School Fines - Discrimination Against The Family Unit

[Resident 1,193]

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/feb/29/fines-children-england-to-rise-33-percent-unauthorised-absence

The fines for non-attendance in term time, basically taking kids on holiday in term time are to increase from £60 to £80. 

What people are not told until the DoE threatens parents is that these fines are per child, PER PARENT. Meaning that a two-parent family is fined TWICE that of a single parent family simply because both parents stuck around. 

This, to me, is utterly unfair and discriminates against 2-parent families. Doubling the fine because both parents are present in a child's life is dispicable. 

It get worse too, if you ignore the fines then both parents are taken to court INDIVIDUALLY and prosecuted separately for the single offence. How is the law allowing this? 

Additionally the DoE recently & covertly scrapped an allowed for parents who work in industries where they do not get to choose when their annual leave is, one of the caveats that was mandated by the courts when the policy was introduced. 

[RollingJ 2,043]

I don't have children, but I totally agree the new policy is totally, badly skewed/thought out. Whoever thought of it needs to go back to school.

[Chekhov 488]

8 minutes ago, Resident said:

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/feb/29/fines-children-england-to-rise-33-percent-unauthorised-absence

The fines for non-attendance in term time, basically taking kids on holiday in term time are to increase from £60 to £80. 

What people are not told until the DoE threatens parents is that these fines are per child, PER PARENT. Meaning that a two-parent family is fined TWICE that of a single parent family simply because both parents stuck around. 

This, to me, is utterly unfair and discriminates against 2-parent families. Doubling the fine because both parents are present in a child's life is dispicable. 

It get worse too, if you ignore the fines then both parents are taken to court INDIVIDUALLY and prosecuted separately for the single offence. How is the law allowing this? 

Additionally the DoE recently & covertly scrapped an allowed for parents who work in industries where they do not get to choose when their annual leave is, one of the caveats that was mandated by the courts when the policy was introduced. 

I agree, apart from the fact I vehemently disagree with fines for taking ones kids out for a week or so per year (after all, they thought it acceptable to shut the schools for 7 months during covid : hypocrites....) it is ludicrously unfair how families with two parents living together are made to pay twice as much. What kind of message is that sending ?

[The_DADDY 3,477]

8 minutes ago, Resident said:

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/feb/29/fines-children-england-to-rise-33-percent-unauthorised-absence

The fines for non-attendance in term time, basically taking kids on holiday in term time are to increase from £60 to £80. 

What people are not told until the DoE threatens parents is that these fines are per child, PER PARENT. Meaning that a two-parent family is fined TWICE that of a single parent family simply because both parents stuck around. 

This, to me, is utterly unfair and discriminates against 2-parent families. Doubling the fine because both parents are present in a child's life is dispicable. 

It get worse too, if you ignore the fines then both parents are taken to court INDIVIDUALLY and prosecuted separately for the single offence. How is the law allowing this? 

Additionally the DoE recently & covertly scrapped an allowed for parents who work in industries where they do not get to choose when their annual leave is, one of the caveats that was mandated by the courts when the policy was introduced. 

Schools fining parents has always been outrageous in my view. I mean, who the hell do they think they are?. If my kids were still at school there is no way I'd pay a fine if I decided to take them out and on holiday for a few weeks. 

My kids. My choice.

As for fining BOTH parents? 

Yes, I agree it definitely seems even more outrageous. Schools need to realise they aren't the parents,  they are employed to educate and that's it. 

[HeHasRisen 3,410]

Ah, this thread was just yet another excuse to shoehorn Covid onto the forum wasnt it?

[hackey lad 3,987]

1 minute ago, HeHasRisen said:

Ah, this thread was just yet another excuse to shoehorn Covid onto the forum wasnt it?

No , the OP never mentioned it.

[HeHasRisen 3,410]

Just now, hackey lad said:

No , the OP never mentioned it.

My mistake, I thought he started the thread too .

 

Carry on everyone.

[RollingJ 2,043]

You know what thought can do, especially if you jump on something, without thinking?

[HeHasRisen 3,410]

44 minutes ago, RollingJ said:

You know what thought can do, especially if you jump on something, without thinking?

We all misread things mate. Even you. 

[RollingJ 2,043]

6 minutes ago, HeHasRisen said:

We all misread things mate. Even you. 

Yes, dear. 😀

[abbeyedges 84]

We have had the 6 week holiday structure for generations. It needs changing.

 

Many in the tourism industry has to make the most of a 6 week window.

 

If the 6 week holiday (there is an argument to reduce it to 4) was spread over more weeks in tghe summer across the country then this would give the tourism industry a larger window in which to operate and offer more competitively prices accordingly. 

 

Alternatively reduce the 6 weeks holiday to 4 and then allow parents the opportunity of using 2 weeks in a given school year to take an affordable family holiday.  

[Andy_terrier 69]

it also affects parents who have split up if they have joint "responsibility" for the children as they could take the children to school if you are on holiday.  They would get fined too.

 

The whole school day needs shaking up - not just the holiday times.  I think schools should look at extending the days to closer to working times which would help working parents, get kids of secondary school age more used to working life and provide them with time to do their "home"work in the environment where they would be most productive - the school!