Derbyshire County Council does 'not condone parents taking children on term-time holidays'

Derbyshire County Council has said it does 'not condone parents taking their children on term-time holidays'.
The county council has issued a statement in response to a court ruling yesterday.The county council has issued a statement in response to a court ruling yesterday.
The county council has issued a statement in response to a court ruling yesterday.

The authority has issued a statement in response to a court ruling announced yesterday.

The High Court had earlier ruled in father Jon Platt's favour, saying he was not acting unlawfully by taking daughter out of school for a family trip to Florida. But education chiefs appealed to the Supreme Court and five judges unanimously allowed the appeal. The case will now go back to the magistrates court.

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A spokeswoman for Derbyshire County Council said: “Even a small amount of time out of school can adversely affect pupils’ academic achievement and we do not condone parents taking their children on term-time holidays.

“Time-off from school during term time should only be authorised by head teachers in exceptional circumstances and a family holiday is not considered to meet the definition of exceptional.

“Interim arrangements introduced following the High Court hearing of the Isle of Wight case mean penalty notices are currently issued in Derbyshire where a child’s absence, including any illness and unauthorised absence, results in an overall attendance of 94 per cent or below. Now there has been a Supreme Court ruling, we will review this in detail and await further guidance from central government to consider the implications for Derbyshire.

"However it is our clear position that pupils should not be taken out of school during term time and do not endorse parents taking them on holiday when they should be in the classroom. This advice remains unchanged."

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After the ruling was announced yesterday, we asked your opinion via an online poll.

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We asked - Is it time fines for parents who take their children out of school during term-time are reconsidered? And 71 per of those who voted said yes, with 29 per cent answering no.

We also asked you - Should the government encourage holiday firms to bring down the prices of travel during school holidays? 95 per cent of those who voted on this question said yes, with only five per cent saying no.

When it came to the question - Are parents who take their children out of school for a holiday in the wrong?, 64 per cent of those taking part said no, 17 per cent said yes and 19 per cent chose the answer it depends on the circumstances.

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Finally, we asked you Would the prospect of being fined stop you from having a holiday during term-time? And it seems that many of you would rather pay the fine than stump up extra for holidays during term-time. 77 per cent of those who answered said no with 23 per cent saying yes.