AIBU to be angry about attendance charge from school

[HidingInTheBathroom]

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.

Careful He11y, any talk of human rights and you'll get a

accused of supporting fgm...

Who has tghe discretion then? The LEA who dont know the individual's circumstances? Someoen somewhere has to be issuing the fines on the bcak of some rules.
Off to google.

This link says primary school leaders. Which I presume is Heads?

www.theguardian.com/education/2013/nov/29/primary-schools-parents-fined-term-time-holidays

Head has discretion about authorising leave (that's the law) and that can include holidays in 'exceptional' circumstances, plus non-holiday absnces such as bereavements, religious observances etc.

LEA sets policy about action following unauthorised absences, including when they fine (only the maximum is set out in law, and any unauthorised absence can trigger a fine, but in practice LEAs do not apply it to maximum extent).

honey your school should have a 'new' attendance policy which will set out the line of accountability for your particular school, in line with the new Government guidelines. it would have been approved by the GB in the last 6 months or so - you'll probably have it in your paperwork somewhere.

All the school policies I've found online emphasis the link/involvement with LA EWOs, but legally Headteachers do have the authority to issue FPNs - but I can't find a school policy online that permits that, which is why I'm wondering if any schools have gone down the autonomy line.

Innogen

Schools are optional. There is no law that says any form of schooling is compulsory.
It is education that is compulsory, they are 2 totally different things.

Frog that's interesting. I'm trying to check the detail on this now, but the 2013 changes to the stat regs on penalty notices changed only the amount of time you have to pay. If HTs can issue FPNs, they must have had that power since at least 2007 when the regs were last updated.

Yup - Heads have always been able to issue FPNs, but from what i can gather, not many GB were comfortable with that unless the EWService was supportive.
That's why I'm wondering how many of these "recent fines" have been issued by HT's

tiggy but Headteachers CAN issue fines, legally - they are specifically identified in the legislation.

Whether they do or not is something I am trying, and failing, to find out, because no one, not even the OP, has posted to say who their FPN was issued by.

If head teachers feel it appropriate that a penalty notice is served,

That is the discretion part.

Right - so my initial assumption, that schools can, but don't, issue FPNs is correct?
And that GBodies put in place policies that are consistent with the LA policy in their area, tailored to give their own HT direction on how s/he should adhere to the LA policy?

In which case, the HT is the least influential person in the process, once the decision has been made that the circumstances aren't 'exceptional'. And how that decision is made will vary from school to school based on the policies passed by the Governors.

I've looked back to the 2003 Act. Fines can be issued by LEA, police or schools. Who actually does so must depend on local agreements.

Governing bodies have very little influence on this. HT's powers, and those of LEA and police in respect of fines are set out in law. Governors may havae n interest in ensuing their school is acting legally, but cannot set an attendance policy that conflicts with the provisions in law. So a HT who wants to work with Governors on this is free to do so, but one who wants to take any different line is totally free to do so, providing that line is within the law.

'You can't appeal a fine though, governers or not .

Perhaps a system that relies on one persons judgement without recourse,
not the right education provision for any of our children'

You can always have your case heard in court

I think that as more schools issue fines there might be a few winners actually.

My school has a comprehensive attendance policy but no mention of fining policy.
So if I got a fine would that be enough to say school didn't have a policy for me to adhere to in court? Would school they say that my afternoon off with the boys was an UA and therefore fair game because the law says UA may be fined? In which case it's a joke system that has no appeal does it.

What happens if you are send abroad for work, then?

Neither the Head or the governors can decide to ignore the law or turn a blind eye

But the Governors could set a policy that required the Head to disclose a family/personal relationship with a parent who had requested leave, and that policy could require the Head to exclude themselves from the decision regarding any exceptional circumstances if that were the case.

The government makes the law, the LA interprets the law, the GB define/monitor how it will be achieved in their school and the Head carries it out. Sounds like a pretty watertight line of accountability to me!

tiggy What I'm saying is that GB often include in their policies the steps that any teacher should take if they feel that there is a conflict of interest in any aspect of their role - not because the GB doesn't trust the staff, but in order to maintain transparency and avoid misunderstandings.

Posters on this thread have implied that Headteachers could abuse the system; hence the suggestion that the OP should ask why the other family at her DCs school have not been fined. I think it's clear now that there is a line of accountability that prevents that - although of course, nothing is foolproof, but there would be significant consequences on any Head who abused the process.