Shropshire couple taken to court over term-time Greek holiday
A Shropshire couple are due in court after taking their three children on a week's holiday to Greece during school term time and refusing to pay a fine.
Stuart and Natasha Sutherland, from Telford, will appear before magistrates in Telford tomorrow following their children's six-day absence from two Shropshire schools in September.
The family of five went away on September 25 and returned on October 2.
The couple refused to pay the initial £360 penalty, which then doubled to £720 because it was not paid within 21 days.
Now the week-long break could cost the couple up to £2,000 in fines, and both parents risk being sentenced to three months in prison.
The couple, from James Nelson Crescent, Trench, booked the family holiday to Rhodes in October 2012, before legislation came into force on September 1 last year, that ended a policy allowing schools to grant up to 10 days leave for family holidays.
The couple also claim that due to Mr Sutherland's job, his holiday allowance was restricted and they were unable to have time off during the six-week break.
Mr Sutherland, 39, who works for the Ministry of Defence Guard Service, said: "We gave the schools notice of the week off and were told that the time was not authorised and if we went away we risked a £60 fine per child.
"The holiday was booked and paid for before they changed the rules, what could I do? Due to my job it was our first holiday in six years and we felt that the family needed the break."
The couple are arguing that the education authority has no appeal process and they have no choice but to go to court to have their say.
Mr Sutherland said: "This is not about the fine or the cost of the holidays outside of school term, it is about the principle. I could not have holiday any other time. It was already booked and paid for.
"We tried to have meetings with the headteachers and the council but were told we had no choice, pay up or go to court and face jail."
The couple have two daughters and one son. Keane, six, currently attends Donnington Wood Primary school and 13-year-old Sian and 15-year-old Rhiannan are pupils at Sutherland Business and Enterprise College.
The holiday meant the children were absent for six term days, but Sutherland College was closed due to a teachers strike on October 1, meaning they missed five teaching days. But both parents are liable to individual fines of £60 per child.
Mr Sutherland said: "We are their parents; it should be up to us. I have no concerns over any of my children or their level of education. They are all in the top sets, and we believe quality family time is just as important as schooling."
He added: "It seems we can't plead not guilty because we are not travellers and the absence was not due to religious reasons. I can plead guilty with mitigating circumstances.
"We are bringing our children up to value their education, we know how important it is, but we are being punished for three things, because we work full-time, the fines are double because we are married, and finally because we were honest enough to tell the school the truth about the holiday instead of simply saying the kids were ill."
It is believed the parents are the first in Shropshire to refuse to pay the fine.
Kay Burford, attendance support team leader for Telford & Wrekin Council said the new legislation is clear and any time off is disruptive to a child's education.
"Our policy supports new legislation which makes it clear that head teachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances," she said.
"Leave in term-time which results in significant absence from school is disruptive to the child's education and has a detrimental impact on attainment. There is no automatic right to any leave or holiday in term time. The regulations clearly make the point that the headteacher has the final decision as to whether to authorise the leave or not.
"The Telford & Wrekin Council LA Policy Statement has been developed within the context of the national and local priority of raising the educational achievement and attainment of pupils. The Government has renewed appeals to parents not to take their children out of school during term time."
Star comment: Flexibility needed in the rules on school holidays
