A mum has told of being fined around €70 after taking her daughter out of school for a trip to Spain and claims that she learned more there than she would have in class.
The woman who lives in the UK was handed a penalty of £60 (€68) and defended her decision to take her child out of school saying it was nowhere near the cost of travelling over the summer break.
She said that during their trip abroad, the youngster learned about the local language and culture and discovered things she couldn’t have from a classroom.
She said that technically her education continued despite not being in school for the duration of the holiday, according to Hull Live.
Taking to social media to explain what had happened, the mum wrote: "She learned so much about Spanish culture, learned some Spanish and tried lots of new foods.
"Secondly the £60 (€68) fine didn't come close to the savings I made. I wouldn't have been able to go if not during term time."
She went on to say that her family needed a break just like everybody else during the pandemic and said she agreed that school was an important part of life but that there are other things young people need to experience in life.
After her post garnered a lot of attention online, many people began chiming in with their own experiences of being handed fines from schools for taking holidays during the term.
One dad said he was fined £120 (€137) for taking his two sons out of school for a week in June. He said: "Saved nearly a thousand pounds on the price of the holiday it would have cost me if I took them during the summer holidays.
"Will carry on doing so as it's still much cheaper, even with the fine."
Another mum explained that she was being taken to court after removing her child from school and refusing to pay the fine.
She claimed that she even tried to get permission from the school to go away but that no member of staff replied to her.
In Ireland, parents only face a fine at the end of a long process in regards to school attendance and as such, if you take your kids out of school to go on holiday, no such problems will arise.
If a child misses 20 days or more during a school year, the school must alert the Educational Welfare Service.
The parent will then be served a notice saying their child must return to school/ their attendance must improve.
If the child remains absent from school, the parent may be brought to court and could face a €1,000 fine.
Despite parents being able to take their kids on holiday during term time, the child and family agency, they are advised not to do so.
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