A mum from Stoke-on-Trent took her daughter on a holiday, but it didn’t turn out to be anything like she’d hoped. The parent has been slapped with a fine after taking her child out of primary school for a holiday during term time.
The mum, who cannot be named for legal reasons, defended her actions by citing her daughter’s health condition which necessitated the break. North Staffordshire Justice Centre heard how their return journey was unexpectedly prolonged due to delays caused by a travel company going bust, resulting in the young girl missing an additional two days at her Stoke-on-Trent school in June 2024, reports Stoke on Trent Live.
Despite attempts to pay the initial £60 fixed penalty notice online, the payment failed – something the mother blamed on her dyslexia, confessing she didn’t realise a confirmation was required.
She said to the Magistrates: “I’m dyslexic and I didn’t realise you had to press a confirmation. The dates included school holidays – she was only absent from school a few days.”
Frustrated by the transport setback, she added: “I cannot be held responsible for a transfer company not picking me up. I spent every penny I had to get home.
“I have total respect for the law. But I felt my child needed a break with her family after all she had been through”
Records show that the student’s absence was an isolated incident, with her current academic year attendance marked at 87 per cent. In January 2024, the pupil’s mother had formally asked for leave from May 23 to June 7 to accommodate a family trip.
The mum received a £60 penalty from the courts and was also ordered to shell out a £24 surcharge. Magistrates’ chair Philip Taylor said: “You did try to make payment, but the responsibility is with you to make sure payment has gone through.”
On Monday, in a separate case, another mum copped a hefty £660 fine for her daughter’s absence from school between June 5 and June 13, 2024.
She was not in attendance during the hearing at North Staffordshire Justice Centre, with the proceedings being conducted in her absence.
The court heard how the school’s effort to ring the family on June 5 were unsuccessful, with a follow-up call the next day being greeted by an overseas dial tone. The mother later rang the school to say they were abroad for a wedding.
Before this episode came to light, the child was said to have managed an 85 per cent rate of attendance. In addition to the fine, the Stoke-on-Trent mum was ordered to pay a £264 surcharge and cover local authority costs totalling £92.78.
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
