Court proceedings for school absence

[Targeted101]

Please bare with me, this is a long one!

My children's school instructed the Local Authority to issue me with a Fixed Penalty Notice in July of this year following an unauthorised absence.

For context, the absence was due to the children's dad taking them on a holiday for 5 days during term time. Dad and I are divorced, and have a very strained relationship. There have been previous Court Orders in place due to DV (perpetrated by him) and whilst he does maintain a good relationship with his children, our relationship is very dysfunctional.

Notably, there is no Prohibited Steps Order in place, so I have no legal power to stop him taking them out of the country (we have equal PR).

The school wrote to me informing me I was to be fined for this unauthorised absence and to expect a FPN from the Local Authority, which then arrived.

I contacted the Headteacher (who knows the extensive complex history and personal circumstances between dad and I) and confirmed that I had no part in this holiday - I didn't book it, pay for it, go on it or even consent to it! But ultimately, my lack of consent is a civil matter, not a legal matter.

She responded to say she would not be withdrawing the FPN as it sits with the Local Authority.

I then contacted the Local Authority, outlined the above, and was informed that FPNs are issued against 5 criteria and cannot be withdrawn, though they did advise me to go back to the Headteacher as criterion 3 states that FPNs are at the discretion of the Headteacher and are based on individual circumstances ie they can't cancel it, but the Headteacher can so to ask again.

I contacted the Headteacher again, and was contacted on the last day of term at 3.30pm to confirm she would not be cancelling the fine. Reasons given were largely she is following Local Authority policy & both parents are responsible for ensuring their children attend school. Again, I contested that 2 separated parents can be re-banded together as one party when our marriage and financial ties have been legally dissolved!

Fast forward, after raising this issue with my local MP, as well as the board of governors after unanswered emails from the school, the unpaid FPNs have now resulted in Court proceedings against me.

I have received a section 444(1) and I'm charged with failing to ensure my child attends school regularly (2 charges of this for 2 children).

The prosection case has been shared with me, and is full on material errors, including my name being spelt incorrectly in all FPNs, and incorrect recording of absences.

This 5 day period of absence was the first unauthorised absence they've ever had (year 5 and 6) since being at the school, but the attached Attendance Certificate has recorded another absence as unauthorised prior to this.

I've contacted the school again and asked for the incorrect data to be rectified (a 3 day sickness absence just before half term was recorded as unauthorised when it shouldn't have been. I followed the school policy and kept them off school for 48 hours following sickness & diarrhoea).

I've been told that they will not update thir record as, and I quote, my "ex husband told them we were on holiday" - they had called him during the half term week when we were actually away.

When I challenged this, I was then told "another pupil also said you were going on holiday". Again, we were, but not until the weekend and all days of the holiday were during the half term.

I have provided the school with confirmation of my holiday and I'm yet to hear back from them.

I intend to plead Not Guilty and include in my statement that I'm not the person the FPNs have been addressed to, and there are errors in the Attendance Cerificate which form part of their prosection.

I also have to highlight as this charge is a "strict liability" charge, there are only 5 accepted defences in Court. Only 1 of them potentially applies to me "unavoidable cause" i.e. I couldn't take them to school as they'd already left the country.

My question really is has anyone else experienced such extensive measures to prosecute a parent? I feel my individual circumstances are being totally ignored, that they're looking simply to prosecute and not support me, and of course this pending Court trial is causing significant distress.

My work means I travel abroad frequently, and therefore cannot have a criminal record.

The easy option would be to suck it up and just pay the fine, but I really don't see why I should have to when I had absolutely nothing to do with this absence!

It's also gone beyond that stage now as pleading guilty would mean I'm sentenced.

I'm concerned of this happening again in the future. If he decides to take them out of school again, and as I have no legal power to stop him, I potentially face all of this again.

Thanks in advance for reading, and please advise if you've experienced similar!

I can see how frustrating it must be for you then, hope you get some resolution, maybe the MP will get both FPNs revoked somehow.

