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!

Of course it was an economic decision. Thats the point.
Will we visit family?
No we can't afford to.
Yes if we fly in lower season.

If they can't afford the tickets in mid July/August they will never see family again.

ETA OP print out the dates you had the online tutor. And print out loads of work pages and get the kids to fill them in so you can present them in court. Fight it.

This thread highlights the exact reason it goes to court and results in a criminal record. Because people don't care about a £200 fine. When it becomes 10k and a prosecution, suddenly school becomes a priority.

There are different rules for cautions and fines and timescales for when they are viewed as ‘spent’ unfortunately I think it’s a case of waiting and seeing the outcome
I do really sympathise with you- it seems a bit heavy handed to go straight to prosecution - my career is dependent on my enhanced DBS too - good luck

The problem is that won't be seen as an exceptional circumstance. The argument would be that you could have visited family at another time.
I guess a wedding, funeral, family illness, religious observance would be the only thing that could be seen as some sort of defence, as it would be a set date.

Were you in the US for the 4th July?

If you are off 3 or more times within 3 years it moves directly to court.
Have you had previous fines?

The court doesn't know any of that though, do they?

Regardless of whether it is morally right to take them out for 3 weeks, you need to get proper legal advice. It sounds like you are being taken to court. This makes it far more serious and you will have a criminal record if the court finds against you.

The referral is because her kids missed 3 weeks of school.
I'm struggling to understand your point.
If a child misses 12 weeks of school is that ok as long as they are travelling the world?
What about a child that needs to go for medical treatment to America - guess what it is authorised. No referral. Unless there is disagreement.
Also guess what some schools authorise and agree with parents that a holiday is enriching.
I have supported legally a parent that took their child out of school for a 1 week holiday. He would never had have that opportunity to go anywhere like he did.
The school agreed, we all agreed. The LA agreed.
What you are arguing is the right to take children out of school for however long at any time because that's what should happen. Just be logical. Noone is agreeing with the random generalised point you are trying to argue.

Also this is not a recent introduction, I'm not sure if you aware that this is like a decade in some places?
I'm tempted to ask if you've missed this on holiday. It's just getting silly.

I have recently been accepted for a degree in Social Work. This is the kind of work I am involved in. I feel like this harsh judgement is putting everything into jeopardy.

The OP sounds like a good enough parent to have weighed this all up. I can’t speak for her but I’m sure if she was planning on being abroad with them for 12 weeks they would have been enrolled in some sort of homeschooling.

All these posters who are demonizing a parent for doing something which is likely to be inconsequential to her children in the grand scheme of things.

Go find those parents who couldn’t care less, the OP doesn’t sound like that at all.

That isn't what I am arguing. I haven't said that at all.

I am saying that there is no reason to criminalise a single holiday. Some common sense and discretion should be automatic, not a privilege for those whose schools will accommodate.

For that you have called me a troll. Which is against mumsnet rules btw, a such a stickler you ought to know that.

It is putting in jeopardy because you will have a criminal record

Education is compulsory but school isn't. Obviously it's not ideal to take them out if they're in, and not actually home educated, but it isn't going to do them any harm. In fact probably a lot of good. There are learning opportunities everywhere, and I'd argue that the kids would benefit more from that kind of travelling and meeting relatives who live abroad than any amount of sitting in a classroom during the last three weeks of term, which are notoriously a bit a wind down at the end of the year.

Explain all of this in court. Along with the private tutor etc...

So why did you think the same would happen now they’re at school when you knew the last time was nursery and no fine was issued because of that?

That's recent. Unless you're about 12 years old a decade isn't a very long time.

And how on earth would the school or council know which parents are which? Maybe taking your DC out of school for 3 weeks shows that you don't much care about their education?

Because she is taking them on a family holiday… they are not shoplifting at the local asda.

Exactly. Its mindlessly lumping all absence in together which isn't remotely helpful.

I refuse to believe anyone is dumb enough to believe you can take not 1 but 2 kids out of school for 3 weeks with no consequences.

But how would you measure that? It’d come down to someone’s opinion and there’s no room for opinion in law. If there’s a law in place, it has to apply to everyone.

Does the reason they're out of school change how much school they miss? No.

children can start to go ‘unlearn’ things in the 6 week summer holiday so extending that time to 9 weeks was a very bad idea.

I was wondering if this was part of the reasoning of the LA - nine weeks is a long school free stretch.

A number of them take their kids out of school during the school year, whether its to celebrate a religious holiday, reunite with family, a funeral, a family illness

I think this really only applies to families of immigrant heritage (for want of a better expression!) where there is a cultural imperative and religious expectation. The timing of Ramadan, for example, changes annually and may occur in term time so allowances are made for that.The way the OP describes it is as an extended holiday which included seeing some family members who live abroad but no cultural/religious/traditional pressure to do so. It was about saving money, understandably.