Father who refused to pay term-time holiday fine loses court battle
A FATHER yesterday lost a landmark legal battle against a fine for taking his daughter to Disney World during school term time.
The Supreme Court ruled against Jon Platt, whose victories at earlier legal battles against the £120 fine caused a surge in term-time holiday absences all over England.
The judgment means parents still face a penalty or prosecution for taking children out of school for a holiday.
Justices ruled that businessman Mr Platt, from the Isle of Wight, should have paid the fine for his six-year-old daughter’s unauthorised absence in April 2015.
They said he had shown a “blatant disregard of school rules” when he flew her to Florida for a holiday and that his approach had been a “slap in the face” to other parents.
The court backed an appeal by Isle of Wight education chiefs against an earlier ruling that Mr Platt had not acted unlawfully.
The council prosecuted Mr Platt after he refused to pay a £120 penalty.
Magistrates said he had no case to answer and the High Court later ruled he was not acting unlawfully because his daughter had a good overall attendance record of more than 90 per cent.
At a Supreme Court hearing in January, the local authority, backed by the Education Secretary, argued a child’s unauthorised absence from school “for even a single day, or even half a day” can amount to a criminal offence.
The judgment effectively means that mothers and fathers cannot take their child out of lessons at any point without the head teacher’s approval.
The justices pointed out there are exceptions to that rule, which include religious holidays and sickness.
Lady Hale, announcing the decision yesterday, emphasised the case was not about what the rules should be “or how much discretion the head teacher should have to authorise absence”. That, she added, “is a matter for the appropriate authorities”.
Speaking outside court with his wife Sally, Mr Platt said he was “not at all surprised” by the judgment.
He said: “I’m pleased… the judgment doesn’t go on to say what the school rules should be. Schools need to think very carefully about what these rules should be. Some have policies that mean that every day missed is a criminal offence.”
Mr Platt’s case now has to return to a magistrates court where, he said, he had “no intention” of pleading guilty.
He already faces legal costs of more than £10,000 and could be fined £1,000 if found guilty.
Rising numbers of parents are being prosecuted for child absences without permission, with many facing fines and in some cases community sentences or prison.
Almost 20,000 people were taken to court in 2015 alone – a 61 per cent rise on 2011.
Justine Roberts, chief executive of parenting website Mumsnet, said parents would like to see head teachers given more discretion over absences.