“Nothing to fear”, says a man at the centre of a legal battle around his daughters term time holiday.
Jon Platt, from the Isle of Wight, was taken to court by the local Council after refusing to pay the £120 fine for taking his six-year-old daughter to Florida in April, but the case was thrown out by local magistrates.
Having refused to pay a £120 penalty, at a magistrates’ court earlier this week, he successfully argued Section 444 of the Education Act required parents ensured their children attended school “regularly”, and did not put restrictions on taking them on holidays in term time.
I think it’s fair to say here that the approach to this needs to be twofold with common sense applied to leave requests and a big look at the travel industry as a whole. Many many parents, myself included, feel that some sections of the the travel industry are only out to make an even bigger buck.
So what would you do? Risk the fine and potentially save £2-3,000 off a family holiday or play by the rules and book during the half terms only.
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