Government to change law around term-time holidays
Jess Brown
Friday, May 13, 2016
The government has announced it intends to change the law around parents taking their children out of school during term-time to go on holiday after the High Court backed a father who refused to pay a fine.
Jon Platt, who took his daughter out of school for seven days to visit Disney World in Florida in April 2015 refused to pay a £120 fine for taking his daughter out of school for an unauthorised, term-time holiday.
Magistrates ruled he had no case to answer as, overall, his daughter had attended school regularly. But Isle of Wight Council pursued the case, asking the High Court to clarify whether a seven-day absence amounted to a child failing to attend regularly.
The High Court upheld the magistrates' decision was upheld, and the Department for Education has now said it will seek to change the law.
"The evidence is clear that every extra day of school missed can affect a pupil’s chance of gaining good GCSEs, which has a lasting effect on their life chances," a DfE spokeswoman said.
“We are confident our policy to reduce school absence is clear and correct.?
"We will examine today’s judgment in detail but are clear that children’s attendance at school is non-negotiable, so we will now look to change the legislation. We also plan to strengthen statutory guidance to schools and local authorities.”
The Local Government Association, however, has called for greater flexibility in the system.
"Families where parents work unsocial shift patterns, in the emergency services or whose jobs are tied to calendar commitments, can find that they are unable to take family holidays during school holiday periods," a spokesman said.
"There has to be a sensible solution whereby every family has the option to spend time together when they choose to, rather than tying families to set holiday periods.
“It shouldn't be that a tragedy has to befall a family for a child to get leave during term-time. There are many more joyous and positive occasions in life when consideration should be given to granting leave requests. These can have social and emotional benefits which are of lasting value and support to young people."
