Poll: Should parents be fined for taking their children out of school during term-time?
After a couple who were fined £630 for taking their children on holiday during the school term branded the justice system a 'joke', we want to hear your thoughts.
Stewart and Natasha Sutherland appeared before magistrates at Telford Magistrates' Court after they refused to pay a fixed penalty following their children's six-day absence from two Shropshire schools in September.
The couple, from Trench in Telford, spent a week in Rhodes with their three children despite the holiday not being authorised by the town's Sutherland Business and Enterprise College or Donnington Wood Infant School.
They pleaded guilty to three counts of failing to ensure a child of compulsory school age attended school regularly.
Should parents be fined for taking their children out of school during term-time? Vote in our poll below and have your say in the comments section:
The family of five went away on September 25 and returned on October 2 2013, having booked the holiday 11 months in advance of new legislation that took away the discretion of headteachers to allow up to 10 days of holiday.
The break landed the parents with fines and costs totalling just under £1,000.
Following the verdict Mr Sutherland said: "The system is a joke – nobody listened to a word we said. The people who make these laws and policies don't live in the real world. There is no flexibility in the system. I feel like a criminal for trying to do my best for my family. I have pleaded guilty but I stand by my decision." After the couple refused to pay the first council-imposed fine of £360, it then doubled to £720 because it was not paid within 21 days and they were summoned to court.
That fine was amended by magistrates to £630 with £300 court costs and a £63 victim surcharge. Carol Trigger, prosecuting on behalf of Telford and Wrekin Council said: "The holiday requests were refused for all three children. Neither parent contacted the school before they took the holiday to discuss the refusal."
The couple defended their decision and told magistrates the holiday was the reason the family unit was still together.
Mr Sutherland said: "We have not had a holiday in more than five years.
"I believe if we did not take that break we would not be a family now."
