Kids missed 3wks school, council taking me to court!

DappledThings · 26/09/2025 13:01

https://www.gov.uk/school-attendance-absence/legal-action-to-enforce-school-attendance explains some of the options. Did you not check the legal ramifications of missing such a big proportion of the year? It will have taken their attendance down to about 90% for the year by my rough calculation.

School attendance and absence

You can be prosecuted if your child has unauthorised absence from school - truancy, help with getting your child to school, and legal action to enforce school attendance

https://www.gov.uk/school-attendance-absence/legal-action-to-enforce-school-attendance

DarkLion · 26/09/2025 13:02

I’m not sure why you’re gobsmacked as 3 weeks is a long time, it’s not like you’ve only gone for a week

CaptainMyCaptain · 26/09/2025 13:02

I expect the fine will be issued by the court. It will be the LA doing this, not the school, because it's the law..

SriouslyWhutNow · 26/09/2025 13:04

Why did you need to take them on so much holiday during term time? Why didn’t you do what everyone else does and do a week during the actual holidays? The time allocated for going somewhere. Education is compulsory and the consequences are well publicised. That’s a combined 6 weeks of lost learning, no wonder the council are taking a dim view. There are kids in other countries who would give their right arm for the free education in the UK and you’re spaffing it up a wall going off on jollies, it beggars belief.

OneChirpyAmberShark · 26/09/2025 13:04

Well you could have lost your places at the school so I'd be grateful that the school did not seek to remove them from the roll. This government ,and in truth the government before too have made school attendance something that is closely watched. Schools get judged on absence at OFSTED inspections. The truth is you chose to take your children out of school for three weeks. That clearly meets a threshold to be prosecuted. Now you have to decide if to spend money defending your decision or plead guilty.

MidnightPatrol · 26/09/2025 13:04

Three weeks is quite a long time…!

WhenIAmKing · 26/09/2025 13:04

Honestly did you not look into this before you went?

I mean all you can do is plead guilty, because you are. It’s a significant chunk of unauthorised absence. Apologise to the court, say you won’t do it again, and then expect to pay a fine I guess.

FruitFeatures · 26/09/2025 13:05

They’re probably using the single justice procedure to prosecute you in the magistrates court. You’re not supposed to take kids out of school for holidays so not sure what you expected. You need a solicitor.

hydriotaphia · 26/09/2025 13:05

Ultimately you need a solicitor to advise you on your options.

Original poster

Questionairballoon · 26/09/2025 13:05

DappledThings · 26/09/2025 13:01

https://www.gov.uk/school-attendance-absence/legal-action-to-enforce-school-attendance explains some of the options. Did you not check the legal ramifications of missing such a big proportion of the year? It will have taken their attendance down to about 90% for the year by my rough calculation.

Yes I’m reading through this site now! Have just been reading through a few resources online.

Honestly with their generally good attendance and the fact that it was the last three weeks of school (which the teachers themselves said is only important from the handover side, going into a new class etc. meeting the teachers… work-wise there’s nothing much at all happening and even my kids’ friends talked about how fun the last few days were with movies and colouring!) I just assumed it was not as bad as taking 2 weeks of leave during the middle of the school year.

We don’t take holidays during the school year but I assumed this was a less-bad possibility and the worst I’d get was a fine.

I’ve never actually been fined before (not the first holiday) so it’s not like I’ve got a record.

OP posts:

Ionlymakejokestodistractmyself · 26/09/2025 13:05

CaptainMyCaptain · 26/09/2025 13:02

I expect the fine will be issued by the court. It will be the LA doing this, not the school, because it's the law..

Yes attendance is not managed by the school nor their responsibility to stop you being fined. They simply report it. It's on you.

It's also a bit cheeky to expect teachers to give you work to do / tell you what to cover on their own time because you are taking your kids on holiday.

Doseofreality · 26/09/2025 13:06

If you want the state to provide an education for your child, sadly you have to march to their beat and can’t pick and choose when you attend.

menopausalmare · 26/09/2025 13:06

I'm surprised you're surprised.

ThreeTescoBags · 26/09/2025 13:07

We don’t take holidays during the school year

Evidently, you do

DappledThings · 26/09/2025 13:08

Questionairballoon · 26/09/2025 13:05

Yes I’m reading through this site now! Have just been reading through a few resources online.

Honestly with their generally good attendance and the fact that it was the last three weeks of school (which the teachers themselves said is only important from the handover side, going into a new class etc. meeting the teachers… work-wise there’s nothing much at all happening and even my kids’ friends talked about how fun the last few days were with movies and colouring!) I just assumed it was not as bad as taking 2 weeks of leave during the middle of the school year.

