A TAX ON LAW-ABIDING FAMILIES

Parents hit out at having to pay more by obeying the holiday rules

PARENTS around the country reacted with anger to the ruling yesterday – branding term-time holiday fines a tax on the middle classes.

Judges insisted that allowing pupils to be taken out of school would be unfair to those who followed the rules.

But parents said that the high cost of breaks in school holidays meant that their families would otherwise be priced out of a trip.

Steve and Claire Gildea, from Stockport, have three children under ten years old.

Mr Gildea, 38, who works in finance, said: ‘We have taken our children out of school before but we’ve had approved leave.

‘With our children we would make sure that they caught up with their work but not all parents would. With regards to the fines it’s just like another tax really isn’t it? If they were going to pay for the teachers to help the children catch up then I could understand. It’s like a tax for the middle class.’

Announcing the decision yesterday, Supreme Court Deputy President Lady Hale said that allowing parents to take their children away in term time would amount to a ‘slap in the face’ for families who followed the rules.

But mother-of-five Louise Driver, 41, from Newcastle, said the price of breaks during school holidays meant she had to face the £60 fine in order to take her family away.

The librarian said: ‘If parents give advance notice and the child keeps up with schoolwork, I don’t see what the problem is.

‘Holiday companies bump the prices up and it becomes impossible to take your children away during the school holidays.

‘I have five children and I can’t afford to go away during the school holidays. I have to take them out of school.

‘I will continue to do this for financial reasons.’

And maths teacher John Parkin, from Gateshead, near Newcastle, said that he did not feel a week or two off was detrimental to a pupil’s schooling.

The 43-year- old, whose son is studying for his GCSEs, said: ‘I don’t think parents should be fined. But I don’t think pupils should be taken out of school during exam years.

‘Being brutally honest, you save more in holiday fees if you go during term time regardless of a £60 fine.

‘My son is in Year 11 so I wouldn’t take him out of school. But I think if it is for just one or two weeks and their attendance is good over- all it is not going to harm a kid’s chances in life at all.’

Hairdresser Lisa Hopkins, 47, from Southampton, said: ‘Having three children, I know how expensive it is during the school holidays. Sometimes you have to get on a plane to go and see things.

‘If you have got a child with good attendance, then what difference does a week make?’

And Donna McLeod, who works as a carer in Southampton, said she could see why parents would take their children out of school for ‘family reasons’.

The 34-year-old, who has a boy and a girl at primary school, said: ‘I think it’s important for families to have that one to one time with their kids.

‘But I’d say don’t take the risk during term time, save the money and go when you can afford it dur- ing the holidays.’ Parents who do not pay the fines risk prosecution – and Ed Cole, 44, said that it was this aspect of the rules that concerned him most.

Mr Cole, who has three children in primary school in Balham, South London, said: ‘The fine is reasonable in my opinion, because the Government have told parents about it up front and it has been the case for some time now.

‘The criminalisation part is a concern for me that I wasn’t aware of previously. I probably would not take my kids out of school during term time but I can see why people do.’

Lady Hale said the ruling would not lead to parents being criminalised on a large scale, and the answer was to have a ‘sensible prosecution policy’.