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 ?

Have you spoken to the head? Otherwise I would call in sick, it might be obvious but if it avoids a fine and the head won't make a stand for you then it leaves little other choice. You could say they were too tired.

It’s not simple though is it ?

I just want to be clear for you that the 'burden' of reasonable adjustments rests with the school not you as the parent. As long as you, at some point, have given school all the necessary information about your child’s condition and what they can and cannot do then there is absolutely no responsibility or requirement for YOU to be the one making the trip accessible. That includes any suggestion of accompanying them on the trip, etc. Unfortunately most schools have very little knowledge of the nuances of SEN and Disability laws.

I would argue with the school that this is a reasonable adjustment and that you are effectively supporting them to make their reasonable adjustments as outlined in the Equalities Act.

If the 1-1 won't be at the school then surely your DC can't attend that week regardless?

The school are taking the rest of his class on a very similar trip during term-time. Discrimination.

But they will be if the child attends school...

Good luck in the courts.

You need to separate the fairness of them excluding your child from this trip vs. being allowed to take a term time holiday. Them being unwilling to accommodate can be challenged via other mechanisms, but it doesn’t give you the right to a term time holiday.

Have you had an explicit recent conversation, verbally not by email, about whether they could authorise in these very specific circumstances?

I would try arguing that it's not even a holiday. It's you providing the same educational opportunities as the other students are getting. Our school has exactly the same blanket rule about holidays but my DC still has authorised leave for trips (with us) that align with objectives on his EHCP. The blanket rule is county wide but staff members still will work in the child's best interests when they can. There will probably be some text somewhere about the benefits of going on these residentials. Quote it back in your argument that you're not doing a holiday, you're meeting educational objectives. But keep is polite and collaborative.

Alternatively could you bring your child in for one session, Mon morning or Fri pm, to get the mark on the register and avoid tipping into the fine? Again if you have it in you, I would really encourage you to work will them rather than letting it get antagonistic unless it's too late for that.

I would call in sick and not care if it was obvious. However, if you don't want to do that I would pay the fine because it's highly unlikely you would win in court so why put yourself through it.

I do think you have a disability discrimination case against the school though.

My son isn't able to attend his residential due to medical reasons too. We've booked a holiday and he's going to be ill, I don't care how obvious it may look to be honest.

He's missed out on so much and it isn't fair.

If OP says she's happy for DC to attend trip if the school can facilitate adjustments necessary right up until the time of the trip. Then that's on the school if they say no when it comes to the time to go.

Issue with this is part is I didn’t pay for it which was due months ago because it wasn’t an option.

Morally completely agree that you are right and it’s ridiculous to consider fining you. It does sound like to the letter of the law this might not fly and might be very stressful and cost you more money.

I think this needs intercepting BEFORE any fine is issued. I know they said no exceptions but this is really quite the exception. I actually would start with going to the head and explaining that no effort was made to make it possible for your child to attend. They offered for you to come for the day but the trip is 4 hours away and you are a single parent with other children. Your child is already missing out and yes school is open but he’d be being babysat in another class. You can replicate as best you can the learning the other children would be having, this is absolutely an exception and please could they make an exception and not subject you to fines. Please could the head think like a human and allow this to go through as authorised absence and save the headache of you pursuing it officially.

Are your other children school age? That might be the sticking point…

Please tell me you have it in writing that they've said they can't/won't accommodate your dc. And that you wrote/emailed suggesting if it was close you could pick-up/collect...

I possibly think that asking for a night nurse to be provided would be prohibitively expensive wherever the trip was, therefore NOT a REASONABLE adjustment. Them arranging a trip more close by so that you can collect IS a REASONABLE adjustment which they have refused.

If you have documented evidence it could be a clear case of disability discrimination.

Would I risk court? I dunno. I WOULD be making a formal complaint to the governors and escalating to the LEA though, with a threat that you're seeking advice about disability discrimination and contacting the press...

So this was suggested right at the beginning but then it was announced and it’s 4 hours away 🙈

Whilst every other non disabled child was on a holiday dressed up as a school trip, yes that’s totally fair and non soul destroying fir the poor child

Sorry I can't add anything of any use as I'm not up on my educational law but I really hope you don't have to pay any fine. It seems ridiculous when your child can't go on the trip. A similar trip with the family will be a thousand times better for your kid than being the only kid in the year group in school that week... Feeling left out.

Yes I know it's the local authority not the school who impose the fines and rules, but surely the school doesn't HAVE to report the absence as unauthorized, especially in this particular circumstance....

One of my kids had very bad anxiety for various reasons...and really didn't want to go on their residential. The alternative was to attend school in the year group below. She didn't know anyone in that year and would have been the only one not going. That made her anxious too. In the end I made her go and I regret that to this day. She returned home in a shocking state. She learnt nothing, other than she was right to be anxious about it and she vowed never to do anything like it ever again.

In hindsight life is too short, I wish we had done the same.. fine or no fine!

I would let the school know that if they pursue a fine then I would pursue a complaint of disability discrimination for not making the trip accessible.
I’m sorry for your DC having to miss out on this opportunity with his peers. I’m glad you’re making it up for him.
I have a DC in similar circumstances and we have taken him out on holiday and although the school said they wouldn’t authorise the absence, they also said they wouldn’t pursue a fine, because they understood.

I would be taking my child out of school and taking them on a family trip assuming you have adequate evidence that the school is unable to accommodate child in the trip due to their disability. If they fine you for no attendance take it to court as disability discrimination for him not be allowed to go on trip in first place

Let the school know that you will pay the fine and you will open a case against them for disability discrimination for not attempting to include your child on the trip. Tell them that you will not pursue that case if they work with you to ensure your child's experience is as close as possible to what their classmates are doing, you will commit to creating a photodiary of evidence that the educational impact was similar to satisfy the requirement that the school must be providing supervision/oversight, and they mark your child as "educated elswhere" (code B) on the register rather than unauthorised absence. If they don't do that, unleash everything that you can on them for discrimination. Leaving a child out like that is cruel.

They can only fine you if you miss 10 sessions (5 days) in 10 week rolling period.
if it’s a uk holiday, send your child in to wave they goodbye and get the Monday am mark. Take him out at lunch, and you have then only missed 9 sessions.
So you won’t be liable for any fine.

You can't be strong and wrong. Pay the fine.
Why didn't YOU make it more possible for them to go on the trip? You clearly had time to go away yourself?

Mine can't go to their residential for a similar reason and was allowed to have the time off, we're taking them somewhere else. School should look at this one differently, did you challenge them and not making it possible for your child to go? Isn't it discriminatory?