Fewer penalty notices issued in Suffolk as dad loses school-time holiday court case

The Supreme Court has announced its decision on unauthorised school absence. Picture: PA WIRE

Latest figures show that less penalty notices have been issued in Suffolk this year for unauthorised term-time absences – calculations show the number is likely to be down around 7% on the last academic year.

Jon Platt, from the Isle of Wight, took on the authorities after being fined £60, later doubled to £120 for non-payment, for taking his daughter to Disney World during school term-time without the school’s permission.

But after winning two court battles – magistrates found there was no case to answer, and two High Court judges later upheld the decision, declaring Mr Platt was not acting unlawfully because his daughter had a good overall attendance record of over 90% – his fight came to an end today in the Supreme Court.

There, five justices unanimously allowed an appeal by education chiefs against the earlier ruling that Mr Platt had not acted unlawfully.

Afterwards, Mr Platt said he was “not at all surprised” to have lost the Supreme Court battle, adding that schools now need to think “very carefully” about absence rules.

Latest figures revealed to this newspaper in a Freedom of Information request show that Suffolk County Council issued 2,998 fixed penalty notices to parents for taking their children out of school between the start of the academic year in September, 2016, and March 31 this year.

In the last full academic year, 2015/16, the council issued 6,008 penalty notices – around 115 a week on average.

With there still being a term to run this year and the busiest for holidays, if the average rate remains the same, the overall figure is likely to drop by around 7%.

During this current academic year, 20 out of 2,998 penalty notices have been brought to court, in which prosecution resulted in a parental contract being offered.

A parental contract requires a parent to ensure their child attends school over a specific period, with the local authority or governing body to provide support.

Last year, 867 of the 6,008 penalties were dealt with in court, and 36 parental contracts issued.

Graham White, from the National Union of Teachers (NUT), said: “The parental fines are not high enough to discourage term time holidays due to the difference in cost of holidays between term time and non term time. The NUT do not advocate parental fines as we believe they discriminate against the least well off. Parents need to be educated more on why school attendance is so important. Suffolk NUT hopes these figures continue to decrease.”

A Suffolk County Council spokesman said: “Any decision to authorise or not authorise a child’s absence lies with the headteacher of their school. Fixed penalty notices are issued as a result of a referral from their children’s school in line with the attendance policy of that school. Suffolk County Council’s policy is to support schools.”