Would you pay this school fine or risk it at court

[Coastingtohell25]

I know there is a lot of opinions on talking the kids out of school for holidays but I will not drip feed and I feel like I shouldn’t have to pay the fine.

We were informed that this year the school were not allowed to make allowances and everyone’s holiday request would be declined and it’s not their fault ( okay so I get this )

however the situation is as followed

DC class are away on residential mon -Friday to a sort of PGL like place. DC can’t attend for medical reasons and to be honest there was no real attempt to make it possible for them to attend.
parents were informed that if not attended they would be expected to be at school but DC is the only one not going. So we have booked a similar type holiday as a family at a well known family holiday park that dc enjoys which was very cheap due to not being in the holidays.

this will lead to a fine and I begrudge paying it to to be honest. Would I be unreasonable to stand my ground on this one ?

@Coastingtohell25 I understand that you may not want to out yourself and your family, but it is relevant what your son's medical condition is. If it is something which is covered by the 2010 Equality Act then the school is potentially acting illegally in not facilitating your son's attendance.

lots of experience of this kind of discrimination but i'd need more specifics to be able to advise.

No not close enough,
they would require 1-1 all day and nursing care all night every night.

Just call in and tell them he has flu.

Pay the fine. Then take them to court for disability discrimination.

Personally I’d take the school to court for failing to provide an activity week that was inclusive to all pupils.
that’s disgraceful in this day and age.

Mito - with severe elements of organ failures.

What about your other DC, won’t you face separate fines for taking them out of school in term time?

As another poster said, this would be a hill for me.

Your dc is being discriminated against and as such cannot attend: a reasonable adjustment could be going to do similar activities with yourself. Sitting in a classroom is not an adjustment, it feels like a punishment.

If this case is as you describe and they have arranged a trip your child cannot participate in I cannot imagine them pursuing this attendance issue. If they do, counter with a disability discrimination claim. Arranging an activity your child cannot participate in and then stating its OK they can just attend school instead is not going to meet the threshold of acceptability for the Equality Act.

Not compulsory school age

This is it I feel like it’s a punishment.

Just call him in sick. The school will have to accept that regardless of whether it's clear that it's a lie. The vast majority of teachers don't care. My daughter told a teacher she wouldn't be able to do a sports activity two weeks before the date because she was going to have a sickness bug that week. They just laughed. There'll no doubt be the MN police kicking off at me for saying this shortly but really the rules are so unreasonable that the staff would probably understand.

I wouldn't be happy to pay the fine, given the circumstances.

I agree with what others are saying regarding discrimination. A severely disabled child in my daughter's year at school couldn't do all of the trips (day trips, residential) that the other students could do so the trips were changed to accommodate her. I'm pretty sure the law says they cannot leave your child out like this. It's lovely that you have booked a trip for you all so that he's not missing out. If you're not going to challenge the school on the discrimination, then granting the trip as an educational visit is the least that they could do.

I’m in Ireland and thankfully, we don’t have this pointless nonsense over here.

What’s the actual law that supports this bizarre system of fines?

I think you need to find a lawyer who can find the weak points in the legislation (probably loads!) and also argue that the school are not meeting their obligations to enable your son to fully participate in school life so you’ve been doing your best to plug that gap.

Good luck OP. 👍

Do it anyway. Puts the onus on the school to prove it. Teachers aren’t monsters, i doubt they’ve got the time or motivation to go on a witch hunt.

Technically you broke the rules and I think the fine rises if you end up in court. You saved money on your holiday so just take it on the chin and move on.

We had a child with serious medical issues go on our residential last year- the mum stayed nearby and popped on site once a day. Other kids were in school but dad looked after them Monday night to Friday morning. I don’t know your situation but for others that might work.

I think you're doing the right thing not letting him miss out. And if would also fight it, it's not normal circumstances.
Sadly, I don't think you'll win. But good luck and well done for trying, it's very unfair.

I'd also die on this hill. I'm from Northern Ireland but sadly live in England, and I abhor the fine system here. It's one of the many reasons why I didn't put my children into the English school system and home educated instead.

This wreaks of discrimination here under the Equality Act, and I'd be having a polite word via email (to keep it in writing), that you trust you will not be subjected to fines, due to the school's inability to provide adequate care for your child's medical needs, and that of course they will not be discriminating against you further by issuing any fines...or something worded a bit better than that.

Absolutely no way I'd pay it. Do you have anything in writing about them not providing care, making it impossible for him to be able to go? You need as much evidence as possible. It's likely you could fight it directly with the LA before it even gets to court. You could even get a free 30min consultation with a solicitor, if it came to it. You could also try checking on ChatGTP to see what that says about the situation.

Honestly think the school are atrocious to neither adjust the trip to work for your child nor agree to sign off on you making an alternative trip to do similar activities as an authorised absence. If you went in and said I’ve found a solution so DC can participate in similar activities and not be excluded on grounds of their disability would they make an exception and agree its authorised absence?

But the rules are ridiculous! Why are people in England just putting up and shutting up with this ridiculous system that the rest of the UK don't have to put up with? I wish more people would challenge this, then maybe there would be a slight chance of it getting abolished.

If you can show that your child wasn’t able to attend due to no attempt to make reasonable adjustments you might win in court.

If you declined to go and booked a holiday with no attempt to engage with school to make it accessible you will lose.

I did engage both with school and LA no one provided me with alternative solutions other than I could attend but other children can’t.

The school aren't able to accommodate his needs to allow him to attend the trip, mum books a similar trip at the same time that can accommodate his needs. He'll get to take part in the type of activities that his classmates are accessing. Why should you be penalised for doing this? Maybe have a look at the Disabilities Discrimination Act to see if school are meeting their obligations under this. Does he have an EHCP? Can they opt out of what this should be providing for a week?

I completely understand what you are saying. Although the rule is your child had to be at school as they were not attending the trip. They surely would not authorise a holiday.

I'd say if you can get evidence they did nothing to make this trip possible for your child , what was their reasoning for being unable to make it possible to accommodate dc needs? You could possibly build up some kind of case with evidence. It might not ho very far but if it doesn't, isn't it double you'd then have to pay

... because she took her child in holiday in term time.. simple.