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Photo: Good Morning Britain/ITVNews UPDATED: Island dad-of-3 Jon Platt has today (Friday) won a landmark case at the Royal Courts of Justice which means parents could now take their children on holiday during term time without facing a fine, as long as their child has attended school regularly throughout the year.
When local businessman Jon Platt took his 6-year-old daughter on holiday to Florida in April 2015 he was slapped with a £60 fine by the Isle of Wight Council – a fine he refused to pay as he believed his daughter attended school ‘regularly’, as required by Section 444 of the Education Act 1996.
As a result of the refusal to pay the fine – which doubled to £120 – Mr Platt appeared before the Isle of Wight Magistrates Court, where magistrates declared he had ‘no case to answer’ – a decision which the Isle of Wight Council has disagreed with.
With the Council appealing the ruling, the case has been taken to the Royal Courts of Justice for clarification on the definition of ‘regular attendance’, a definition that has now been given and therefore a legal precedent has been set for the rest of the country.
Appearing in front of Lord Justice Lloyd Jones today, it has been ruled that the definition of ‘regular attendance’ is not absolute and that it is a question of fact and degree. In the case of Mr Platt, his daughter’s attendance was over 93% even after the holiday had been taken.
The Isle of Wight Council argued in the High Court that regular attendance means full time attendance with no unauthorised absence, but the Judge went against this saying that he does not accept that full time education is 100% attendance, nor does he accept that any unauthorized absence is criminal.
Lord Justice Lloyd Jones has upheld the Isle of Wight Magistrates Court’s decision that Jon Platt has no case to answer and that his daughter’s attendance was good enough, meaning victory for the Nettlestone resident.
The Isle of Wight Council must now pay £14,631 of Mr Platt’s legal costs, plus any other associated costs that the Council have occurred themselves.
UPDATE @ 13:58 – In a statement issued this afternoon, Councillor Jonathan Bacon, Leader of the Isle of Wight Council, has said:
“This case was always about seeking clarification on this matter and unfortunately today’s ruling has created massive uncertainty and cast a shadow of doubt over the policies of schools and local authorities across the country.
“The Department for Education had outlined what it considered to be ‘regular’ attendance, which was that children should attend school every day, and it is under that assumption that we acted. It is also clear that attendance and educational attainment are intertwined, however today’s ruling may be taken to imply that parents can take children out of school on holiday for up the three weeks every year. This will clearly have a detrimental effect on the education of those children, the rest of their class and their teachers.
“I’m very disappointed about the failure to give clear guidance today. We need to consider the impact of this on the Island but it is clear it will also have an affect across the country. We will be pressing the Department for Education to urgently consider creating clear legislation on this matter for the benefit of parents, schools and local authorities alike.”
Featured photo: Anthony m
