I’m considered a criminal because I took my kids away to Thailand for a week during term time – the £320 fine is a joke
A MOTHER has revealed that she is now being considered a criminal because she took her kids on holiday during term time.
Tash, a mother from the UK, explained that she and her husband went with their children to Thailand for two weeks in October – one of which was during the half term and another which was not during the school holidays.
But after their amazing, once in a lifetime trip, Tash was met with a whopping £320 fine, leaving her fuming.
Raging at the ‘joke’ fine, which sees each parent charged £80 per child for time off outside of term time, Tash took to social media to share her frustration at the letter she received from the council after she took her children out of school for seven days.
Clearly not impressed, Tash said: “£80 per parent, per child, so apparently me and my husband are criminals now because we wanted to give our children a once in a lifetime experience.”
Tash claimed that the fine was for seven days of school absence, but one of her children, Lucy, in fact only missed six days.
Following this, the content creator questioned: “And what did they miss? A few spelling tests, some work sheets about rocks – brilliant.
“Meanwhile, in Thailand, my kids were learning about an entirely different culture – they saw temples, met people from halfway across the world, tried new foods, swam with tropical fish, learned about the Asian elephants and their history, even fed them, they even learned some Thai phrases, but no, according to the system that’s not valuable education.”
Tash stressed that her kids learnt more in Thailand than what they would have whilst in school, as she praised their trip for teaching her youngsters life skills, as well as more about history, geography and empathy, which she claimed “you can’t teach in a classroom”.
Tash acknowledged that she will pay the fine because the system says she has to, but admitted she “absolutely” does not regret it.
Tash then questioned why there isn’t any flexibility with this ‘joke’ of a rule.
The Department for Education (DfE) revealed statistics that showed 443,322 fines were issued for unauthorised school time holidays in 2023/24 – a sharp increase from the 356,181 the previous year.
The DfE website reads: “Every moment in school counts and days missed add up quickly.
“Evidence shows that pupils who have good attendance enjoy better wellbeing and school performance than those who don’t.
Apparently me and my husband are criminals now because we wanted to give our children a once in a lifetime experience
Tash
“In the majority of cases, schools and local authorities will try and provide support to help you improve your child’s attendance first, but if this isn’t effective or the absence is for unauthorised term time holiday, parents may face paying a fine.”
Tash also stressed that she isn’t saying education isn’t important and explained that she is the first one to help her kids with their homework and make sure that they are doing well.
But despite this, she argued: “Surely there’s some room for some common sense here? A parent/teacher agreement, because at the moment, I feel like we’re being punished for trying to give our children a richer life.”
She went on and asked her TikTok followers: “Has anyone else been fined for taking their kids on holiday? I’d love to know, because I bet I’m not the only one that thinks this whole system is ridiculous.”
What school fines can parents receive?
THE main issue that can lead to parents receiving a fine is missing school.
Currently, it’s the decision of the local council whether or not to issue a parent a fine for their child missing school.
However, from August this year, the fine for absences will up to the school to consider – when a child has missed 10 or more sessions for unauthorised reasons.
And the fine will be £80 if paid within 21 days, or £160 if paid within 28 days – this is issued to EACH parent.
It’s the first time the fine has been increased since 2012, and is in line with inflation.
If a parent receives a second fine for the same child within three years, this will automatically be charged at the higher rate of £160.
Fines will be capped at two fines within a three-year period.
After this limit has been reached, prosecution or a parenting order may be considered.
According to the official government website, there are only five reasons your child should be absent from school if the school is open.
These are as follows:
- Your child is too ill to attend that day
- You have asked in advance and been given permission by the school for your child to be absent on that day due to exceptional circumstances
- Your child cannot attend school on that day because it is a day you are taking part in religious observance
- Your local authority is responsible for arranging your child’s transport to school and it is not available on that day or has not been provided yet
- You are a gypsy/traveller family with no fixed abode, and you are required to travel for work that day meaning your child cannot attend their usual school
Big divide
The TikTok clip, which was posted under the username @mother_stress_head, has clearly left many open-mouthed, as it has quickly racked up 82,300 views.
But social media users were left totally divided by this mother’s clip – whilst many were eager to agree and slam the ‘ridiculous’ rules, others weren’t quite as on board.
Ridiculous. This really annoys me
TikTok user
One person said: “You’re lucky you’ve just got a fine, I’ve been taken straight to court.”
Another added: “You are very right.. more can be learnt outside the classroom.”
A third commented: “Ridiculous. This really annoys me, they will have learnt so much in Thailand – incredible experience for them.”
Wouldn’t even dare think of taking my kids out of school, it’s the most important time in their life
TikTok user
However, at the same time, one woman snapped: “Rightly so. There are enough school holidays.”
A second chimed in: “Meanwhile they missed seven days of curriculum so will be behind their peers, how will they catch up! Take them during summer!”
Whilst someone else wrote: “Wouldn’t even dare think of taking my kids out of school, it’s the most important time in their life.”
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