Can I be fined - has anyone actually been fined?

[Weathergames]

Hi, I want to take my 3 kids away in July - meaning they would miss the last 3 days of term when all they do is watch films DS1 will have left by then anyway.

Can the school actually fine me? Has anyone been fined for taking their kids out for a few days (kids have 100% attendance).

I work for the LA (not the same as where kids are at school) in attendance and I know the LA I work for would not spend money prosecuting me for 3 days absence.

DD is going on holiday next week with her dad. Her grandparents inherited some money so they are paying for a luxury family holiday. They can't get school holiday time off together, so they booked it for when they could all get time off, which is in June.

I've never taken DD abroad, I can't afford to. I'm not going to deny her a fantastic holiday with her family. She's my child, I care about her education but I also want her to have all the experiences as a child that I never had. I grew up in a very poor household and never had holidays. I would have loved to go where DD is going next week. Hell, I'd love to go there now!

DD is only 9 though, so no exams etc. I wouldn't allow it if she had something so important to revise for. She never misses school anyway as I work full time so no unnecessary days off are taken. The only day off she had this year was when she fell in school and cut her head.

I don't care if I'm fined though. I'm happy to pay a small sum of money for her to experience the type of holiday most of us could only long for. While she's away I can get some overtime in and pay for it

I'll help her catch up as much as possible when she's back. Just like I have to do it the six weeks off during the summer holidays.

I'm a Governor at a primary school and our HT has and does issue fines. All those saying it isn't the school it's the LEA, well ours it is most definitely the HT because she said so. The LEA issues and collects the fines but the HT tells them who to give it to. (We have a lot of very poor attendance at our school)

OP unless you say which LA the school is in then you are not going to get a useful answer, just lots of irrelevant anecdotes.

Exactly.

If your dc are at our school they won't get fined.

OP, can you ask around your local area to see if anyone's been fined in your specific school & LA?
It seems to me that we on MN can only answer "they might fine you, they might not".

Personally, I'm still nervously awaiting a possible fine from early March. Nothing yet.

If you can cope with the potential fine, I'd say go for it. Then it's a nice surprise if it doesn't happen. I'm sorry to see you've had the usual lambasting for daring to think you have a better idea of your kids' wellbeing than Michael Gove does.
Let it roll off your back and have a good holiday

OP, it's the final 3 days of term.
Phone in and say the kids are unwell.
I've done this several times.
Don't bother asking for permission and definitely don't pay the fines.

Discretion just didn't work because it allows parents who want to to play the system and a lot of them did

That's what I've been trying to say, Tiggy - only so many parents either can't or won't accept their own part in the isssue; it's always someone else who's taken the piss but never them

Just say they're ill / Don't even ask for authorisation / Think of what you'll save / Ignore the fines ... you could despair sometimes

Advice to 'ignore the fines' could prove very expensive OP, defiantly don't do that (but then you knew that already).

Read some of the threads from people with genuinely sick DC who - because of liars ringing DC in sick when they're not - are now having to jump through hoops to demonstrate it. It's seriously adding stress to already exhausted families.

To those of you who say their kids are ill - what do you tell your kids to say at school? Or do you just hope no one will talk to them about it?

Read some of the threads from people with genuinely sick DC who - because of liars ringing DC in sick when they're not - are now having to jump through hoops to demonstrate it.

This is indeed sad.
But you could argue that it's the fault of the system, not the fault of parents who have been placed in the ridiculous situation where they have to pay and be criminalised for making certain decisions about their children.

People with genuinely sick DC who - because of liars ringing DC in sick when they're not - are now having to jump through hoops to demonstrate it. It's seriously adding stress to already exhausted families

Yes meditrina, it is - but hey what the hell, as long as they get exactly what they want, what does the effect on others matter, even when those others include their own children

I only ever say the kids are ill the last few days of the summer holidays or at the end of the week. By the time they go back, teacher has forgotten.

Couple of points I would like to comment on from a secondary teachers perspective.

Regarding students catching up on missed work - there is a strong relationship between students who take holidays in school time and parents who are never seen at parents evenings, which generally indicates a lack of parental support. The students are unlikely to put in the effort to complete additional work set to catch up.

INSET days are not taking out of the students education time, Teachers are required to work for 195 days a year, students are required to be at school for 190 days. The 5 days can be allocated throughout the year as the school wishes. Other days off - ie Snow days, impact all students not just one who will fall behind.

Phoning in saying your child is ill, at my school we are now requesting some form of medical evidence to back up such claims - esepcially from students with a known history of 'illness' which happens to fall very conveniently. Schools are quite good at putting 2 and 2 together - example all 3 children in one family didn't come back to school in September until 4 days into term - arrived back looking a little tanned but had all had D&V - we aren't daft!

Oh and at secondary most students seem to be 'outed' by mates gossiping in front of teachers! Teenagers are rubbish at keeping secrets!

It's a shame there is a rule that is completely wrong which causes parents to ring in sick.

The richer parents can pay the fines or more expensive holidays.

It isn't fair that the system accommodates the disruption caused by some parenting choices eg music lessons and other activities which take children out of classes(exams,sporting fixtures,courses,monitor duties etc) often regularly but it won't the less well off one week off in a school year.

Incidentally I hope parents keep the pressure up re this issue.Think it is going to be discussed in the commons now due to the petition.

Well put, Retro.

So are GPs now expected to issue medical notes for children who are off school ill (genuinely?) I bet they're going to love that! Even adults can self-certify for the first five days.

There was a thread the other day where a person had been refused authorised absence to attend a funeral.

She was advised to go anyway.

This means she will now have a criminal record? Do the children get a criminal record too if they are over 13 / 16?

I had not heard that it was a criminal conviction before, that seems ludicrous to me.

ClaockWatchingLady "not the fault of parents who have been placed in the ridiculous situation where they have to pay and be criminalised for making certain decisions about their children."

Er, no, they'd be criminalised (if it came to it) for breaking the law. That's kind of like saying a burglar is criminalised for "making certain decisions about his career."
(Not putting term-time absence up there with burglary, mind!)

Oops. Cross-posted with tiggy.