrine I am bit at loss with your answer I have to say. Are you telling me that in your opinion it's ok if the law is unfair because you happen to believe with the heart of the law?

And there us no parallel to do with the NHS and not turning up. You don't get fined if you don't turn up. You don't get a criminal record either.
If you want to draw a parallel you need to look at speeding with your car or other low level law breaking issues. Is that how the system is working for speeding ticket (you actually have the choice between a fine and being educated) and only Loose your licence if you are a repeat offender. I hadn't realize that not taking a child to school for a day or a week was as dangerous as speeding in a 30mph zone

There was a thread a few days ago about someone who had a whole month off after the death of their GM.
Must people said it was too much but everyone considered if normal to get compassionate keave for a few days in these conditions.
But out children can't???

It's the LA that decides whether to fine for an unauthorised absence, not the school. It's the head teacher who decides what is authorised and guidelines on this are tighter than they were.

No analogy is perfect, neither mine of appointments and parking fines not yours of speeding fines (for example, speeding fines are more or less automatic on each breach of the law whilst many one day absences won't result in a fine).

I would expect most head teachers to authorise some absence on the death of a parent.