This should be of interest to those with school age children.
THREE Swindon families are celebrating after being cleared of failing prosecuted by Swindon Borough Council on an allegation of failing to ensure the regular attendance of their children in school.
In what campaigner Jon Platt calls a victory for common sense, Salisbury magistrates cleared them yesterday.
Jon, from the Isle of Wight, had refused to pay a fine for taking his six-year-old daughter out of school for a family trip to to Walt Disney World, Florida, without permission from his child's school.
He was originally fined £60. This was then doubled because of his refusal to pay.
Jon said his eventual High Court victory against the prosecution would benefit hundreds of other parents facing similar penalties and he has since backed other families in the same situation.
He said of those prosecuted by Swindon Borough Council: "They were all represented by Michael Spoors (the solicitor who represented me) and their defence costs were underwritten by me from the money parents donated to help me fight the DfE at the Supreme Court.
"The cases all went to a full trial, all the arguments were put to the magistrates and they returned verdicts of NOT GUILTY in all cases - five individuals.
"The magistrates even made an award towards defence costs from central funds. This will allow us to help even more parents fight their cases.
"It seems to me that local authorities like Swindon will only stop these outrageous prosecutions if we name and shame them.
"The children in these cases had VERY high attendance, higher than my daughter's. These cases should NEVER have been anywhere near a court today and shame on Swindon Council for pursuing them.
"Tax payers do NOT want thousands of pounds wasted on cases like this."
In May two Swindon families who denied doing anything wrong by taking his child out of school for a five-day holiday were cleared by magistrates in the town.
A Swindon Borough Council spokesman said: “We are disappointed with the outcome of yesterday’s court hearings. All of the parents, whose children are unrelated and at different schools, removed their children from school for the week before half-term for an unauthorised family holiday. The children’s attendance was considered within a 12-week period and found to be 91%; the court has ruled that this did not constitute irregular attendance.
“Following the High Court decision in the Isle of Wight v Platt case earlier this year the council revised the period in which absences are considered. The period of absence is now considered within a 12-week period, ending with the date when the school refer the matter to the Council’s education welfare team.
“Although the magistrates in the Isle of Wight case looked over an academic year the High Court judgment did not set out that this was the period in which local authorities had to consider absences. Due to the time limits imposed by the court for taking action in these cases it is not possible for the local authority to consider every period of absence within the context of a whole academic year.
Code:www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/14948360.Swindon_families_who_took_children_out_of_school_win_court_fight/
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks