£60 each parent fine for sisters wedding

[Luckz66]

Desperate for advice please!!!!
Before the six weeks holiday I asked the head teacher of my sons school for permission to take him out of school for 5 days to attend my sisters wedding in Turkey. She verbally said if it was put into writing she couldn’t see any reason why this wouldn’t be granted as he has good attendance and in greater depth in his SATS.
I put this in writing the beginning of the new school year and had no reply. I wrote in again towards the end of September stating I had booked the flights etc and being as I hadn’t heard anything, permission had been granted. In the meantime the school has had a new headteacher and I have been issued with a fine for taking my son out.
Since 7th November I have been trying to get a reply from the head but only today after emailing the schools trust head have I been contacted stating that the fine still stands and I’ll have to pay it!
Any ideas on what I can do?
Thanks

It's pretty standard to have to pay a fine to take a child out of school tbh. I'd just pay it.

Do independent schools not have to follow this? My daughter's primary is very lax about term-time holidays and people take days out school for various things. Also most independent secondary schools have opening mornings mid-week and our school certainly allows absences to visit the schools. All the parents do is email the receptionist and it's put on the fike. Never any issues or fines.

On the file*

The fines are ridiculous anyway 🙄

You were never going to get 5 days for a wedding. You'll get a travel day, the wedding, and another travel day.

Pay the fine.

Surely as a parent governor you understand that heads cannot authorise holidays? 5 days in Turkey is a holiday.......

My cousin is a teacher in the same school her kids attend and she was granted 6 days at the beginning of sept for a family holiday in Spain! She and her two children were granted the time off

The fines are ridiculous, and so is any suggestion that you shouldn't be taking your kids out of school for wedding of a close relative (they wouldn't remember 5 random days of school in future but would never forget having to miss the trip if you'd left them home), but you're going to have to pay it or risk it going to court.

@littleorangecat22 It's not about what they remember later in life, you probably don't remember much from school now but that doesn't mean it wasn't important

I am on governing board as a parent governor.

Then you should know the rules surrounding term time holidays, and set an example.

The fine comes from the LEA not the school

If you want to challenge the policy pay the fine (so it doesn't double) then take it up with the school.

Why didn't you get your cousin to give the relevant person a nudge?

Pay it. As a Governor, you know the rules.

What happens if you don't pay the fine?

These fines sound ridiculous imo.

As a governor I am surprised you are trying to wriggle out of paying. Not a great example and you should just pay up.

What happens if you don't pay the fine?

Here, you'd get a day out in court and the fine would be doubled. If it was a slow news day you'd also be named in the local paper with a headline along the lines of "school governor fined for children truanting".

I am on governing board as a parent governor.

As a governor, as part of the GB, you would have agreed at the start of the year to adopt all your LA rules/regs/procedures. So I'm not sure how you can NOT know this!

Hmm. I agree with some others that it's pretty outrageous as a parent governor to take unauthorised holiday. Surely that's against your code of conduct? However, I thought that LAs were not allowed to fine unless the school has sent you a letter prior to the holiday saying that the leave would be unauthorised?

I thought that LAs were not allowed to fine unless the school has sent you a letter prior to the holiday saying that the leave would be unauthorised

You thought wrong. If you don't have a letter from the school saying the holiday is authorised, it is an unauthorised absence which may lead to a fine.

Do independent schools not have to follow this

No. Independent schools are outside the scope of the relevant legislation. However, some independent schools will expel children if there is a significant level of unauthorised absence.

The fines are ridiculous

They have had the desired effect of reducing unauthorised absence and persistent absence. So no, they are not ridiculous.

You need to resign as a governor. Honestly, your position is untenable, and you need to pay the fine. I’m astonished the chair hasn’t had a quiet word yet encouraging you to consider your position.

Actually governors don’t agree all the LAs policies at the start of the school year. We adopt new ones as they come along or revisions. However every Governor would know about these fines. It’s common knowledge.

Also 5 school days off is excessive for a wedding. There were two weekends either side. So 9 days were available. It’s a holiday and Dsis could have married at half term.

Just pay it and forget about it

Bubbles true, but generally governors have to sign something each year that says they agree to uphold all the school policies (whether new or existing).

phr47bridge I defer to you in all things! But I used to work in a school office and a couple of years ago we requested a fine but the LA refused because we hadn't sent the correct letter in response to the holiday request. From what you're saying, it sounds like they could have fined but chose not to? Is there more of a risk they'll need to prosecute without the right letters?? We were annoyed at the time, because the holiday really took the piss, but we just saw it as our own fault for buggering up the admin.

From what you're saying, it sounds like they could have fined but chose not to?

Absolutely. There is nothing in the legislation that requires the school to send a letter informing the parents that the holiday is unauthorised. So the decision not to fine was entirely down to the LA.

Is there more of a risk they'll need to prosecute without the right letters?

I suspect the LA is concerned about what might happen if the case went to court. If the parent has requested authorisation for the holiday and there is no written response the parent may claim that they received verbal authorisation. The existence of a letter refusing to authorise the holiday removes any doubt. My view is that, if this is the reason for their approach, they are being overly cautious - the courts have tended to view evidence from parents about verbal authorisation as unreliable. But there is nothing wrong with being cautious as long as schools know what the LA wants them to do.

No, elevendollarbills. I have never ever done this in 15 years of being a governor. We agree policies as they are revised and when they are presented to us via the Agenda either by the Head or the LA. We then adopt them with a date for revision. We do not do this every year for every policy . The policies are published and/or listed where appropriate so we know where to find them, as indeed do parents. Once adopted by us they are agreed and of course we stand by them and monitor their effectiveness. We then review, revise and monitor again as needs be.

Whatever policy the school has adopted regarding unauthorised absence should be followed for all pupils. Whether a parent is a governor or not makes no difference but of course the governor must stand by the adopted policy. They cannot be seen to be expecting a different outcome. I would also suggest that the policy should state if the response from the school should be written. In every case I am aware of, it has been a written response and an oral "agreement" would not be given. However this is never the business of the GB because it is delegated to the Head. It is day to day management. Governors would see the absence monitoring data, not which DC have been absent and why.