Controversy As School Fines Parents £1,000 for Taking Kids on Family Vacation During Term Time

Richard and Kerry Bowering, from Bristol, have been fined about £1,000 for taking their children, Tori, 10, and Maddison, 7, on holiday to Spain during term time after their grandmother’s death and Kerry’s cancer scare.

According to YahooParenting, the school refused to give permission for the family to go on the trip and fined them £240 (about $340) on their return. After the couple refused to pay, the case went to court and the fine and costs increased to a total of £950 (about $1350).

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Mr Bowering said the holiday was booked as a treat for the two children after a difficult few months at the beginning of last year. He said,

“In January, their gran died of cancer and then at the end of February their mum had a hysterectomy for cervical cancer. They were really badly affected by those things – it was a nightmare time – so we thought we would give them a break and take them on holiday. I asked for a bit of compassion to allow us to do that. I asked the headmistress for permission and she refused. We got back and then we had these fines.”

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A spokesman for Bristol City Council said: “The council has a duty to follow the current legislation and national guidelines relating to pupil attendance, as set out in the Department for Education’s guidance. This includes fines which are also set out by central government.”

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