A furious mum has slammed education bosses after she was fined £185 for taking her daughter out of school - despite two of her other children being cleared to miss lessons.
Rachel Lancaster, 34, from Staffordshire, wanted to take her three children on their first trip to see their grandfather in Spain and says she needed to travel in term time because of her son’s health problems.
She was granted permission to take her son, Tyreis Hancock, out of Loxley Hall School, in Uttoxeter, for a week last July, and Biddulph High School, where her daughter Chelsea Hancock is a pupil, also gave her the green light.
But Oxhey First School, in Biddulph - where her youngest daughter, Tinkerbell Lancaster, goes - denied her request.
Rachel, of Shaw Street, Biddulph, said: “My dad lives in Spain and I really wanted us to go over to see him. I don’t get to see him very often.
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“I’d never tried to take Tinkerbell over there before because she has problems with her breathing, but since she has been doing better I thought we would be able to manage it.
“Tyreis has autism and ADHD so he wouldn’t be able to cope with the crowds during the school holidays, and that wouldn’t make it a nice experience for the others either. So I wanted to take them for a week in July before the school holidays started.
“Tyreis’ school was fine with it, and so was the high school, it was just Tinkerbell’s school. I thought they would have been more understanding because her brother has a disability.”
Rachel went on holiday despite the school refusing permission. She was then dismayed to receive a £60 fine notice through the post - citing Tinkerbell’s ‘unauthorised absence’ - several weeks later.
She said: “I thought, ‘We all need a holiday’, and there was no other way round it. This was the first holiday we’d ever had as a family.
“I was angry to receive the fine. I called Staffordshire County Council and was advised how to appeal. I emailed the person I was told to but I never heard anything back. Then before I knew it, I had a summons to go to court.”
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Rachel was later charged with 'being the parent of a child who failed to attend school regularly'. She received a £185 fine at North Staffordshire Justice Centre.
Rachel added: “The whole system should be handled differently. I wonder how other people who have children with disabilities go on.
“I understand they have to stop children having a lot of time off school but I don’t know why they couldn’t be sympathetic to our situation.”
Oxhey First School says it adheres to ‘strict guidelines’ regarding term-time holidays.
Headteacher Catherine Pointon said: “The welfare of the children at Oxhey is paramount.
"Any decision to grant leave during term time is made after following strict guidelines and the school’s attendance policy taking into account the nature of the circumstances and the child’s attendance record.”
