Two parents have hit out at being fined a whopping £480 for taking their children on holiday during term time, describing it as a punitive punishment.
Paul Benson said the current system of fines was 'unfair' and that holidays during school term times were 'significantly' cheaper. Mr Benson and wife Jessica took their children, Ruby and George, who are currently at primary school, to Florida twice and were fined £240 on each occasion.
They were given warnings before their last trip, in September, that it would have a detrimental effect on their children's education. "My wife is a hospital theatre nurse who worked during the Covid crisis and they have a massive backlog of operations they are doing at the moment and it is difficult for us to get time off when we can all go together," he told YorkshireLive.
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"It’s not like they are truant students, they might have had a two week holiday and two or three sick days. It’s significantly cheaper to go outside term time. A family of four like us to go to Florida during the summer holidays - we’d never be able to afford it.
"“To go in August you can be looking at twelve grand, but then a week or two later in September its £3,700, so you think: ‘Well we’ll take the fine’. If you can’t afford to go during the holidays, you are penalised for it, that’s how it makes you feel."
Mr Benson, from Redcar, said they have reconsidered doing it again after the school warned them about their kids attendance. "But I work hard full-time and my wife works for the NHS so why can’t we have that entitlement to go on a holiday?" He added.
"We seem to be one of the few countries in the world that has this system [of fines], it seems unfair, and should be properly approached on a case by case basis. If you are taking the mick with poor attendance to start with, maybe you shouldn’t be granted that holiday, but if you are not abusing the system you should be entitled to take a family holiday when you want without being fined.
"It’s a time to bond and for children to learn new life skills."
Redcar and Cleveland Council, who issued the fines, said they would review the current criteria for issuing fines after looking at this case. Around £57,000 in fines was collected by this council in 2019/2020.
Department for Education guidance means local councils have to draw up and publish a code of conduct for issuing fines for non-attendance to be adhered to by schools, local authority officers and the police.
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