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

[Questionairballoon]

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!

In 2022 when the kids were 3 and 5….

Why don’t we just hand our kids over to the government to raise when they pop out?

The system isn’t that rigid though? OP could have done 10 days. She chose to do 3 weeks.

I never understood that one either.

If parents are seperated how can you hold the other reponsible for taking them out - I suppose you could get diffcult about passports but they could do a UK hoilday anyway.

The emphasis on attendace is pretty awful anyway - kids get ill and some schools with attendance problems often pick on the wrong families - not ones who don't care but one with ill or distressed kids.

Last primary did class attendance and it lead to one sick kid - serious underlying conditions - being bullied because their class missed out on rewards due to them - that lead to complaints and not just from the ill kids parents.

OP should have done more research - then her choice to do three weeks holiday would have been more informed but she didn't and now has to see where that leads.

You're getting such a hard time on here.
People take their kids on holiday all the time in term time, and in my opinion it's not a big deal. It's just a money spinner for the LA, nothing to do with children's access to education - otherwise private schools would also have to report / fine. But guess what? They don't! Not that their children would need to go out of term time though, if they can afford private school.
My friend works in a primary and the kids are often away in other countries for 6 weeks at a time on a regular basis, for family visits.
We took our reception aged child out for a week then last week of term before Easter - the teacher said they barely do anything that week anyway and was fine with it.
I know rules are stricter now, but if it's a first offence I'd have thought you'd just get fined. I don't think 3 weeks at the end of term, as a first offence, is that awful.
I plan to take my two out in a couple of years to do a big holiday, and whatever they miss in school I'm sure won't harm them for life. I think it's only an issue if the child is struggling or already has poor attendance tbh. Mine don't. Presuming yours don't either.
Sorry no advice though! I think this whole thing of fines and prosecution for taking our own kids on holiday is just fucking ridiculous tbh.

You're gobsmacked? What planet are you on!

It would mean more expensive breaks surely, if holidays were shorter? Also, different holidays in different areas does make things difficult for families, although in Scotland the holidays are different to England.

You took them out for three weeks - you did the crime, live with the consequences.

Define "need"... my DC have family abroad. Seeing them sometimes I would consider a need. Even if it only a want, are we not allowed wants? I don't want my kids growing up thinking the rules are the only important thing. There are no rewards for following all the rules. Balance is important.
It is a one off. Her children were not compulsory school age then.

The system doesn't allow any days.

No, there is something g OP can do - and that's get legal advice

Good point. Why don’t private schools have to comply in the interests of the children?

Usually for a first offense I assume it's a fine? Given it's a repeated offense I assume this is why it's a prosecution?

But it is, in my opinion. Just like mobile phone companies who refused to let us know when we’d paid off our physical phone and kept charging us the same rate. I get what you’re saying but if we can’t help when terms start and end and we can’t take our children out of school and we can’t afford the artificially hiked up prices that take advantage of the situation then we have to accept that our children can’t go on holiday. People don’t want to accept that, especially if they’re working full time and many people have to do the millions of jobs that pay minimum wage … so what do they do? Just hang around the park all summer in the pissing rain forever? And I’m not referring to Op here, I’m talking people who are just trying to get a week away. Supply and demand has to have some sort of limit. Remember £20 for one blue paper face mask during Covid? Is there to be no line when it comes to capitalism? And I understand what digital ID is about. Maybe one week a year as an allowance where you can take your child out of school without being penalised… could that be a solution. It’s not helpful having parents lie and say their child is sick. If the artificially hiked up prices can’t be dealt with … would a week within term time be reasonable? I don’t know.

Quite right too. Ridiculous to take kids out for 3 weeks.

I mean it makes no odds it was the last 3 weeks of school- that’s classed as 3 weeks whenever they were taken.

Is this a joke post as it’s obvious you’d get penalised and court is a possible? 3 weeks is huge. Im not saying k agree with them but it’s the rules .

thank you! Honestly I feel sick in my stomach thinking of a criminal record over a bloody holiday break.

i volunteer with a charity that specifically supports children and parents in my spare time, every single week. My entire career/passion has always been around children. Even my education/courses I’ve taken have always been around children! To think I’d have a criminal record for THIS is making me feel sick.

Because the rich MPs that set all the rules send all their kids to private schools. Probably!

I absolutely loathe rewards for attendance that some schools do. I particularly hate 100% attendance rewards and class ones because not everyone has control over things like that. Schools have a responsibility to promote a culture of good attendance but I don’t agree that this is the way to do it. Most kids will get some form of cold, flu or bug each year when attending makes them feel worse and risks passing it to others.

Thus creating a bunch of additional work for the teacher unfairly.

The teacher shouldn't have to do this. Multiply by every child that does this.

I won't get into the discussion on term time holidays.
I've taken my kids out for a week term time a few years ago.

I'm wondering if you've have missed a fine letter. My understanding was it only ended up at court if you ignored the fine. I didn't think it went straight to court.

the law is the law. just because you work with children does not mean you can take yours away from school for three weeks without permission. You had a six week holiday, just like the rest of us.

Three weeks is a very long time. Also, the school day consists of two sessions - AM and PM, so your children have missed 30 sessions each - that is a lot.

I appreciate that holidays in school holidays cost a lot more, but that’s life and we have to take that on the chin. School is mandatory and it’s important children attend, whether you feel they learn a lot in the last few weeks or not, it provides structure and routine and discipline.

The process is the process and when you made the decision to take your kids out of school, you should have been prepared to take the reproductions on the chin.

People who can’t afford to go on holidays don’t go on holidays. It’s not a human right that you need the government’s intervention. In fact, governments are stopping people going on holidays because it’s interfering with the locals basic right to housing.

Most places are super crowded and unpleasant because you are being forced to travel inside times stipulated by the education system. Hardly a shortage of people going on holidays.

The less government intervention all round is what is best for society. Social engineering is a failure.

If you knowingly broke the rules... You have to accept the consequences?

Why don’t we just hand our kids over to the government to raise when they pop out?

Quite!