Yorkshire mother fined for term time holiday says daughter learned more in Spain than school

A Yorkshire mother fined for a holiday abroad during term time claimed her daughter learned more in Spain than she would have done in school.

The mother said the £60 fine she received was nowhere near the cost of going abroad while schools were closed.

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Her daughter was educated in the Spanish language and culture during their stay and learnt things she would not have done if she stayed in school.

Hull parents fined for taking their children out of school for holidays during term time have said they would do it again because it still works out cheaper overall.

The mother was fined £60 for taking her daughter out of school during term time for a holidayThe mother was fined £60 for taking her daughter out of school during term time for a holiday
The mother was fined £60 for taking her daughter out of school during term time for a holiday

It comes as the city’s cabinet member for education said she was shocked at the number of fines being issued and pledged to look at a city-wide strategy to address the issue.

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Parents writing on social media claimed they saved thousands of pounds on holidays, despite being fined as much as £120 for taking children out of school.

Some blamed travel companies for jacking up prices during popular times of the year, which encouraged parents to take holidays when they were cheaper.

The debate follows the publication of figures from Hull City Council, which showed 34 parents were prosecuted and 937 received fixed penalty notices in 2021-22, 610 to parents of primary age children and 327 to those of secondary school pupils.

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A total of £33,660 in fines were netted during the same period.

The mother wrote in a Facebook comment that she felt her family needed a break after two years of coronavirus disruption. She agreed that school was important, but believed there were other things in the world children needed to see and be taught.

She said: “She learnt so much about Spanish culture, learnt some Spanish and tried lots of new foods. Secondly the £60 fine didn’t come close to the savings I made. I wouldn’t have been able to go if not during term time.”

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Other Hull parents also weighed in on the issue. One said she was being taken to court for taking her child out of school. She refused to pay the fine, she said, because she tried to get permission to go away but her child’s school never replied.

Steven Nelson said he was fined £120 for taking his two sons out of school for a week in June.

He said: “Saved nearly a thousand pound on the price of the holiday it would have cost me if I took them during the summer holidays. Will carry on doing so as it’s still much cheaper even with the fine.”

Coun Linda Tock, Hull City Council’s education portfolio holder, said she was shocked by the number of fines issued.

The council wanted to address the issue in a supportive way and it was looking at school policies on attendance to standardise their response to term time holidays, she added.

Coun Tock said: “I was really surprised that the number of fines has gone up so much in recent years. The issue is that some schools tend to be accommodating of parents and holidays and they’ll look at a child’s attendance record.

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“Others will just resort to a fine straight away, so there’s a disparity there. What I’d say to parents is that they really should speak to their child’s school to work something out that’s best for everyone. But because we know there’s a disparity, not only on term time holidays but also on how schools deal with attendance generally, we’re looking at a city-wide strategy to address it.

“There could be several reasons for people taking their children out of school for holidays, but it’s the law that children have to be in school and the local authority has to enforce that. I think there’s a conversation to be hand about the travel market and pricing.

“But the trouble is that if the time of holidays was moved they would just change the prices. If we try and change things the market would just change too.”

The FPNs were introduced in 2013 to crack down on holidays taken outside of school summer breaks.

Councils can issue FPNs worth £60 per parent, rising to £120 if not paid within 28 days. Parents who fail to pay after 28 days can be taken to court.