Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to be angry about attendance charge from school

562 replies

HidingInTheBathroom · 07/02/2014 15:36

I am very upset at the minute. Received my fine today for taking my children out of school four days before they break up for Christmas.

Me and my husband have received a £60 fine for each child for each parent.

We are being charged more for being a couple. Which I think is wrong. The last week of school they only watch films and went to a pantomime. Oh and had a school disco. The holiday was far more educational than watching films and family time is hard to come by with work.

When I have requested a meeting with the head teacher I have just got a mouthful of abusive from the receptionist.

OP posts:
Fudgeface123 · 07/02/2014 15:38

You break the rules, you pay the price

ben5 · 07/02/2014 15:38

did you request the holiday? If not surely the kids were ill for those days!!!!Wink

FunkyBoldRibena · 07/02/2014 15:40

What happens if you tell them to shove it up their arse don't pay?

YouStayClassySanDiego · 07/02/2014 15:40

You were aware of the penalty for taking your children out in term time weren't you?

This is now the law , like it or not you broke the rule and now you pay the penalty.

CunfuddledAlways · 07/02/2014 15:40

but these are the rules that have been put in place, that you must have known about when booking the holiday, also it's not the school that fines you it's the lea.

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 07/02/2014 15:41

It's not a revelation though is it - these fines are common knowledge.

Bit like parking tickets - don't want a ticket then park legally - same with attendance at school.

TheDoctorSandshoesAndGrandad · 07/02/2014 15:41

You made the choice to take them out unauthorised, so you need to accept the consequences of that choice, surely?

jacks365 · 07/02/2014 15:41

If you don't pay it increases in amount and you get taken to court as has happened to others.

YouStayClassySanDiego · 07/02/2014 15:42

We've had a couple in my county appear in court for not paying the fine for a holiday they took in term time with their children.

ChocolateWombat · 07/02/2014 15:42

But you knew if you took them out there was a chance of a fine. And the legislation says each parent is fined.
The point is not that they would have been watching videos. The point is that children should be in school and parents not pick and choose when it suits them.

It's not nice to get fined, but this is the law now and there are consequences of it. The fines are issued by the LEA so seeing the Head will not help. The receptionist should not have been rude, even if you were rude to her, which I am not saying you were. However this is not the issue.
There have been loads of threads on here justifying the fines and arguing against them. You can look them up. However the law has been made clear, you broke it and now there is a consequence. Not nice or convenient, but reality now.

Morrigu · 07/02/2014 15:43

Why are you angry as surely you knew this was the way it worked? We don't have fines here (at present) but even I knew each parent got fined from the threads on here.

allmycats · 07/02/2014 15:43

YABU - you knew the rules when you made the choice.

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 07/02/2014 15:44

and I don't know why you have requested a meeting with the head - the fine isn't down to the school anymore, it's a council thing (I think) - the head teacher can do diddly squat about it.

Sanch1 · 07/02/2014 15:44

No sympathy here, if you have children (as I do) you have to accept that family holidays should be taken in school holidays. Simple.

PenguinsDontEatKale · 07/02/2014 15:45

You aren't being charged more for being a couple, they can charge both parents even if they aren't together. Indeed there was a recent thread about a non-resident father trying to limit the chances of a fine if his ex-partner took the children out against his wishes.

lilyaldrin · 07/02/2014 15:45

Why are you being charged more for being a couple? Even if you weren't together the fine is per parent, per child.

TheWitTank · 07/02/2014 15:46

YABU-while I don't necessarily agree with these fines, the policy has been very clearly spelt out and put in place. There has been a lot of talk on the TV, radio and newspapers about these fines. Surely you had some idea this was going to happen?!

ENormaSnob · 07/02/2014 15:46

Do the crime, do the time Grin

missmargot · 07/02/2014 15:48

My understanding is the fine applies to each person with parental responsibility for the children, DSS's mother was planning on taking him out of school in term time and DH would have been fined even though the absence had nothing to do with him. You aren't being penalised for being a couple.

DontmindifIdo · 07/02/2014 15:48

a couple tried just not paying, it didn't work out for them

The fines have been in place since September, if you asked the school for leave and it was refused, you should have been expecting this. If you want flexiblity, home ed or privately educate. If you want a state school place, you have to accept the terms and conditions of that state school place, one of which is unless they are sick or unless there's an exceptional circumstance, then you have to send them to school during school term times.

If you don't like what the school does during hte last few days of term, take that up with the school/governers. If you are removing your DCs because you object to what they are doing, that's a different issue to removing them to go on holiday.

If you can't afford the fine, talk to the LEA.

ChocolateWombat · 07/02/2014 15:49

Out of interest OP, bearing in mind this has happened, will you continue to take your children out and be fined or will you stop? I'm just interested to know the response of people to this Q.

youarewinning · 07/02/2014 15:49

There's 2 issues here.

First everyone knows you can be charged for unauthorised absence now so that cannot be a shock for you?

Secondly as long as your being polite in your request for a meeting then the receptionist has no right to be rude and that you can complain about.

YouStayClassySanDiego · 07/02/2014 15:50

Dontmind yup, they're the the couple I was thinking of.

Pay the fine OP.

JakeBullet · 07/02/2014 15:51

the fine is per parent per child so even if you were not q couple they would still issue to both parents,

It is horrible I agree but seems to be out of the hands of head teachers now.....the LEA and OFSTED have come down heavily on parents who take their children out of school for holidays in term time.

Our school fot example has a large Filipino community and the HT never had a problem being able to agree holidays before. ...now he has to justify it to the LEA. The final decision is down to them,

PatriciaHolm · 07/02/2014 15:51

What did you think was going to happen, OP? Genuine question. You presumably applied for the holiday and were turned down, and told there was a chance you would be fined. Why are you surprised/upset?

As others have said, the standard fine is per child per parent, so that isn't penalising you.

Swipe left for the next trending thread