We don’t take holidays during the school year but I assumed this was a less-bad possibility and the worst I’d get was a fine.

I’ve never actually been fined before (not the first holiday) so it’s not like I’ve got a record.

Show quote history

Unauthorised absence is still unauthorised absence. Whether that's a day they have an exam or it's a day of boardgames and dancing because it's the end of term. You have 60 sessions of unauthorised leave between the two children. That's a lot.

KookyRoseCrab · 26/09/2025 13:08

I really cannot answer this as I live in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 but if it’s to party on a Spanish/Turkish island that’s a no no but to meet relatives that they may never see again that’s different, seeing how families blend together is definitely a win win

Original poster

Questionairballoon · 26/09/2025 13:08

Ionlymakejokestodistractmyself · 26/09/2025 13:05

Yes attendance is not managed by the school nor their responsibility to stop you being fined. They simply report it. It's on you.

It's also a bit cheeky to expect teachers to give you work to do / tell you what to cover on their own time because you are taking your kids on holiday.

Show quote history

oh no, I didn’t ask the teacher for work! I just mentioned that I didn’t want to disappear without notice or pretend they’re off sick, I told them we are leaving early and if there’s anything they’d like me to cover (other than the allocated online work that all children get) if my child was struggling in any area then could I be on top of it. They said both children are fine, just do the online stuff, nothing special.

OP posts:

HelloGreen · 26/09/2025 13:08

For context, their attendance is always good. Only time they ever miss school is when poorly.
…and for a three week holiday…

MidnightPatrol · 26/09/2025 13:08

I don’t think they wind down for three full weeks.

The last couple of days maybe - they missed a quarter of the term.

Pyjamatimenow · 26/09/2025 13:09

Lord 3 weeks. That’s ridiculous! I’m not suprised they’re taking you to court

UnlimitedBacon · 26/09/2025 13:09

3 weeks is masses of time off. Even towards the end of term. Yes they are still learning, even through play. Especially at that age. I mean I don’t particularly like the rigidity around school absence but 3 weeks is a quarter of a term! A couple of days, is doable but 3 weeks?? Of course you were going to get into trouble!

StarlightRobot · 26/09/2025 13:09

Honestly, I think it was just so unreasonable to take them out for three weeks for a holiday. I would love to have a three week holiday but I haven’t ever had anything like that with my kids. We go away for a week in the summer when it is expensive, we can’t afford anything longer than that. For the cost of three weeks in term time, you could have taken a week’s holiday somewhere nice in the holidays. Imagine if all parents did the same as you- it was really unreasonable and entitled.

Deepbluesea1 · 26/09/2025 13:10

Questionairballoon · 26/09/2025 12:58

Hi all,

I am very unsure about what to do.

DC aged 6 and 8. I took them on holiday this summer. missed the last 3 weeks of school (July 2025).

For context, their attendance is always good. Only time they ever miss school is when poorly. They enjoy going. Last time we took them on holiday they were 3 and 5 and they missed maybe 2 weeks of nursery/school.

Before we left this time, I emailed the head teacher and spoke with the staff partly to apologise and also to find out what they might miss for the last 3 weeks so I could cover with them if needed. For what it’s worth, both kids do well in school. Teachers wished us happy hols and we left on a positive note.

The holiday was 2 weeks in Europe and 2 weeks in America. They had some fantastic experiences and got to meet relatives who live abroad. We were back in August, they had almost a month to recoup and then back to school business as usual!

We expected a fine but got nothing. This week, I’ve received a court order telling me to expect paperwork where I’ll be “pleading guilty or not guilty”.

I’m gobsmacked tbh. Has anyone been in this situation? Any advice at all? I don’t even know what to say!

what did you expect? If you didn't get the leave pre-approved (we had it once due to a very unusual circumstance) then there are consequences. It also 3 while weeks. I mean, what were you thinking?

Balloonhearts · 26/09/2025 13:10

There is nothing you can do, just plead guilty. Surely you checked the legal ramifications of taking them out for the best part of a month?

From what I just read you could get a fine of up to £2,500, a community order or a jail sentence up to 3 months. The court could also give you a Parenting Order.

DollopOfFun · 26/09/2025 13:11

Well yeah, that's what the LA's do, I'm surprised that you're as unaware as you are.

To be fair, if they've had three weeks this year, two weeks last year (?) plus any sickness days, their attendance isn't really that great