Michelle, Andrew and Oliver Partington (Image: MEN)
A mum has lambasted the council as ‘despicable’ for fining her over her son’s term time holiday, arguing that their trip to Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt was ‘educational’.
Michelle Partington and her husband Andrew Partington, 51, chose to take their 12 year old son Oliver out of school for 10 days to visit Egypt on 1 June.
The 46 year old mother wanted to lift her son’s spirits after he changed schools in April due to bullying, but she ‘couldn’t afford’ the £3,270 trip during the school holidays as it would have cost an additional £2,000.
Despite asserting that the trip, which included snorkelling and quad biking, was an ‘education trip’ due to Egypt’s rich history, the school denied her request to take Oliver out of school.
She was left ‘devastated’ when both she and her husband were each hit with an £80 fine from Wigan Council on 2 July, forcing her to scrap the enjoyable plans she had arranged for her son during the summer break. Local councils can issue a fine of £80 per parent for a child’s unauthorised absence from school, including holidays during term time, reports the Manchester Evening News.
If parents fail to pay the fine within a 21-day period, the amount doubles and if it remains unpaid they may face prosecution.
Michelle was ‘devastated’ when she and her husband both received an £80 fine from Wigan Council on 2 July forcing her to cancel the fun plans she’d organised for her son during the summer break. (Image: MEN)
The mother of two blasted the decision on social media, stating: ‘This is just despicable behaviour. Something needs to be done and soon.
“While she believes ‘education is important’, she defended her decision and encouraged others to sign a petition to abolish these fines. Wigan Council responded by stating that ‘parents have a legal duty to ensure their child receives full-time education, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise’.’I was absolutely gutted’Michelle, a driving school company director residing in Wigan, expressed: “It was really upsetting. I was shocked when I found out it wasn’t just £80 and it was £160 even though we’re one family unit.
I was absolutely devastated that we had to cancel the plans we had made. “”The holiday was worth it despite the fine.
It was a once in a lifetime trip and it was magical. We certainly couldn’t afford to go to Egypt (during the school holidays), maybe Pontins or Haven or something.
We work hard so getting to spend time together as a family was nice and we don’t get to do that very often. “”As much as education is really important, I think spending time with family and relaxing with family and enjoying family time on holiday is equally as important for a child’s mental health.
“”I did let the school know we’d be taking him out. I told the school this would be considered an education trip because we were going to Egypt which is where lots of civilisation began and there’s lots of history there.
The holiday was described as ‘magical’ and ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ (Image: MEN)
“”We arranged it to make sure there were no exams taking place so we were sensible in that much. They said the authorisation was denied and we would be taking him out of school without their consent.
“While she believes ‘education is important’, she defended her decision and urged others to sign a petition to abolish these fines.Wigan Council hit back by saying that ‘parents have a legal duty to ensure their child receives full-time education, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise’.’I was absolutely devastated’Michelle, a driving school company director who lives in Wigan, said: “They advised me that we may receive a fine. I was expecting to get a fine and I’d heard that it was £80.
Myself and my husband received separate letters. “”I just thought they were doing their due diligence by sending it to them both but it was £160.
You’d think there was a better way to deal with this. “”We had trips booked during the summer holidays but because of the additional expense of the fine those things have had to go to the wayside.
Oliver wanted to go to Jurassic World in London but the funds aren’t there. “Whilst on the ‘educational’ break, they enjoyed snorkelling, quad biking, and dined in the desert. The mother defends her choice and urges the council to revise their policy whilst calling on holiday firms to cease charging inflated prices during term time.Michelle said: “We had to swap his high school because he was bullied.
He was still very upset about what had happened. This holiday was to cheer him up about that as well.
“”I feel like the school and the council didn’t really take that into consideration. You’d have thought there’d be some sort of lenience there.
Even if the council said yes ‘you have to send this fine’ does each parent have to pay it?
“”They should give an option to pay it in instalments so it’s not as big of a hit. I can understand the school wanting to take a stance on children being present at school and I understand education is so important.
“While she believes ‘education is important’, she defended her decision and urged others to sign a petition to abolish these fines.Wigan Council hit back by saying that ‘parents have a legal duty to ensure their child receives full-time education, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise’.’I was absolutely devastated’Michelle, a driving school company director who lives in Wigan, said: “What is unfair is the holiday companies charging through the nose so much more money when people need to go during the school holidays. “”It just makes it impossible for normal people to book nice holidays during the school holidays because it’s too expensive.
“A spokesperson for Wigan Council stated: “Parents have a legal duty to ensure their child receives full-time education, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise. “”Headteachers may only grant a leave of absence during term time if they consider that there are exceptional circumstances, and the Department for Education’s statutory guidance, updated in August 2024, reinforces that a holiday is not considered exceptional.
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