Marked as unauthorised and fined

[anywherebutthere]

Long story short we booked a family holiday. The majority of it fell over the Easter holidays, but some of it fell the first week back.
In total we were planning to miss 9.5 sessions, which would mean we wouldn't be fined, as it's under 10 sessions.
We had a night flight home and landed at 7am. We live 15 minutes from the airport and had all intentions of getting the children to school that day. When we landed the barrage handlers were on strike and it took 2 hours for our luggage to appear. We phoned school numerous times to update them and to say the children would be late.
We finally got them to school at 9.45am (45 minutes late)
This lateness has now been marked as unauthorised even though it was out of our control and we are being fined £480. It was originally £240 but we are trying to contest it and school haven't been open as it's the holidays so has gone past the 2 weeks early payment amount.
Realistically if this goes to court then do we have a leg to stand on? I believe we should have been marked late or authorised for the 45 minutes they were late to school that day.

Oh OP, it was a good try but you got scuppered by delays. Take it on the chin and remember for next time.... lol.

I would chase up the incorrectly entered medical appointment though.

And you dont send your child to school for the first week of term at what age dis you decide they wouls be better off learning farming?
how very ecofriendly of you.
I am sure the teacher is delighted that you ensure that your child keeps up with the rest of the class and that you are not expecting the teacher to cover the class work your child has missed

WTF does their benefit or employment status have to do with YOU, OP?

Is this thread a wind up and you just threw a grenade in for more fun?

Irrelevant. Your kids missed school and were unauthorised absent.

Why does them being on UC have anything to do with it?

How do you know it wasn't authorised? How do you know they weren't fined?

Huh? Of course low income families can go on holiday...

not all holidays are ££££

Unfortunately you were scuppered, I would have just paid up, don't take it so close to the wire next time

Why is it irrelevant?

Why do we send children to school? Is school meant to be like prison with children locked inside or there to provide a basic rounded education?

The current system is clearly lacking and pretty inadequate when you compare education systems around the world or even against the U.K. private sector.

How many other countries rely on unqualified classroom assistants to teach their children?

Yet all you care about is ensuring that parents of motivated students pay pointless fines. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Why do you assume we’re farmers and why assume we take them out of school at the beginning of the year. How strange. 🤔

We’re both retired academics and DC was chosen to be part of the gifted and talented programme run by UCD, but we haven’t bothered because it’s too far to travel and frankly, DC doesn’t need it.

Do you really think that teachers provide extra tuition for kids who are taken out for holidays, sporting activities or even farming tasks? I don’t think that’s a common expectation.

The OP's children have missed school and their baggage which could have been delayed for hours was given higher priority to getting them (tired from travel) into school.

It is funny how the people who have had access higher education and children who can breeze through school sre the ones that are arguing that missing a week of school is not a problem.

You child has advantages that the child of a poorly educated adult lacks. How would your child cover the class work that is a building block to the rest of that years lessons and UCD if the teacher decided not to bother?

It is funny how the people who have had access higher education and children who can breeze through school sre the ones that are arguing that missing a week of school is not a problem.

This.

That's the bloody point!!! 🤦🏻‍♀️

What's the sense in treating every student exactly the same and applying a nonsense blanket rule that doesn't appear to provide any benefit to anyone, neither the teachers, children or the parents.

Why do we have these blanket rules?
What is the purpose of the punishment?
Does the punishment solve a problem?

I'm saying 'we' but of course I took my DC out of UK education as I don't think it's fit for purpose.

The whole fines thing is a very blunt instrument. It is questionable in many respects .But pity the poor schools trying to create a decent culture of attendance.

Because yes, attendance = outcomes

All these clever kids, missing school for enriching holidays and making wonderful memories with clever , involved parents who support them - of course a week probably won't matter to your kids!!!

Just glad that DS went to school when you could book 10 days off for holidays in school term.

So how will the OP get her children up to speed on the class work they missed?

Each week is a building block to finishing the course.

You think that the teacher is expected to ignore the fact that the child will not be able to do the spellings or maths or whatever was covered during the holiday. What happens when the child needed to understand what happened in class during the holiday to be able to engage in class for the rest of day?

Take a case similar to the OPs case
A child will be tired from traveling and can not participate in class and had already disrupted the class with a late arrival. The child cant to the class work

So what happens next?

And you lose them a week of school to have a jolly and make them go in after a night flight to avoid a fine. Not exactly a model parent.

Their attendance is 98% usually. We read every night, hand homework in on time every single week without fail, do all home learning we are asked to do.

That's great. You can probably help them make up the work if they need it👍🏻

But you still fell outside the rules. Which you totally knew about.

You knew exactly what you were doing. You cut it too fine. Shit happens .

What's the sense in treating every student exactly the same and applying a nonsense blanket rule that doesn't appear to provide any benefit to anyone, neither the teachers, children or the parents.

Why do we have these blanket rules?
What is the purpose of the punishment?
Does the punishment solve a problem?

Because what's the alternative, decide that attendance is optional for the naice wealthy families who present as appropriately middle class?
Or maybe attendance is optional if the children are more able, but if they're lower prior attaining then term time absences are a problem?
Issue fines based on whether staff in the playground think the family have money or not?
Or maybe judge it based on the holiday destination. If little Rufus is spending a fortnight in Italy where his parents insist he is getting high quality cultural experiences then that's approved but if Josh is going camping by the seaside a couple of hours away then sorry that's not approved because Clethorpes isn't an approved destination?

Statistically school attendance matter even more to those children from disadvantages backgrounds. Their outcomes make a difference on their life chances.

That's why attendance matters, and if parents are of the view that they don't care and want to take the holiday then they should suck the fine up if it's issued because that's their choice.

The 98% attendance is irrelevant to whether the child wasn't present for morning registration.

Same reason we have blanket rules in life...

It does seem that they were late that day rather than absent, so I would argue it on that basis.

They simply were not absent for 10 sessions. Absent for 9.5, late for 1.

It will depend on your LA’s policy, but it sounds as if you researched that.

However an extra taxi for a 15 min journey would presumably have been a lot cheaper. And airports have trolleys that take 4 bags.

The trouble is the law and practice is very clear, that if one is not present for the window that registration is open then one is absent and schools are required by law to register pupils at the start of the morning session, so there really is no room for debate on that.

Ah, OK, fair enough.