@RandomPerson42 Why are you on this thread when you don't have any advice and are just nitpicking with the OP's choice of words and situation? She's been so patient with you but seriously this isn't AIBU.

Hi OP.
I work in this field and have done for many years. My advice would be to go to court and represent yourself to the magistrates and explain what you have explained here.

OP Is this going to small claims for the outstanding fine amount? If so, I would actually approach this from the point of view of the rules surrounding small claims: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/legal-system/small-claims/deciding-whether-to-make-a-small-claim/

The key one here is they actually need evidence that the money is owed and, from what you have said, you personally are not the person who incurred the fine and therefore should not owe the money.

If it gets to court, that is what you need to stay focused on. The original fine is invalid as you did not do the thing, and they have the burden of evidence to prove that you did. Do you have any emails or other paper trail that show the three days before the half term were a sickness absence, or did you get any medical appointments (or even a pharmacy receipt/bank statement) at the time? As these would show you were not on holiday during the first absence.

Going to the press is a good idea. The Guardian education editor is apparently open to being contacted with stories, so that might be worth a try.

Several points...

It is correct that both parents can be fined for an unauthorised absence. Most LAs won't fine a parent that has no involvement with the child at all. Some will not fine where it is clear that one parent is responsible for the absence. However, some will and the law allows them to do so.

Unless there is a CAO in place naming your ex as someone with whom your children are to live, he is committing a criminal offence if he takes your children out of the country.

You can (and probably should from the sounds of it) get a Prohibited Steps Order preventing him from taking the children out of school for a holiday.

I'm afraid the fact they spelt your name wrongly on the FPN is irrelevant. Despite what many people seem to think, this doesn't invalidate an FPN. As long as it is clearly for you, it is valid.

The incorrect recording of absence could help you. There is a good chance it means the FPN was issued contrary to the LA's Code of Conduct, which means it was invalid.

As they are prosecuting under section 444(1) rather than 444(1A), the worst you will get is a fine. However, the courts are generally realistic about real world situations. If you explain this to the court, there is a good chance the charges will be dismissed. Indeed, if you can get the LA to understand that the school incorrectly recorded a genuine sickness absence as unauthorised, they may drop the prosecution before it gets to court, although that is probably a long shot.

@friskybivalves No need for an apology. I am a man, but I rarely mention that in my posts. As most posters on here are women, it isn't surprising that many people think I am too.

No advice but best of luck.

What a bonkers system

I don't have any advice, but just want to comment that the UK pushes this compulsory attendance rule ridiculously far.

What a waste of time perusing this. If a child misses a lot of school, then yes, send a welfare officer to find out why. Help them work their back to better attendance. Social workers if necessary,mental health team, doctors notes or parental support.

But taking parents to court for a holiday is ludicrous.

Great advice! OP, fight this as its really unfair and I hope you win.

Thank you. I fear I'm going to have to, but with it being a strict liability charge with only 5 possible defences, I'm concerned "unavoidable cause" (based on dad removing them from the country) may not be strong enough. If I lose, I'm sentenced.

Thank you so much for your answer and for clarifying many of the questions raised so far throughout this thread.

I did wonder if the typo would be enough for a dismissal; would you advice against it? I've read conflicting case studies online and some have been successful, others not so much. If I did go down this road, is there a chance they would reissue the initial FPN? Or would it go straight to a trial if not dismissed?

An incorrect name on an FPN or court summons does not generally invalidate it provided it clearly refers to you. The prosecutor will usually be allowed to amend the details if necessary, provided doing so doesn't cause you any prejudice in the legal sense, which it doesn't appear to in this case. You should make it clear that your name is incorrect, but don't build up your hopes that this will get it dismissed.

Thank you.

Another question, if the school does agree to amend their attendance records, does this nulify the attendance certificate that was enclosed in the court notice?

That's something I need legal advice on as I'm not sure if local policy is the same thing as UK legislation.

The Headteacher can use her discretion and is able to consider indivual circumstances as per the LA policy, and has chosen not to

fight them and win!

Is there anything about the sickness absence with D & V for both children for the same 3 days immediately before your half term holiday that should cause concern? Could they have attended school on the last day of term and then travelled as booked? It appears you share care with your ex, did that mean you were in work on the days they had D & V while your ex was looking after them, or were you on holiday or off work through illness too? As a teacher, you don’t need anyone to tell you that two siblings with good attendance suddenly missing 9% of the academic year in junior phase with no significant underlying health conditions would appear concerning.

The D&V began on 25th May and as per the school policy, they had to remain off school for 48 hours following the last bout. This meant they were not allowed into school on the last day of half term.

When I challenged the unauthorised absence recording, the school confirmed they "tried to ring me" but I didn't answer. This was most likely down to me teaching at the time. No follow up call was made, no text message/email/voicemail was left for me, and I wasn't actually aware it was the school who tried to call as it was on a withheld number.

They then proceeded to ask my ex husband, who quite frankly, didn't have a clue of the specifics. He simply knew I was taking them on holiday in half term.

I should out that the 9% dip is only in relation to that specific term, and at that stage, it was half term, so not the overall academic year.

If you were teaching OP, you can also prove that you hadn't taken the DC on holiday during the school day as you were working. As well as having confirmation of the holiday booking starting on the Saturday.

As @BonnesVacances mentions, if you were in school teaching, then you can prove you had not left to go on holiday. However, if your ex wasn’t looking after the sick DCs, did you have someone in to care for them or were you WFH?

They would have to correct the certificate.

The children were being cared for by my mum during these 3 days so I could still attend work.

I feel I shouldn't have to prove I was NOT on holiday; its far more difficult to prove you were not somewhere than prove you were somewhere. I can't quite believe that providing confirmation of my flights which clearly show the holiday fell during the half term holiday is not enough?!

As this was a genuine sickness and reported as such to the school, its very hard for me to try & now prove they were sick 6 months later. It wasn't on my agenda to purchase medication for the purpose of having a receipt, or book a GP appt for the purpose of having an alibi... I simply kept my children off school as they had a stomach bug and couldn't attend.

If anyone can advise on this I'd be most appreciative... @prh47bridge do I need to have evidence or even prove we were in the UK and not abroad at the time of the incorrectly recorded absence?

Would the prosecution even seek to prove I was abroad (and obviously be unable to do so?)

If this whole 3 day sickness absence is resolved and the Attendance Certificate is updated, are there any grounds for "failing to attend school regularly" if it leaves only the 5 day absence in question?

Wrt the "unavoidable" defense -

You need to present evidence of all the domestic abuse you can document, all court orders, any arrests of exH, any prohibited steps orders issued against him with your safety as the reason. This is to demonstrate that he is not a normal, reasonable man who can be approached by his ex wife and asked not to take the children out of school for a holiday.

This puts the question of your responsibility into question.

You will need to show proof of your efforts to tell your exH not to take the children out of school during term time.

If your exH continues to thumb his nose at the court, doesnt respond to the summons, and doesnt show upnforbthe court date, you can suggest that this is further evidence of his uncooperative nature, and an example of his style of communication - i.e. unresponsive and oppositional.

I agree with the poster who has advised a prohibited steps order forbidding your H from taking the children out of the country without your express written consent. The same order would apply to you.

You also need an order prohibiting your ex from taking the children on holiday even within the UK, or keeping them out of school with documented medical reasons, during term time.

I think you need a solicitor.

You may need to file a motion requiring the school to change the attendance record. You may also need a motion filed requiring the school to list all of the reasons they have given you to accuse you of taking them out of school early. This should include reference to the hearsay of the little snitch that they are choosing to believe.

• without documented medical reasons

Yes, you need to have evidence that you were in the UK at the time of the incorrectly recorded absence. The court won't just take your word for it.