High Court ruling: parents can challenge fines for taking kids on holiday during term-time

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Updated on 16 May 2016 | 7 Comments

Landmark ruling could open the floodgates for more parents to take their children out of school on term-time holidays and fight the fines.

Jon Platt, a dad from the Isle of Wight who refused to pay a fine for taking his six-year old daughter on holiday during term-time has won his High Court legal battle.

The landmark ruling could pave the way for more parents to take their kids on holiday during term-time when it may be cheaper or more convenient and fight the fines issued by their councils.

For more on the current rules on this area take a look at: School holiday fines: what you will pay for taking your child out of school during term time.

The case

Jon Platt, 44, was fined by Isle of Wight Council for taking his daughter out of school on holiday to Walt Disney World in Florida without permission from her school, back in April 2015.

As it was recorded as an unauthorised absence, he was slapped with a £60 charge initially, which was then doubled to £120 when he refused to pay.

Mr Platt was eventually taken to court by Isle of Wight Council under the Education Act in October last year, after he refused to hand over any money. Rather than the cost of the holiday he said it was the only time he could get all 15 members of his family together for a trip.

The case was thrown out of Isle of Wight Magistrates Court after Mr Platt argued that the wording of Subsection 1 of Section 444 of the Education Act 1996 required parents to ensure their children attended school regularly, which he did.

Mr Platt’s daughter had 100% attendance up until the trip and 93.2% after the holiday was taken into consideration. The law does not specify a length of time, although the Department for Education sets its bar for persistent truancy at 90%.

This ruling did not set a legal precedent at the time, as magistrates’ decisions are not binding in other courts. However, Isle of Wight Council wanted to seek clarification so appealed against the decision at the High Court in London.

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Landmark ruling

Lord Justice Lloyd Jones and Mrs Justice Thirlwall threw out the council’s challenge on Friday, ruling that the magistrates had not ‘erred in law’ with their decision.

The judges said the Isle of Wight magistrates were right to look at the ‘wider picture’ of Mr Platt’s daughter’s overall attendance record when they decided there was ‘no case to answer’.

The High Court ruling, sets a legal precedent in England and Wales, which means other families may be able to challenge the law in the same way and fight the fines.

However, as yet no rules have been changed so you should tread carefully if you want to take this route. The case has reportedly cost Mr Platt £13,000 and he has crowdfunded a further £25,000 for legal costs.

Councillor Jonathan Bacon, leader of the Isle of Wight Council, said: "This case was always about seeking clarification on this matter and unfortunately today's ruling has created massive uncertainty and cast a shadow of doubt over the policies of schools and local authorities across the country.

"The Department for Education (DfE) had outlined what it considered to be ‘regular’ attendance, which was that children should attend school every day, and it is under that assumption that we acted. It is also clear that attendance and educational attainment are intertwined, however today's ruling may be taken to imply that parents can take children out of school on holiday for up the three weeks every year. This will clearly have a detrimental effect on the education of those children, the rest of their class and their teachers.”

Speaking outside court after his victory, Mr Platt said: “I am obviously hugely relieved. I know that there was an awful lot riding on this - not just for me but for hundreds of other parents.”

 Many took to Twitter to applaud Platt.

Changing the law

The Department for Education has said it is ‘disappointed’ with the verdict and will look into changing the law to make clear children’s attendance is non-negotiable.

“The evidence is clear that every extra day of school missed can affect a pupil’s chance of gaining good GCSEs, which has a lasting effect on their life chances,” a spokesperson said.

“We are confident our policy to reduce school absence is clear and correct. ‎ 

“We will examine today’s judgement in detail but are clear that children’s attendance at school is non-negotiable so we will now look to change the legislation. We also plan to strengthen statutory guidance to schools and local authorities.”

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